Riley's Summer Ensemble

I finished another lingering project this weekend.

This is made from a Drops pattern that goes by the thoroughly unimaginative name of B13-17 Dress, bonnet, socks and duck. Thank goodness I wasn't looking to the title to tell me much about the pattern. I would've missed out on a really good one.

The pattern isn't perfect but it wasn't hard to follow at all. My biggest problem with it was that the skirt was deadly dull and boring to knit. It was just a big tube of 3x3 rib with a bit of lace thrown in. Can you imagine how boring it would be without the lace? Oooo I shudder to think.

Anyway, the payoff for all that 3/3 rib knitting was a really sweetly draping skirt that looks pleated thanks to the decreases at the top of the skirt. It flared very gently at the bottom before the crochet edge was added and now, with the edge it's wonderful. This is going to my 4 month old niece who's still not mobile but I imagine that this dress would be great for a toddler who could twirl around in it.

I knit this pattern mostly as written but I deviated in a few details. None of then were major but they do make it mine. The first was that I used more colors. DQ and I chose these three shades of Katia Mississippi 3 and I was a little worried that this would be too patriotic looking but despite the stripiness of the skirt and the eyelets in the top that could be interpreted as stars, I don't get a flag-like feel from this at all. It looks like a tennis dress to me or perhaps the perfect frock for lunch at the country club. My S-I-L is lucky that this won't fit anyone in my house because if it did, I'd keep it for myself and make something else for her. I love this dress just that much.


I intentionally did some of the color changes on purl rows. I really love the way it adds that skinny line of color. It makes the transition from one color to the next a little softer and more fun, like overstitching.

Another change i made was in the crochet edging. On the bottom of the skirt I used the edge specified in the pattern (although I added a foundation row) and it adds a lovely, lacey, finish to the swingy skirt. On the edges of the bodice I elected to deviate from the pattern and used a simple instead. It just seemed like a better fit.

To complete this gift I made a pair of booties. For these I used the same yarn and the pattern for Blue Steps Baby Booties by Regina Willer. To me this pattern was a little unclear in spots but I was able to use the picture and my knitting experience to fill in the blanks. They're very simple and sweet and I just hope they fit.