Lil Cutesies Dress Headband and Shoes

This was the dress I attempted to make back in January for the Lil Cutesies donation but failed to realize that the directions for the skirt change after the first row to make a wider skirt. I kept the first outfit as it was still cute just not the pattern I had intended to make and promised I'd come back to make the pattern close to the one written.

The pattern is available on Ravelry here the designer is not currently selling on Etsy.

Notes:

I used a B hook for the top and a D hook for the skirt. I chose to close the back rather than use a tie. It is loose enough to slide on and off without needing to leave an opening and adding a tie.

This was made with Bernat Baby Pink, White, and Yellow.

I left off a row of the knickers which I then replaced when I added the bodice. This let me use the actual first row of the bodice to crochet the row in back loops to allow me to use the front loops later for my my skirt row. Others may not find this necessary but I found it was much easier to get an even starter row for the skirt all around.

I wrote a note last year and even read it to remind myself that the first skirt row and the remiaing skirt rows are different. I had worked on the undergarment trying to make it less bulky this year and while not completely there it is improved. Having screwed up the first outfit I reminded myself to follow the directions and remember the first row is different from the rest of the rows on this outfit.

I went back to the headband for this outfit and again a reminder to READ the directions for the flower as the pattern is worked in both the front and back rows to make each flower. I made two to layer them before sewing to the headband.

I also found myself making a change to the shoes. Not sure if I did before and didn't record or if this is just one of those "special" years when things just aren't fitting like they used to and I'm making adjustments on the fly. For the strap row I did 6 stitches chained 10 skipped to last 6 stitches and stitched to the end. I added these notes to the paper pattern as I ended up checking my online notes where this note exsisted but for some reason I hadn't included it on my paper copy and I couldn't get the shoes to fit as written.