Miss M's Dress

My niece recently celebrated her first birthday and I am pleased to say that my birthday gift for her was received right on time. That's a rarity for me.



Now that she has her gift I can share it with everyone else. This is Summer Breeze by Zabeth Loisel-Weiner which is listed on my projects page as Lacey Girl. I get a kick out of the fact that either of those links will show you pictures of my version on the pattern. It feels good to know that the designer approved of my modifications to the pattern.



You can read all about my mods on Ravelry or either of the earlier blog entries about it. I really am happy with the way the dress came out and pleased with the decisions I made. There is only one thing I'd do differently in the future. I used a row of purls to transition from the green to the blue and it works well but I should've done another straight knit row after it before starting the lace. You can barely see it in the picture but there are two little purl bumps at regular intervals where the lace and purl row intersect. It's not fatal but it would've been better without that tiny bit of wonkiness.

I used KP Shine Sport in the River and Green Apple colorways for this dress. I love the colors of the yarn and the softness and ability to put it in the washer make it perfect for kid-wear but I have small misgivings about the yarn too. As I knot with it I could feel it getting slightly fuzzy. This stuff is destined to pill like nobody's business. I just know it. But if you're looking for a cotton yarn with great colors in a sport or worsted weight your choices are limited. Many of them are near misses - not soft enough, narrow color range, too heavy. Someday someone will come out with a perfect cotton yarn and I'll be waiting.

The most important thing about this dress is that it fits. It fits! I made a size 3 for my year old niece but she is an *ahem* big girl for her age. She is cute though. My hope is that she can continue to wear this for quite a while. At least until I made her another one.