Purposeful Ramblings Through My Mind

This post is unlocked so I can link it to my Ravelry page. Visitors are welcome, and I'd love to see what you make from my pattern, but I'm not adding a lot of friends at the moment.

This dress is worked in sc from the hem up, in one piece. If you have a doll handy, you'd be wise to try the pattern on her as you go; otherwise I don't vouch for gauge. It fits when it is snug over hips to pull up but otherwise goes on easily.

Materials: I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted (Wisteria) and a G hook. Whatever yarn you choose, choose a hook that will create a fairly tight fabric. I'm sure you could play with colourblocking this dress without too much trouble; I just wanted something to cover Barbie's nakedness in half an hour or less. (The outfits that Barbie came with did absolutely nothing to cover her nakedness; hence the dress.)

ch 40; join with sl st to form ring, being careful not to twist the chain.
Rds 1-3: ch 1, sc in each ch (or st) around, join with sl st to first sc.
Rd 4: sc 2 tog, sc in next 3 sc; rep around, join with sl st to first sc.
Rd 5: rep rd 1.
Rd 6: sc 2 tog, sc in next 2 sc; rep around, join with sl st to first sc.
Rd 7-12: rep rd 1.
Rd 13: sc 2 tog, sc in next sc; rep around, join with sl st to first sc.
Rd 14: sc 2 tog, sc in next 3 sc; rep around, ending with 2 sc; join with sl st to first sc.
Rd 15: rep round 1.
Rd 16: sc in first 2 scs, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in each remaining sc; DO NOT JOIN.
Rd 17-20: ch 1, turn; sc in each sc around, increasing one sc in each increased sc from the rd below.
Rd 21: make one bobble st to serve as a button (or sew a button on after at this spot.) Sc around to front of dress, then hdc in each of next 10 scs across the bodice; sc around to last sc, ch 5, sl st in last sc to form ring for buttonhole; check to be sure the buttonhole will fit over the bobble stitch you made or over the button you've chosen.
Rd 22: sl st in prev sc from rd below, sc in each hdc, sl st in sc to three sts before bobble st. Ch 10, or enough to make a shoulder strap; sl st in appropriate spot on bodice; sl st in 3 sc; ch 10 again, join with sl st to appropriate sc in back of dress to form second shoulder strap. Fasten off and weave in ends.

If you're industrious, a quick scalloped edging along the hem would look pretty and be easy to do in multiples of four or five stitches, or three stitches plus one. Similarly, the dress can be made longer by adding more rounds in the 7-12 round section, without changing its overall shape very much.

Enjoy! May our daughters and small female relatives learn that fashion can, in fact, involve clothing your Barbie (and yourself) with more fabric than the average street walker!

I opened an Etsy store!

Please, if you know someone who might be interested, send them my way. If you're interested yourself, act on it. :)

It makes me want to go back to school and learn more math. I gotta tell ya, I don't think I've ever said that before.

Knit theory, only it's really crochet

Yoinked from wyldraven

Edit: I just read the rest of the article, and I'm amazed at how a journalist who appears to have a working knowledge of high-level math can't seem to grasp the difference between knitting and crocheting. She's not knitting; indeed, knitting wouldn't work at all for this project. She's crocheting, and doing something that anyone who has ever worked a ruffle knows how to do: she increasing the number of stitches exponentially each row, so she starts with a straight line of, say, eight chain stitches, and four rows later has 64 stitches that ruffle. This is the basis for any lacework pattern that doesn't need to lay flat, and I've done it dozens of times.

I've crocheted the hyperbolic plane! Cool!