Iris Dress Knitting Pattern

Iris Dress in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK & Kidsilk Haze

What is Being Made

The Iris Dress is an advanced-level knitted garment designed to fit bust measurements ranging from 28-30cm to 60-62cm (approximately 11 inches to 24 inches), with corresponding actual garment bust measurements from 38.5 inches to 70 inches across nine size options. This is a fitted dress pattern that features structured shaping at the armholes and shoulders, making it suitable for intermediate to experienced knitters seeking a sophisticated finished piece.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several intermediate to advanced knitting techniques that contribute to its advanced difficulty rating. The construction includes cable pattern work on side panels, which requires careful stitch manipulation and the use of a cable needle to create textured, twisted columns of stitches. The garment features moss stitch worked on the sides and body sections, a fundamental textured stitch that creates a subtle, bumpy fabric surface. The pattern incorporates chart-based colorwork or stitch pattern reading, as knitters must follow body charts for rows 1-36 and side panel rows 71-76, 81-86, and 91-97, depending on size selection. Additionally, the pattern requires shaping techniques including armhole decreases (casting off multiple stitches at the beginning of rows followed by single-stitch decreases on alternating and fourth rows), shoulder shaping, and back neck shaping with stitch holders for later finishing.

Stitches Used

• Moss Stitch: A fundamental textured stitch created by alternating knit and purl stitches in a specific sequence, used on the sides and body of the garment to create visual interest and fabric stability
• Cable Stitch: Twisted stitches created by crossing groups of stitches over each other using a cable needle, worked in repeating patterns on the side panels
• Stockinette Stitch: Implied as the base structure, created by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side
• Decreases: Single-stitch decreases at armholes and shoulders for shaping the garment to the body
• Cast-off (Bind-off): Used to secure stitches at armholes, shoulders, and final edges

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Iris Dress is designed to be worked using two complementary Rowan yarns held together as one. The primary yarn is Rowan Alpaca Soft DK in Champagne, a lightweight double-knit weight yarn, with quantities varying by size from 15 to 19 grams (approximately 235 yards total for the smallest size). This is paired with Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Lustre, a delicate laceweight yarn, used in quantities of 9 to 12 grams (approximately 686 yards total for the smallest size). Working these two strands together creates a blended yarn with the warmth and softness of alpaca combined with the lustrous sheen and drape of silk.

The pattern is worked on 4mm (US size 6) needles, a standard size appropriate for the combined yarn weight. The tension requirement is 19 stitches and 35 rows to 10 centimeters measured over moss stitch using the 4mm needles with both yarn strands held together. This relatively tight gauge ensures the fabric has sufficient body and structure for a fitted dress silhouette.

Additional tools required include a cable needle for manipulating stitches in the cable pattern sections, and stitch holders for temporarily securing stitches during construction, particularly for the back neck opening and front shaping.