Skotta — Children’s Sleeveless Butterfly Dress Knitting Pattern

Skotta is Védís Jónsdóttir’s sleeveless A-line dress for children from Ístex’s Lopi 27, knitted in Léttlopi from the hem up: a deep eyelet-rib hem, a skirt narrowed in six panels, an 11-round band of butterflies just under the chest, and a front and back knitted separately and edged with crochet; the left shoulder closes with small buttons. The butterflies’ bodies and antennae are embroidered after the knitting. The pattern has two colour versions in sizes 2 to 8 years: red — crimson red with a white hem and a black band of white and sun yellow butterflies, the one in the photo — and blue — a lapis blue skirt and hem, a white band of crimson red and orange butterflies and, by our reading, a navy blue bodice; there is no photo of it. Orange (1410) and sun yellow (1411), the lower wings, are no longer made; every other colour in the pattern still is.

What you get

• The knitting pattern in English (PDF), emailed right after purchase — nothing is posted
• Two colour versions — red and blue
• Sizes 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 years
• The butterfly chart, with the embroidery marked on it and a key for both versions
• Yarn and needles are not included. The kits have this pattern and all the yarn: the red kit or the blue kit

Yarn used in the pattern (not included)

Red dress: Léttlopi — 50 g balls · ages 2 (3 4 6 8) years — plus “golden yarn” for the embroidery, with no code or amount printed
A 9434 crimson red — 3 (4 4 5 5)
B 0059 black — 1 (1 1 1 1)
C 1411 sun yellow — 1 (1 1 1 1) · no longer made — the red kit uses 1703 mimosa, practically the same golden yellow as the lower wings in the photo
D 0051 white — 1 (1 1 1 1)

Blue dress: Léttlopi — 50 g balls · ages 2 (3 4 6 8) years
A 1403 lapis blue — 2 (3 3 4 4)
B 0051 white — 1 (1 1 1 1)
C 1410 orange — 1 (1 1 1 1) · no longer made — the blue kit uses 1704 apricot, a warm ginger orange, browner and darker than a bright orange
D 9434 crimson red — 1 (1 1 1 1)
E 9420 navy blue — 1 (1 1 1 1)
Embroidery 1406 spring green — no amount printed
Embroidery 1402 heaven blue — no amount printed

Sizes

Gauge
18 sts × 24 rows = 10 cm (4″) in stocking stitch on 4.5 mm needles.

Needles
4.5 mm (US 7) circular needles, 40 and 60 cm — the skirt is knitted in the round, the front and back of the bodice back and forth
No double-pointed needles are needed — the dress has no sleeves

You will also need
A 3.5 mm (US E/4) crochet hook for the edging and buttonholes, 3–4 small buttons for the shoulder (the pattern gives no size) and stitch markers (the skirt uses 6) — all in the pattern’s list — plus a tapestry needle for the embroidery and for grafting the shoulder. The red dress also uses “golden yarn” for the embroidery.

How it is knitted
The skirt is knitted in the round from the hem up on a 4.5 mm circular. It starts with a deep border of single eyelet rib — P2, K3, with a small hole in each K3 rib every other round — in lapis blue (A) for the blue dress or white (D) for the red dress, which has one more round before crimson red (A) begins. In stocking stitch the skirt is divided into six panels with markers and narrowed at each marker three times, then by 4 stitches more at the sides — from 140–180 stitches at the hem to 100–140 at the chest. Just under the chest comes an 11-round band of butterflies from the chart, never more than two colours in a round, then 3 rounds in navy blue (E) for the blue dress or crimson red (A) for the red. The front and back are knitted separately, back and forth, with shaped armholes and a round neck; the pattern names no new colour for them, so by our reading the blue dress’s bodice is navy. The right shoulder is grafted and the left one left open. Two rounds of single crochet — navy for the blue dress, crimson red for the red — edge the armholes and neck, with 3–4 buttonholes on the front of the left shoulder, and the butterflies’ bodies and antennae are embroidered last.

Design: Védís Jónsdóttir — pattern from Lopi No. 27 (no. 2), Ístex.

How you get it — the pattern is a PDF in English. It is emailed to you right after purchase; nothing is posted.

Yarn — not included. We sell Ístex lopi by the ball in our yarn shop, or choose the kit, which has this pattern and all the yarn in one parcel.

No email? Check your spam folder, then write to support@icelandicstore.is with your order number. A person answers, Monday to Friday.