Eliza Tunic Dress

Eliza Tunic Dress by JenStarKnits

What is Being Made

The Eliza Tunic Dress is a top-down lace work tunic dress designed for babies, featuring raglan capped sleeves that make it an ideal garment for summer wear. The dress includes functional shoulder buttons that provide ease of dressing for infants. This downloadable knitting pattern is available in four sizes ranging from newborn to 6-12 months, with finished chest measurements of 39 cm (15 1/4"), 43 cm (17"), 47 cm (18 1/2"), and 51 cm (20") respectively.

Construction Techniques

The Eliza Tunic Dress employs a top-down construction method, which allows knitters to try on the garment as they work and easily adjust the length. The pattern is initially worked flat for the upper portion of the dress, then transitioned to working in the round for the remainder of the garment. This mixed construction approach combines the precision of flat knitting with the efficiency and seamlessness of circular knitting. The raglan sleeve shaping is integrated into the main body during the top-down process, creating a smooth, well-fitted garment.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The Eliza Tunic Dress features lace work as a primary design element, creating an open, delicate aesthetic perfect for warm weather. The pattern utilizes several fundamental knitting stitches and techniques:

• Stockinette stitch – the primary stitch used throughout the garment, providing a smooth, classic fabric base
• Yarn overs (YO) – essential for creating the lace pattern details
• Knit two together (K2Tog) – used for decreases, particularly in shaping the raglan sleeves
• Knit front and back (KFB) – an increase technique for shaping
• Bind off purlwise (BOP) – for finishing edges with a refined appearance

The pattern also incorporates stitch markers to help track pattern repeats and shaping points throughout the construction process.

Materials and Tools Required

The Eliza Tunic Dress is best knit with baby soft DK weight yarn, specifically Rico Baby Cotton Soft DK (125 meters / 137 yards per 50g ball). This yarn blend combines 50% acrylic and 50% cotton, creating a soft, breathable fabric ideal for delicate baby garments. The pattern requires 2 to 3 balls of 50g yarn depending on the selected size.

Essential knitting tools include:

• 4 mm (US 6) circular needles, 40 cm (16") in length, for both flat and circular knitting sections
• 5 stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and raglan increases
• Cable needle for any twisted or cabled stitch details
• Tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends and seaming if needed
• 2 to 3 x 15mm buttons (quantity depends on size) for the shoulder closures

The pattern specifies a gauge of 20 stitches and 32 rows over 10 cm (4") in stockinette stitch, which is essential to achieve the correct finished measurements after blocking.

Difficulty Level

The Eliza Tunic Dress is rated as an intermediate knitting project, making it suitable for knitters with some experience. The combination of top-down construction, lace work, and raglan shaping requires solid foundational skills, including comfort with increases and decreases, reading pattern instructions, and managing stitches on circular needles.