Thursday, June 15, 2006

Caprice Dress Update

I love my dd. She is so easy going and amenable to change. (I'd love her even if she weren't...after all, I love my ds too!) I had to tell my daughter, when she woke up this morning, that I had frogged her dress last night. Her response? "That's OK Mommy, I can wear something else!" followed a few seconds later by a hesitant, "Will you still fix my dress so I can wear it another day?" You got to love a kid like this. Of course I promised I would! Then when I went to start a load of laundry while the kids ate breakfast, I discovered a forgotten purchase on the back of the laundry room door. I brought it out to my dd who burst with glee, " A dress for me!! So here's the substitute dress that gets me off the hook for Friday.

Speaking of off the hook... Here's what I've done in hopes of salvaging this dress. I left the first round of repeating (sc, ch3, skip 3 st) that begins the body, and the second round, repeating (3 dc in ch-3 space, ch 1). This gives the 100 st that the pattern calls for. In the third round, I put a dc in each st around increasing every 10th stitch to give 110 dc. At this point I realized that my plan needed the stitch count to be divisible by 4 so I added one more dc right at the base of the turning chain before joining to the top of the turning chain with a slip st (111 dc) and to finish the increase to 112 st (multiple of 4), I started round 4 with the ch 3 but then put a dc right into the joining stitch at the base of the ch 3 and then in every stitch around. Round 5 was just dc in every dc around. (Oh yeah to improve the drape of the dress, rounds 4 and 5 were worked in the back loops only.) Round 6 looks like round 2 - (3 dc, ch 1) around, but this time the dc are in the dc from the previous row. Round 7 is just dc in every st around. Rounds 8-9 will repeat round 5 (dc in BLO around). Then the plan is to repeat rounds 6-9, probably 4 more times to complete the body. I didn't put in any more increase in round 7, but that's where I'll put some in if I decide it needs more width. This time I'll be trying it on Abby as we go! So, what do you think so far? If this works, I'll write this out for real!

8 comments:

Jana B said...

The comments you wrote about the pattern are so far above my head that they might as well be written in Norweigan!!! But what I did understand of it (it increases here and there to fit her better, and a different stitch which I like better so far..) seems pretty cool!!!! :)

Norah said...

Oh, that looks great! It looks like it's fitting so far, and the new stitch will be less revealing.

Anonymous said...

Mommy Hero stories are great. To just happen to have a dress right there is perfect! Norah is right. This one will work much better and with it being less hhhmmmmmm....risque! :-)

Elisa said...

I love your ability to take a pattern and make it better. And the Crochet Fairy was watching out for you - a spare dress hanging there? How lucky for you and DD.

Susan Wike said...

I love to crochet and find that I can actually design on the run, like you are doing. Crochet I can control. I'm in the middle of an apple green tank from Patons Katrina yarn, which is wonderfully cool and stretchy. Of course, I couldn't find a pattern that would work, so basically made a gage swatch, matched it up with my measurements, and crocheted a tank in the round. The straps have front post/back post ribbing. I already love it.
Keep up the great work.

Anonymous said...

Just as Jana said, it flew over my head as well.

That said, It's plain to see that what
you're doing is fitting beautifully!
It must be wonderful to be able to figure these problems out with such
lovely results!

Your dd IS adorable, this will always be special because Mom made this lovely dress for her! Beautiful color on her too.

Marilu

Norma said...

She looks so much like you!!! It is such a nice surprise when they're totally unfazed by a change of plans... : ) Good luck with the dress.

sara said...

well personnally i REALLY hope it works and you do write that pattern out (for me) hannah would LOVE a dress from grandma. you dd is such a love