- 1). Draw a pattern for the dress. Lay a T-shirt or A-line dress on a piece of large paper. Draw around the top to create the pattern for the bodice. The dress will have a scoop neck in front, no sleeves and a button closure in the back. Be sure to size it a little large; crocheting can take a while, and babies grow very quickly. For the skirt, use a rectangle of fabric that is twice as wide as the bodice and long enough to come just below the knees.
- 2). Start the bodice by crocheting a chain long enough to go all the way around the back and front of the dress. On the last stitch, single crochet in the next to last stitch, and continue back across the chain. Repeat till the band of crocheting is wide enough to reach the bottom of the armholes. Lay the crocheting out on a flat surface. Fold the ends toward the middle so that they meet snugly. Use bits of contrasting-colored yarn to mark the bottoms of the arm holes.
- 3). Crochet over to the marker from the edge where you stopped before laying the fabric out. When you reach the marker, turn the work and slip stitch back to the second stitch, and then crochet across using a single crochet stitch. Repeat, checking the crocheting against the pattern to make sure it is correctly following the curve of the sleeve. Continue until the bottom of the neck shaping is reached, then slip stitch over to the strap edge. Crochet until the strap is long enough to reach over the shoulder down to the bib front, even though the front is not yet created. If you are unsure of the needed length, fasten off the end of the thread with a yarn holder to make it easy to adjust later. Repeat the process on the opposite side.
- 4). Crochet back and forth across the front, decreasing on both sides to create sleeves. The front edge of the sleeves will need to scoop in more deeply than the back for the wearer to have freedom of movement with her arms. When the band of crochet has reached the bottom of the neck, mark the center of the front. Crochet back across the front to the edge of the arm. Continue the arm decrease and reverse the work. Crochet to within three or four stitches of the center and then reverse. With each subsequent row, decrease the neck edge one or two stitches until you are crocheting on a narrow strap. Make the strap long enough to reach the collarbone. Make sure the back strap will fit over the shoulder. Make a button hole strap on the end of the back strap. Repeat on the other side. Make button loops on one side of the back opening.
- 5). Single crochet around the bottom of the bodice, reverse and begin the first row of crochet shell stitches. Chain three stitches, make one stitch in the second stitch of the chain, forming a corner. Chain one, and then triple chain in the waistband, three stitches from the edge, three times; skip one, triple chain three, and continue on around the bodice, reverse and repeat for a second row. Single chain across all and connect the opposite edge of the skirt. From here, continue the shell stitch around the skirt till the desired length is reached. Trim by doing a single chain all around the bottom, then by doing a single stitch, chain three, skip three stitches and do a single chain.
- 6). Sew button to the straps and to the back. For the child's comfort these should be flat buttons or crocheted bobbles. Crochet a chain 12 to 18 inches long, then double stitch back across it. Fasten off the thread. Roll up the strip of crocheting, and stitch one edge of it together in a knot. Pull out the other edge to create a multi-floral blossom. Stitch to the waist of the bodice.
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