Ripples & Short Rows Dress in BC Garn Allino - 2279BC - Downloadable PDF

Ripples & Short Rows Dress in BC Garn Allino – Pattern No. 2279BC by Rachel Søgaard

About This Knitting Pattern

The Ripples & Short Rows Dress is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern designed by Rachel Søgaard and published by BC Garn as pattern number 2279BC. It produces a stylish, full-length knitted dress with a distinctive textured surface created entirely through a combination of a ripple stitch pattern and short-row shaping. The design is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore more structured shaping methods.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a single garment: a knitted dress worked in DK weight yarn. The dress is available in four sizes — S, M, L, and XL — with bust measurements of 82 (90) 98 (116) cm and a total length of 88 (90) 92 (94) cm. The construction is unusual and interesting: rather than being worked from the hem upward or top-down in the round, the dress is knitted sideways, from one sleeve across to the other. The front and back panels are worked separately in this manner and then seamed together at the sides and shoulders to complete the garment.

Construction Method

The sideways construction of this dress gives it a unique character. Each panel — front and back — begins at one sleeve edge with a cast-on of 30 (32) 34 (36) stitches, which then expands through a series of incremental cast-ons along one edge to build the body width. Stitches are increased in stages — including a large cast-on of 136 (138) 140 (142) stitches at once — to reach a working stitch count of 180 (184) 188 (192) stitches. The body is then worked straight in the ripple pattern for a set number of rows depending on size, before the short-row gusset section begins. After the gussets are complete, stitches are cast off in reverse order to mirror the shaping on the second sleeve side.

The finishing involves closing the side seams from the lower edge up to the sleeve edge, and sewing the shoulder seams on both sides, leaving an opening of approximately 19 (20) 21 (22) cm from each sleeve edge to form the neckline.

Techniques Used

• Short-row shaping: The defining technique of this pattern, short rows are used to create the ripple and gusset effect across the body of the dress. Rather than working across all stitches on every row, the knitter turns mid-row at specific stitch counts, creating wedge-shaped sections that build up a three-dimensional wave or ripple texture.
• Sideways / horizontal construction: The entire dress is knitted from sleeve edge to sleeve edge, meaning the rows run horizontally across the body rather than vertically. This affects how the fabric drapes and how the ripple texture is oriented on the finished garment.
• Incremental cast-on and cast-off shaping: Stitches are added and removed in graduated steps along one edge to shape the underarm and sleeve transitions, requiring careful attention to the sequence of increases and decreases.
• Gusset construction: A repeated short-row sequence is worked nine times in total (the pattern specifies repeating the short-row block eight times after the first, yielding nine gussets), building the ripple texture systematically across the body width.
• Slip-stitch turns: When turning mid-row during short rows, stitches are slipped — either purlwise or knitwise depending on the row direction — to help close the gap at each turning point and keep the fabric neat.
• Seaming: Side seams and shoulder seams are sewn during finishing to assemble the two identical panels into the completed dress.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K): Standard knit stitch, used throughout the ripple pattern on right-side rows.
• Purl (P): Standard purl stitch, used throughout the ripple pattern on wrong-side rows and as part of the short-row turning sequences.