Spring dress

“Two and a half year ago, someone very close to me got seriously ill. I found it very difficult to accept her sickness and anguish. Soon, I realized that I had to do something to keep myself sane. Knitting has been a passion for me for a long time; when you feel unwell, you often seek comfort and relief deep inside yourself. This is exactly what I did.

Because I hadn’t had “7 happy days”, I decided to design and knit for myself “7 happy dresses.” To please myself.

To please myself. Change evil into good.
An attempt to change things, to change reality. Make circumstances better for me, to some extent. Change evil into good. My own therapy. My aim was to design dresses that would make me feel better and delight me.
Sinfónía (Symphony): this dress is all about combining colors. I think a lot about colors; finding the best combinations is both a need and a passion. Sinfónía was recently published in the magazine Lopi 30, published by Ístex.
Kjóllinn um vorið (Spring dress): who in Iceland doesn’t like spring? A vintage pleated skirt inspired this design. Spring melts the snow. Spring melts men’s hearts after a dark and rigorous winter. I wanted to capture the spirit of spring in this dress.
The third dress is called Vökuró (Evening peace); the fourth Kossin (The Kiss); I named the fifth one Líða (Well being) and the sixth Angist (Anguish). I still have to design the last dress but I know it will be full of joy and color.”

The designer: Bergrós Kjartansdóttir comes from Hornstrandir and Jökulfjörð. She has always been interested in textile arts and craft, which is clearly apparent in her designs. She worked for many years as a sale manager for the knitting magazine, Tinna,and her patterns have since been published in the magazine. She also wrote a column called “Spuni” about textiles, for the newspaper Morgunblaðið and for the magazines Vikan and Húsfreyja. Bergrós now designs for Ístex, the main wool producer in Iceland.

In addition to designing knitwear, Bergrós also makes jewelry inspired by textiles and nature. Here is what she says about her two jewelry collections, “Kóngsdóttur” (The King’s Daughter) and “Yndi” (Charm): “Crochet motifs from old shawls become earrings, necklaces, rings or bracelets. As a textile designer, it’s a great reward to be technically able to transpose delicate crochet lace into pure silver. Merely an adventure where the King’s daughter rules over everything in her kingdom. As someone with a degree in literature, it’s a pleasant game to play with words. Handicraft is a joyful hobby and the one who has a jewel from the Yndi collection can ask upload: “Where is my charm?” I think it’s funny.”

Bergrós’s website: tibra.is

Sizes: After washing (in cm/ Inches) XS(S,M,L)

Finished bust (slimfit): 72(76,85,93)cm/28.5(30,33.5,36.5)”
Length to underarm: 66(68,70,73)/26(27,27.5,29)”
Arm length: 29(30,32,34)cm / 11.5(12,12.5,13.5)

Needles: circular needle 60 cm/23.5” long and double pointed needles (dpn’s) nr 2½ and 6 / US 2 and 10

Gauge: 10 cm / 4 “ = 16 sts in stocking st on nr 6 / US 10 needle

Yarn:
Drops Alpaca: 100% alpaca, 50 gr = ca 167 m/ 183 yards, 50 gr/skein
MC A – 7238 green: 6(7,7,8) skeins
CC B – 0100 white: 2(2,2,2) skeins

Model shown features a size M but the dress is very stretchy.

Techniques: knitting in the round, intarsia.

Pattern: once you’ve made your payment, you will receive an email with a link to download the pattern PDF. We don’t send patterns by snailmail.

Errata: no mistake was found in this pattern.