In the run up to Christmas, as I frantically crocheted in every spare minute to finish presents for my nearest and dearest, I somehow got it into my head that I also needed to make something for Alice to wear over the festive period.
I have wanted to make a dress in this style for a while, with a crochected yoke and fabric skirt. I have seen some gorgeous examples at shows and online (check out Pinterest!) I already had some lovely Liberty Betsy P fabric which I have had for a while, but couldn’t decided which of a hundred projects I should use it for. It seemed perfect, as it wasn’t obviously Christmassy so would be something she could wear into the spring. I picked out the pale pink colour to match my wool to, and chose a lovely, soft merino wool to work the yoke.
As it was made using aran wool and a chunky 5mm hook it took no time at all to hook the top, which was very satisfying. The skirt was made very simply by cutting my abric to the right size, and loosly gathering it before sewing it onto the crocheted yoke. To really finish it off, I thought that fabric covered buttons would be perfect and they certainly do the trick, but be warned! They are incredibly fiddly to do, especially as they are so small. I delegated this task to my husband, in exchange for chocolate. A fair deal.
Of course for a special occasion, it is only fair that her favourite cuddly toy was able to dress up too, so out of the leftover wool and fabric I quickly whipped up a miniature version for her rabbit! An extra button was ther perfect embelishment for the front, and I freehanded a simple top using the same half treble stitch and decreasing from the waist up. Alice was delighted when she saw bunny all dressed up the same as her!
The perfect final touches were the gorgeous little hair clip to pop in her mass of curls, made from the same Liberty fabric as the dress by Little Cloud, and a pair of pink sparkly shoes that her auntie got her as a Christmas present. This dress got so many compliments, and I can’t wait to make more – oh the colours!
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