A sweet peppermint mocha dress for the holidays featuring a double layer hem with a crochet trim and a duplicate stitch heart outlined in an embroidered chain stitch.

You can do the double layer hem using the directions that follow. If you would prefer not to, you could just cast on for the dress. ( For a plain hem, the chart begins with the cast on row as row 1. ) For the double layer hem, you will knit two small hems and join them…the white will hang just below the red and green hem.

Double layer hem: This hem has become a favorite of mine. Using straight needles or whatever you prefer to use to knit back and forth, do a long tail cast on of 88 stitches in white. Knit three rows and purl one. Cut your yarn leaving a tail for weaving in. Set your work aside keeping it on the needles. Now do the cast on for the dress. Again using straight needles do a long tail cast on of 88 stitches in green; knit two rows in red, cut the yarn and set aside.
Pick up both needles and holding the white underneath and line up the first few stitches. Using green, knit across joining the two “hems”. Turn the work and knit across again in green.

I’ve included old photos in white and purple yarn to give an idea of how this hem works. Your stitches will not match these but the pictures may help with the concept.

Now join in the round and begin following the chart on row 6.

I did 22 repeats of the chart pictured on the left. On row 13, I left out the 21st white stitch to mark where I would duplicate stitch the heart. On the next two rows of the chart I made sure to not do the white stitches over that space. See heart picture for the way the white stitches should look in that space and the duplicate stitch heart.

I followed my usual dress modifications and decrease formulas found here

I embroidered a white chain stitch around the heart. You can omit or do something different!

The Peter Pan collar is from the Textured Dresses pattern by Julie Williams. I used Aunt Lydia’s #10 Cotton crochet thread in white and a 2.75mm hook.

Crochet hem: Using a 2.5mm hook and fingering weight yarn work along the cast on bottom edge of the dress starting at the back seam…slip stitch in first stitch, skip one, single crochet 4 stitches in next stitch, skip one stitch, slip stitch in next….repeat to end.

The bunny was knit on 2.75mm neeedles using Sublime extra fine merino DK in caramel.