Every year in late August my niece invites my daughter for a birthday party lunch at the doll store, just the two girls, their moms, and grandmoms. And the dolls, of course. This has been a ritual since the girls were three. They are now nine, and this is the highlight of my daughter's summer. This year my daughter got a new doll dress before we went. It took me all summer to make.

I was inspired by a knitted skirt I saw in a magazine, with box pleats using a lace inset. The clean lines and a-line shape with the girly twist is just my style. Problem was, it was too big of a project. If I made it doll sized, however, and extended the lines all the way up into a sleeveless bodice with matching lace … Think nineteen twenties garden party.

Step one was to downsize it. I scaled all of the skirt measurements based on wanting the waist to be 20”. (Most 18” doll patterns use this waist size. Also, I measured the doll.) I chose to use Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread, Fashion 3 in white, to highlight the lace. As per the label suggestion, I used size 2. I knit a gauge, then converted my measurements to stitches and rows.

Step two was to do a test of the pleat, to make sure my decrease plan was going to work. This is when I tackled scaling the lace. The original inset was a twisting pattern that got narrower as the pleat got narrower. I tried starting the lace higher up in the pattern, but I got lost. (Remember my blog about left-handers reversing patterns?) So I ripped it out and knit the inset in stockinette, focusing on the pleat lines. I left a big loop after binding off so I didn't have to cut the yarn and blocked it to see if it would fold right. Success!

Step three was to knit the dress. As I didn’t have a lace pattern written down, I did some diagonal lines for the insets and it came out OK, but off center. (Note to self, always write down the lace pattern before starting to knit.) The bodice was more straightforward, and it helped that I had a doll to try it on.

I originally was going to sew the straps and leave only the neck opening to put on the dress, but when my daughter tested it she struggled to get the dress on. Having enough of an opening to put it on easily is very important. Kids won't use it if they can't get it on, and dolls are not nearly as flexible as people. So I extended the straps and added nylon snaps.

My daughter loves the new dress, and I've gotten lots of compliments on it. Only I can see the mistakes, but that's always the case, right?

So what did I learn?

• Always ALWAYS chart the lace pattern before you start, otherwise it won't look like you imagine.  (Even the bodice lace needed to be pulled once or twice until it was right.)
• I learned how to knit natural fold lines into fabric, but those lines need to be blocked to hold the shape.
• Cotton takes WAY too long to dry in humid weather. (It took almost two days.)

Do you have design stories? I'd love to hear them so visit my forum.