Pattern description from Lace Style: “In this elegant dress and stole ensemble, Shirley Paden proves that sometimes you can’t have too much of a good thing. She chose a relatively large lace pattern as the allover design for a body-hugging and curve-revealing dress and repeated it on the accompanying stole. To simplify the knitting and to avoid introducing an element that might interfere with the lace pattern in the body of the dress, Shirley used different needle sizes (and therefore different gauges) to shape the hips, waist and bust. The dress closes at the back with ten tiny buttons; a slit at the back hem facilitates walking while maintaining the slim fit.”

Finished Size: 23½“ (59.5 cm) wide and 70” (178 cm) long, not including knotted fringe. Fringe will add 7” (18 cm) at each end; stole will stretch slightly in length when worn.

Yarn: DK weight (CYCA #3 Light).
Blu Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (50% alpaca, 59% silk; 146 yd (133 m)/50 g): #137 sapphire (aqua); 11 skeins for stole.

Needles:

• Size 8 (5 mm): straight.
• Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: A few yards (meters) of smooth contrasting waste yarn for measuring gauge and for holding stole sts; markers (m); tapestry needle; stitch holders; size D/3 (3.25 mm) crochet hook; thirteen ½“ (1.3 cm) buttons (10 for back opening, 3 for lower back slit).

Gauge: See Notes for instructions on how to work the gauge swatch. In Closed Bud pattern from chart, after blocking: 45 sts = 9½“ (24 cm) & 52 rows = 7” (18 cm) on size 8 (5 mm) needles.

Notes from Lace Style:

• Beginning with the largest needles for your size, work a gauge swatch on 47 stitches as follows: 1 selvedge stitch (knit every row), work 45 stitches in pattern from Closed Bud chart, 1 selvedge stitch (knit every row). Work two complete pattern repeats (52 rows). Block the finished swatch strip, then measure the gauge measuring inside the selvedge stitches; do not include the selvedge stitches in determining the gauge.

• Knit the first and last stitch of every row for selvedge stitches; these selvedge stitches are not shown on the chart and are not included in calculating the measurements shown on the schematic.