The posting for the estate sale, complete with photo, advertised a miniature trunk containing vintage doll clothes, but by the time I showed up, all that was left was the trunk and this sad little dress. Of course I had to rescue it.

It was quite grimy so I washed it, very gently. Even so, the moth holes I had already noticed appeared larger and more numerous when it had dried. Moth holes were clear evidence that the dress had been knit from wool yarn.

More holes . . .

And yet more holes . . .

I mended them as best I could. The dress was very cleverly designed, with lovely details that included contrasting textures on the bodice and skirt. Instead of being knit from top to bottom or bottom to top, the bodice was knit sideways, and using the garter stitch. You can see that the garter stitch rows on the bodice run vertically rather than horizontally.

Belt loops had been provided, though there was no sash to be found, and little pearl buttons. The crocheted edging in pale blue is a charming touch.

The skirt features an interesting pattern, as well as pleats. The effect of squares divided diagonally into triangles of contrasting textures is achieved by simply using the stockinette stitch, but treating the reverse side as the front for the half of the square that appears as a purl stitch. The pleats are created by inserting a purl stitch at the edge of each square in every row. The column of purl stitches creates a kind of dimple that forms a pleat.

I’m sure the dress was hand knit, by some doting mom or grandma. This photo, taken of the dress’s reverse side, shows the joint where the bodice was sewn to the skirt. It has a very hand-done look to me.

Other evidence of the dress being a homemade creation is a glitch involving the skirt. The skirt was knit as two separate panels, and when it came time to join them with a seam the knitter discovered that the pattern came together oddly. The purl triangles were facing one direction on one panel and the other direction on the other panel. You can see the result here.

Here’s the other seam, showing a similar mismatch, as well as the fact that the pattern’s rows are misaligned.

The dress fit one of my cloth-body dolls, and I found a piece of ribbon to use as a sash. At first I thought the back of the dress should have the buttons and the bow that anchored the sash.

But then I decided the buttons and bow were too cute to hide.

You might recognize some of these creatures from earlier Yarn Mania posts, as well as Knit & Nibble projects.