April 20, 2010: My yarn came last night! I was so excited that I started swatching right away! The lacy knots pattern is easier than it looks. :)
April 21, 2010: I have started Panel 1 for the back of the dress. I am knitting Panel 1 on size 6 needles to draw the silouette of dress in a bit on the bottom. 290 sts are alot! I really love the shine sport yarn from Knit Picks! It is so soft and has such a lovely sheen.
April 27, 2010: I am on row 9 of the third 16 row repeat of Panel 1 for the back of the dress!
May 2,2010: Finished Insert 1 for the back and sewed Insert 1 to Panel 1. Looks good! This is my first lace project, and so far, I love knitting lace!
June 6:2010: Finished the back bodice and Panel 1 for the front! Yay!
June 16, 2010: Am now halfway done with the front bodice!
June 18, 2010: Finished the front bodice yesterday and started Panel 2 for the back!
I made the neckline higher on the front bodice by starting the neck-shaping later, on row 7 of the third 16 row repeat, almost at the very end of the armhole shaping; instead of starting the neck-shaping before the armhole shaping as the pattern directs for size small. I didn’t want such a low neckline.
I’m also planning on adding length by adding 1 1/2 repeats of the 16 row lace pattern to the Panel 2s.
07/06/2010: I’m making sleeve number one now! I have blocked the back of the dress. Now I need to block the front and then I can do the seaming!
07/13/2010: Done with the left sleeve, on to the right! :)
08/02,2010: Just have the two short inserts for the sides of the neck opening to do!
08/02/2010: Done with the knitting… :( I liked knitting this pattern! I have already blocked the front and back of the dress. I just need to block the front flounce, sleeves, and the lace inserts for around the neck and sew it all together!
08/23/2010: I am ready to sew the sleeve pieces together and then put the in the dress! It looks great sleeveless, so I am considering making the sleeves removable. We’ll see!
The fit is perfect, though!
The only concern I have is that the weight of the dress stretches it when worn.
4/03/2011: Finished with pics! I love it! I would like to make another one, using a wool or wool blend, and see if that helps with the weight. It does tend to stretch downward a bit because the cotton yarn is heavy. However, I am very happy with the result! The sleeves are absolutely my favorite part of the dress! They are so dramatic! :)