"Nina Dress" - Dress Knitting Pattern For Girls in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

Nina Dress – Girls' Knitting Pattern in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

The Nina Dress is a beautiful, elegant knitted dress designed for girls aged 1–2 up to 4–5 years, offered as a downloadable PDF pattern by MillaMia. Described by the brand as having a simple, neat shape, this dress is noted as being generously sized, making it important to check the actual garment measurements carefully before casting on. It is an ideal project for knitters who are moving beyond the absolute basics and are ready to develop their skills with a fully seamed, shaped garment.

What Is Being Made

The Nina Dress is a classic, wearable girls' dress with short sleeves and a ribbon waist tie. The finished garment is sized to fit chest measurements ranging from 57 cm (22½ in) up to 72 cm (28½ in), with lengths to shoulder spanning 45 cm to 64 cm depending on size. Short sleeves measure between 8 cm and 11 cm in length across the four sizes. A 140 cm (55 in) ribbon, approximately 25 mm (1 in) wide, is threaded through the dress to create a waist tie, and the pattern suggests experimenting with matching satin ribbon or contrasting grosgrain ribbon to vary the finished look. The pattern also recommends pairing the Nina Dress with the Louise Headband to use up any leftover yarn.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The dress is worked from the hem upward, a traditional approach that gives knitters clear progress milestones and makes length adjustments straightforward.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth on straight needles rather than in the round, producing flat fabric panels that are subsequently joined together.
• Seamed finishing: The individual flat-knitted pieces are sewn together after knitting is complete, a technique that produces a structured, neat finish well suited to a garment intended for everyday wear.
• Shaping: The pattern incorporates both decreasing and increasing to create the fitted silhouette of the dress body and sleeves.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (Stockinette stitch in US terminology): The primary stitch used throughout the body of the dress, creating a smooth, classic fabric surface.
• Garter stitch: Referenced in the abbreviations and used for borders or edging sections, garter stitch adds texture and prevents curling at edges.
• Moss stitch (Seed stitch in US terminology): Also listed among the abbreviations, this alternating knit-and-purl stitch creates a textured, non-rolling fabric often used for trims and neckbands.
• k2tog (knit two stitches together): A standard right-leaning decrease used in shaping.
• m1 (make one): An increase worked by picking up the loop lying before the next stitch and knitting into the back of it, used to add stitches neatly without creating a hole.
• m1p (make one purlwise): The purl version of the make one increase, worked on wrong-side rows where required.

Materials

• Yarn: MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino, a sport weight yarn, in 5 (6:7:7) × 50 g / 1¾ oz balls. The sample colourway shown is Plum (162). Suggested alternative colourways include Putty Grey (121), Midnight (101), Seaside (161), Lilac Blossom (104), and Claret (123), giving knitters a wide range of tonal options from soft neutrals to rich jewel tones.
• Needles: A pair of 3 mm (US 2) needles and a pair of 3.25 mm (US 3) straight needles are required.
• Notions: 140 cm (55 in) of ribbon, approximately 25 mm (1 in) wide, for the waist tie.