Tayler Harris For Purl Soho: Midsummer Dress
Our Midsummer Dress, designed by Tayler Harris, is as easy as a summer’s day, elegant but carefree… And also, one of the best ways we can think of to launch new colors in the summeriest of summery yarns: Our gorgeous Picnic Cotton!
Tayler knit this dress from the bottom up, first in two pieces to make the split hem, then joining to knit in the round straight up to the armholes, where she separates again for the front and back. Some simple finishing, and it’s nothing but blue skies as you slip this beauty on!
Subtle details make all the difference. Lines of slipped stitches on the sides and front add both style and structure to the finished dress, and a collar extension worked around the back adds a bit of polish to the neckline.
When you’re looking for light and airy, our Picnic Cotton is a wonderful choice, and with seven new colors, including the fresh Mint Julip above, there’s even more joy to be had! One hundred percent Peruvian Pima cotton, this yarn’s extra-long fibers mean that it’s durable enough for this everyday dress and soft enough that you’ll actually want to wear it every day!
Picnic Cotton’s unique structure is called “ingabbiato,” which means caged and refers to its fluffy, white core wrapped in delicate, colored threads. The effect is a marled fabric with a subtly rustic texture… More details to elevate this lovely dress!
Whether you pick up one of Picnic Cotton’s inspiring new colors or a favorite you’ve been eyeing already, while away summer’s long days by casting on for this breezy, beautiful dress!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Designed for Purl Soho by Tayler Harris. Based in Utah, Tayler finds inspiration for her designs from the unique landscapes of her home state. From the beautiful mountains and canyons to the national parks and natural landscapes, she loves to incorporate the colors, textures, and shapes of her favorite places.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoMidsummerDress, and #PurlSohoPicnicCotton. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 10 (11, 12, 13, 14) (15, 17, 18, 19) skeins of Purl Soho’s Picnic Cotton, 100% Peruvian Pima cotton yarn. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 164 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 1535 (1700, 1910, 2070, 2245) (2455, 2710, 2920, 3115) total yards required. We used the colors Blue Light and Mint Julep.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 40-inch circular needles
- Spare US 4 (3.5 mm) needle
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A Midsummer Dress Pattern (Please Note: The Midsummer Dress Pattern is no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.)
GAUGE
26 stitches and 36 rows/rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
SIZES
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
39½ (43, 48, 51¾, 55½) (59, 64, 67¾, 71½)
To fit actual chest circumference of approximately 30–32 (34–36, 38–40, 42–44, 46–48) (50–52, 54–56, 58–60, 62–64) inches, with 7–10 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 39½ (43, 48, 51¾, 55½) (59, 64, 67¾, 71½) inches
- Finished Length from Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 37¾ (38½, 38¾, 39, 39½) (40½, 41¼, 42, 42½) inches
Sample: The Blue Light dress shown here is size 39¼, and the Mint Julep dress is size 43 worn with 9 inches of ease.
PATTERN
Please Note: The Midsummer Dress Pattern is no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
LEARN ABOUT PICNIC COTTON + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Picnic Cotton brings the spirit of a soft summer breeze to this project! 100% Peruvian Pima cotton, this fingering-weight yarn starts with a warm-white roving core, which gets intermittently wrapped in delicate, colored threads. Knit up, it makes a beautifully marled fabric with a lovely drape. Machine wash- and dryable, Picnic Cotton comes in very affordable 50-gram skeins and a palette inspired by the joy of summer!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of Picnic Cotton knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop cotton yarn
- Shop plant-based yarn
- Shop machine-washable yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
I love the picnic cotton yarn, Do you have a tee shirt pattern that would work nicely in this yarn?
Hi Ruth,
We’ve designed one tee for Picnic Cotton so far, which is the Drawstring Camisole. Other than that though, Picnic Cotton will work great with most of our other designs for fingering weight yarns! In particular, I think that the Contour Tee is a great pattern for this yarn.
All the best,
Lili
Sweet new pattern! Just thinking ahead, since my summer projects are busily planned out, I’m wondering which PS yarn you may suggest for a winter project. Do you think Linen Quill would work or would it be too much lighter in grist than the Picnic Cotton, and it would be a bit unpredictable? Thanks!
Hi Patrice,
I think Linen Quill will work great for this pattern! 26 stitches in 4 inches is a gauge that we’ve found is pretty typical of this yarn, so it’ll be easy to match. Line Weight would be another good choice!
All the best,
Lili
Wonderful – I used “rhubarb” for ‘Childhood Pullover’ last fall and have looked for a good choice to use it again!
I’m currently knitting this dress out of your picnic cotton. Love it thus far but I think there’s an error. Because of where the marker is placed when knitting the front hem (working back and forth on this part) when the front and back hems are joined for working in the round, the instructions are incorrect for slipping the stitches on the first row of the body. It should read:
Round 1: knit to 2 stitches before the next marker, slip 2, sm, [knit to 1 stitch before next marker, slip 1, sm] 2 times
Otherwise your front slipped stitches will be in the wrong place.
Hi Lea,
Thanks for reaching out directly about this! You’re correct, there is an error in this line of the pattern, and we’ll fix it in the PDF as soon as possible. Once we’ve updated that, you can re-download the pattern from your Purl Soho account to access the latest version, but in the meantime, I can confirm that your suggestion is correct!
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you. I’ve already fixed it on my copy so I’m good. Love knitting it and the picnic cotton is lovely!
Hi – I love the look of this pattern but I’d rather a shirt than a dress. I’m a fairly new knitter so maybe this is a dumb question, but I could make the pattern as-written but with a shorter hem and body to turn it into a top, yes?
Hi PK,
That’s a great question, and your idea will absolutely work! To make a shorter version of this pattern, just work each hem and the body for fewer rows/rounds.
All the best,
Lili