Thursday, December 19, 2013

Making an Irish Crochet Dress.

I am so exited about this project. This is the first time that I worked with this wonderful Irish crochet technique. I confess that this project took me more time to finish than my other dresses using regular crochet. The difference of Irish crochet is that the motifs are made first, then pinned on a pattern. The mesh stitch is worked around motifs. 
I used as a pattern my favorite dress; I pinned on the motifs.

After finishing the front side of the dress, I worked the other side.


I joined  the back and front with a mesh stitch; that way they will blend perfectly. 
Before unpinning your work, it's important to press it. This way it will maintain its form, otherwise it will become distorted.

I decided to add sleeves on my dress.

A typical floral or leaf motifs are worked over a foundation cord, pulling up the cord periodically to make stitches lie flat. I didn't use a cord. To make a leaf motif: Work 15 chains, 3 single crochet in second chain from hook.(to form the tip of the leaf) Work 2 half double crochet on each of the next 2 chains, then the rest with double crochet. The last 3 chains work: 2 half double crochet and 1 single crochet. Turn, repeat on the other side.

It's important to work the 3 single crochet on the tip of the leaf, this way the leaf will not curl up.
Work 3 rows in total.
Then work on base of leaf 1 single crochet on the next stitch,1 half double crochet on the next stitch , chain 1, 1 double crochet, chain 1, repeat to the top of the leaf, on last 2 stitches work 1 half double crochet finishing with 3 single crochet on tip of leaf. Work all the way down on the leaf's edge a single crochet turn, slip stitch all the way up to the tip of the leaf. Single crochet on each stitch to the base of the leaf. Turn, slip stitch all around the leaf. Work 15 chains for the other connected leaf. Repeat instructions. Work 24 chains for stem. 


Work single crochet on each chain of stem.Turn, single crochet all the way down. Fasten off.
Pinning motifs on pattern.
Working mesh stitch around motifs.

Join sleeve to dress with a mesh stitch.

I crocheted buttons for the back of the dress.
Here is the dress with a red lining underneath.


~Have a wonderful day full of  beautiful things and a happy Christmas around your loved ones.~

13 comments:

Rosa Juliana said...

beautiful works

Lady of the Woods said...

This is soooo beautiful! I adore crochet and it must feel wonderful to make your own dress this way!....lovely job!

Unknown said...

nice works

Unknown said...

For a first time dress, I would say you nailed the design down pretty good. What a genius technique that you used. The dress turned out very nice.

Unknown said...

Very nice dress. Loved your technique too.

Unknown said...

Wonderful dress!! You make it look easy to :)

Fabricia said...

Very nice post! Just a quick question: is your irish crochet dress stretch? Did the dress you used as a pattern stretch? I am thinking about doing my own dress too but not sure how the fabric of the dress to be the pattern should be. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Beautiful work done n thanks for sharing it

Unknown said...

Beautiful work done by u n thanks for sharing

Reign Gray said...

It doesn't tend to stretch much as Irish crochet is done with cotton thread. Cotton if you've worked with it before in other sizes such a DK weight yarn resistant to stretching so is why it's great for bags. Things that carry weight.

Danielle said...

Hi. I was wondering how you added the button and button holes.
Gorgeous work

Danielle said...

Gorgeous!
Did you just use a basic patter for the button holes?

RC said...

Thank you for this post as I knew nothing about Irish crochet. Your detailed explanation is very helpful.

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