Paradis Dress in Viking Of Norway - UK-2324-1 - Downloadable PDF

Paradis Dress in Viking Garn – Children's Knitting Pattern UK-2324-1 by Turid Stapnes

The Paradis Dress is a charming children's knitted dress designed by Turid Stapnes and published by Viking of Norway under pattern reference UK-2324-1. Worked in a delicate two-colour combination using Viking Bamboo yarn, this pattern produces a lightweight, breathable dress with decorative colourwork detailing, making it an ideal warm-weather garment for girls. The design is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with circular knitting, simple colourwork, and raglan shaping techniques.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a children's knitted dress, worked from the bottom up in the round and sized to fit children aged 1 through 12 years. The seven sizes cover chest circumferences from 48 cm up to 70 cm (approximately 19 to 27½ inches), with a whole length ranging from 40 cm to 69 cm (approximately 15¾ to 27¼ inches). The sleeves are short, measuring between 12 cm and 18 cm (approximately 4¾ to 7 inches) depending on size, giving the dress a sweet, summery silhouette.

The dress features a yoke construction with classic raglan shaping, meaning the sleeves and body are joined and worked together from the underarm upward, with decreases worked at four evenly spaced raglan lines to shape the shoulders and upper chest. A neckline opening is created at the front by transferring stitches to a holder and working back and forth in stocking stitch, with additional cast-offs to shape the neckline curve. This construction method results in a smooth, seamless finish across the yoke.

Techniques Used

• Circular knitting in the round – The body and sleeves are worked on circular needles, producing a seamless tube that eliminates the need for side seams.
• Raglan yoke shaping – Decreases are worked at four marked join points on every second round to shape the yoke. The specific decrease method used is a slip, knit one, pass slipped stitch over (psso) decrease, creating a neat, directional lean on the right side of the fabric.
• Colourwork using a charted diagram – The pattern references Diagram B, a colourwork chart worked in the round at a specific point on the sleeves, introducing a decorative band of pattern using the two yarn colours.
• Neckline shaping worked flat – After a set number of raglan decrease rounds, the centre front stitches are placed on a stitch holder and the remaining stitches are worked back and forth in rows, with stitches cast off at the beginning of each row to create the curved neckline opening.
• Stitch holder usage – Centre front stitches are held on a stitch holder while the neckline is shaped, a standard technique for creating a smooth, finished neckline in yoke garments.
• Tension/gauge swatching – The pattern places particular emphasis on achieving the correct tension before beginning, noting that accurate gauge is essential for a successful result.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch) – The primary stitch throughout the dress, worked in the round as knit every round, and worked flat as alternating knit and purl rows during the neckline shaping section.
• Colourwork pattern from Diagram B – A charted stitch pattern worked in the round on the sleeves, using both Pink no. 664 and Yellow no. 645 to create a decorative motif band.
• Slip stitch decrease (sl1, k1, psso) – Used consistently at all four raglan markers to reduce stitch count during yoke shaping.
• Cast-off at neckline – Standard cast-off worked at the beginning of rows to shape the front neckline curve.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is written specifically for Viking Bamboo yarn, a 6-ply weight yarn composed of 50% bamboo and 50% cotton, sold in