Button Candy Dotted Yoke Dress

Just in time for the last days of summer, I have a new pattern. Button Candy:  a little wool dress that’s as sweet when worn as a tunic over leggings as it is on its own.  Addie loves the sample, and I’m excited about dressing her in it all fall and winter, and maybe even next spring.  It’s my favorite sort of children’s design – the kind that’s wearable three seasons out of the year (four if you knit it in cotton) and grows with them. The wide neckline and generous sleeves pretty much ensure you will get at least a year out of this garment, and maybe more if your child is older and growth has leveled off a bit.

Besides the fact that Button Candy will fit for a good long time, my favorite thing about this dress is the dotted yoke. It’s worked up in a simple colorwork pattern that’s easy enough for a new stranded knitter to tackle, and the result is so bright and dimensional.

The technique I used to make the yoke is a stitch dictionary staple, but I haven’t seen it featured in many patterns. Neither have I seen it worked in two colors (though I am likely not the first knitter to try it). Since it may not be as familiar as, say, a double moss stitch, I put together a brief how-to below.

Two-Color Cobnut Stitch

Round 1:

1. Purl 3(this number will increase by 1 stitch for each additional round of dots)
2. Bring the mc yarn to the back of your work.
3. With the cc yarn, knit into the front of the next stitch, and without dropping it from the needle, knit into the back and then into the front again. You will have increased 2 stitches.
4. Bring the mc yarn to the front of your work and hold the cc yarn to the back
5. Repeat until you have completed the round

Rounds 2 and 3:

1. Purl the mc stitches and k the cc stitches. Be sure to not pull the cc yarn too tightly across the back of the cc stitches, as this will cause your cobnuts to not stand out as much.

Round 4:

1. Purl the mc stitches, and using the mc yarn, knit all three cc sts together to complete 1 cobnut.

For nice, puffy dots, it’s important you choose a suitable yarn for the contrasting color. My version features a plied sport weight merino for the main color and a single ply, dk weight yarn for the dots. The difference in weight, as well as the difference in texture, really helps the dots pop.  If you do decide to choose two yarns of the same weight, hold the contrasting color double and you will achieve a similar dimensional effect.

If you’re ready to knit your own Button Candy Dress, come join the knit-along in the Make Ready Ravelry Group.

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