Ella Rae Dress Knitting Pattern

Ella Rae Ruth Knitted Dress

What is Being Made

Ruth is a children's knitted dress designed by Ursula McGrath, available in five sizes to fit chest measurements from 22 inches (56cm) up to 32 inches (81cm), accommodating ages 2-3 through 10-11 years. The finished dress lengths range from 17 inches (43cm) for the smallest size to 28 inches (71cm) for the largest size, with coordinating sleeve lengths between 9 and 15 inches (23-38cm).

Techniques Used

Bottom-up construction: The Ruth dress is worked from the bottom upward, allowing knitters to try on the garment as it progresses and adjust length as needed before committing to armhole shaping.

Seamed assembly: Pieces are worked flat and then seamed together, a traditional approach that creates clean, structured seams ideal for a children's garment.

Striped colorwork: The design features a repeating two-row stripe pattern alternating between two coordinating yarn colors throughout the body and sleeves, creating visual interest and dimension.

Worked flat: All pieces are knitted on straight needles in flat rows rather than in the round, making this an accessible project for knitters preferring traditional flat construction methods.

Stitches Used

The Ruth dress is primarily constructed using stockinette stitch, the foundational knit fabric created by alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side. This smooth, classic stitch creates an elegant drape suitable for a children's dress. The pattern maintains consistent stockinette stitch throughout while incorporating the two-row stripe color changes, allowing the stitch structure to remain stable and the stripe pattern to display clearly.

Materials

The Ruth dress is designed to be knitted using Ella Rae Cashmereno Sport yarn in three coordinating shades. The yarn requirements vary by size: the smallest size (2-3 years) requires 2 skeins of shade 49 Cerise (A), 2 balls of shade 307 Raspberry Rosé (B), and 2 skeins of shade 08 Thistle (C), each in 50g quantities. Larger sizes require incrementally more yardage, with the largest size needing up to 4 skeins of shade A and 4 balls of shade B.

Knitting needles required include US 3/3.25mm needles for ribbing or edging and US 5/3.75mm needles for the main body. The gauge is established at 21 stitches and 32 rows over a 4-inch (10cm) square of stockinette stitch using the larger US 5/3.75mm needles, ensuring proper fit across all five sizes.

Construction Details

The dress features shaping at the armholes where 6 stitches are cast off at the beginning of two consecutive rows, followed by decreases of 1 stitch at each end over 8 rows to create fitted armholes. Shoulder shaping is accomplished through stepped cast-offs that taper the shoulders gradually, with the center stitches cast off to create the neckline opening. The stripe pattern of 2 rows in color C alternating with 2 rows in color A continues throughout the armhole and shoulder shaping, maintaining visual consistency in the finished garment.