Party Dress with Knit Bodice by Joan McGowan-Michael

Party Dress with Knit Bodice

Knitting
April 2007
Aran / Worsted ?
18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches
in Wide Rib using larger needles
US 5 - 3.75 mm
US 7 - 4.5 mm
460 - 736 yards (421 - 673 m)
Finished measurements 31.5, 34, 37, 39.5, 42, 45, 47.5, 50 inch chest; 12, 12.5, 13, 13.5, 14, 14.5, 15, 15 inch length to armhole at side seam.
English

From Knitting Lingerie Style:



During the early 1950s, corselette-and-petticoat combinations were fashionable underpinnings for the New Look created by Christain Dior.  The wasp waist formed by the corselette--a strapless one-piece undergarment that carefully shaped a woman’s body from the bust to the hips--and the full skirts buoyed by petticoats created the New Look’s ultra feminine and extremely popular silhouette.  Inspired by that dramatic shape, I’ve created  a somewhat casual bodice in a rib stitch to simulate the boning of a corselette and attached a bubble skirt stuffed with tulle.  The combination is transformed by sparkly yarn and iridescent fabric into a one-of-a-kind party dress.  But don’t let this design stop with cocktail parties.  The right yarn and fabric combination can alter it’s look significantly.