928 Clementine - Dress Knitting Pattern for Kids in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Sport

Pattern 928 Clementine – Kids' A-Line Dress & Tunic Knitting Pattern by Julie Turjoman

Designed by Julie Turjoman, pattern #928 Clementine is a charming and versatile children's knitting pattern available as a downloadable PDF. The design produces an A-line silhouette that is intentionally sized to grow with the child — worn first as a dress and later repurposed as a tunic top, making it an exceptionally practical addition to any child's handknitted wardrobe. Long sleeves, a classic Peter Pan collar, and a wide contrast color chevron band give this piece a timeless yet modern aesthetic that stands out from more basic children's knitwear.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a single garment: a long-sleeved A-line children's dress designed to transition into a tunic as the child grows. The A-line shaping provides comfortable ease through the body, while the generous length ensures extended wearability across multiple seasons and size stages. The Peter Pan collar adds a sweet, classic finishing detail, and the chevron contrast band introduces visual interest and a pop of color. The pattern is sized to fit children from 6–12 months through 10–12 years, covering seven sizes in total, with a finished chest measurement ranging from 19¾" to 31" with 2"–4" positive ease built in.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The garment is worked from the hem upward, which is a traditional and approachable method that allows knitters to try the piece on as they go and adjust length easily.
• Worked flat (seamed): Pieces are knitted flat on straight or circular needles and then seamed together. This classic construction method produces neat, structured edges and is well-suited to garments that benefit from a defined shape, such as this A-line silhouette.
• Seaming: Finishing the garment involves joining the flat-knitted pieces using seaming techniques, which contribute to the garment's durability and clean finish — particularly important for children's clothing that will see frequent wear and washing.
• Chevron stitch pattern: A wide contrast color band is worked in a chevron stitch pattern, creating a bold zigzag motif. Chevron knitting typically involves a combination of increases and decreases placed at regular intervals to form the characteristic V-shaped waves.
• Peter Pan collar construction: The collar is worked as a separate or integrated flat piece, shaped to produce the rounded, flat-lying collar characteristic of the Peter Pan style.
• Two-color work: The pattern uses a main color (MC) and a contrast color (CC), introducing color-change techniques at the chevron band section.

Stitches Used

• Chevron stitch: Used for the wide contrast color band, this stitch pattern creates the signature zigzag effect through strategic increases and decreases across the row.
• Stockinette stitch: The primary body fabric of the dress is likely worked in classic stockinette, which is standard for smooth, drapey children's garments and is implied by the sport-weight gauge and construction style.
• Ribbing or edging stitches: Typical of garments with collars, cuffs, and hem finishes, structured edging stitches help the collar and sleeve cuffs lie flat and maintain their shape.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is written specifically for Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Sport, a 100% Extrafine Superwash Merino Wool yarn put up in 50 g / 153-yard skeins. This yarn is described as an easy-care fiber, making it ideal for children's garments that require frequent laundering. The superwash treatment means the finished dress can be machine washed without felting — a significant practical benefit for parents.

• Main Color (MC): Color 18 Ice Blue — required in 3 (3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6) skeins depending on size.
• Contrast Color (CC): Color 13 Burgundy — required in 1 (1, 1,