For Those Who Asked - Casper's Chevron Dress

Hey everyone! 

At the event day last Saturday (which we will be writing about very soon) I had a lot of people compliment the dress I was wearing, and first I'd like to say a very big thank you for that; it's now my favourite thing to wear!

Don't judge the featured blog photo... I can't pose for toffee and Eleanor and I were absolutely dying trying to take photos of this. It's a good thing my face is cropped out, trust me.

However, I also had some questions about the pattern, what yarn I used, etc. So, I'm just writing a short little thingy about it. 

The pattern was 41p (41p!) on Ravelry, here, by "MissBackxels by Lee Backx". It's a 3-in-1 chevron set, where you can make a long sleeved dress, a short sleeved one, and a top. I really found it easy to follow, but I did adjust it slightly to suit my body shape better. 

It starts with a usual yoke increase session, dividing for the arm holes, and then staggering the increases a lot more until you get to the end of the skirt. Now, I actually did some decreases under the bust, only a couple of rounds, just to pull it in a little more. If you've got a body shape like mine, it's worth doing as it does make a cute difference. I also staggered the skirt increases starting with increases every round, then increases every 2 rounds, and finally increases every 3 rounds right at the end so it flowed properly. The pattern gives you the option to do this - it's more like a recipe than a pattern as you make it to fit you. 

I was also asked if it was a variegated yarn - nope. It's completely made of scraps, and if you know me you'll know that scraps are absolutely my favourite thing to use for garments. And, yep, I'm a dreadful person, I just tied the ends with a knot and crocheted over them. Shh. I'm lazy, and it turned out alright, didn't it?

If you're not using scraps I really would recommend using at least a cotton blend for this, possibly the Bamboo Cotton DK if you're looking for a plain colour but Eleanor says you should mix all of the cottons to give it the crazy-colour look. So, that would be... Cottonsoft (including the Candy and Crush variants), Cottonsmooth, Bamboo Cotton, Finesse Cotton Silk... Lush. Actually, you should totally try holding two strands of the Giza and the Giza Cotton Sorbet 4ply together to make up the DK weight. Omg. Please do this.

(Above is the Cottonsmooth, it's new and lovely and will work so well with this if you want to stripe it, but if you want a fancier, go-with-everything dress just one colour of this will look lush.)

If you're using scraps, I found that mine bunched up quite a bit because of the acrylic content, so I hung it in the shower, doused it with water and let it drip dry so gravity did all of the blocking work for me. It turned out great!

I also made the neckline a little less boat-neck-y on me by doing a round of single crochet along it once the garment was finished. 

Okay, I've pretty much got nothing else to say on this. If you do end up making this PLEASE update me, show me, bring it in, wear it into the shop - it's such a simple pattern, suitable for people who haven't even made a garment before, and you are going to feel like an absolute fairy princess once you're done. Totally worth it, and it only took me maybe a week at most of on-and-off crochet.

Do it!

Love,

Casper x