Crochet pattern for a summer skirt
The Lacy and Short Skirt is designed to dance with the ocean’s rhythm and flirt with the sunlight. Made with airy and breathable cotton/bamboo blend it is perfect for your sunny days by the water. The short length allowed for easy movement, whether you’re strolling along the shoreline or dipping your toes into the water. And the lacy stitch patterns will remind you of seashells on the sandy shore long after your vacation.
Inspiration
Back in February 2024, I saw a call of submission from Crochet Foundry magazine. They were looking for ideas for the summer issues and the July theme Resort caught my attention.
Here’s the description of it from the submission call: This luxurious crochet collection draws inspiration from the serene and exotic ambiance of the White Lotus Resort, offering a collection of garments and accessories that capture the essence of relaxation and indulgence in a tropical paradise. Picture flowing silhouettes in cool, breezy fabrics, adorned with intricate textures and tropical motifs.
I associate resorts with the ocean, sand, and seashells that you can find along the shore. So, I decided to create something light and airy, a fun and flowy piece to pack for your next beach vacation, and a skirt rang the bell right away. The seashells were an inspiration to choose a shell-like stitch pattern.
Yarn
And before any crochet project can begin, we need of course yarn. For this design, we needed:
- something light, but not too thin;
- because it is for warm summery days, a cotton or a cotton blend would be a great choice;
- needed something soft, so the fabric would be flowy;
- it would be nice to have a great selection of solid/tonal colors.
The yarn Bamboo Pop by Universal Yarn covered all the check marks.
Universal Yarn Bamboo Pop is a 50/50 cotton and bamboo blend DK weight yarn. It is light and breezy, great for projects in the warm weather. The yarn has a good twist, is very soft, and with a little bit of shine from the bamboo. It produces crochet and knit fabric that drapes easily. Absolutely great to work with, perfectly slides on the hook without any splits. Thanks, Universal Yarn for providing the yarn support for this design.
Construction
The Lacy and Short Skirt works from the waistband down and widens as the project progresses.
The skirt is made in 3 sections (or tiers) plus a border at the bottom. The transition between tiers brings you to an increased number of stitches, but because this change is where the new stitch pattern starts, you won’t realize that you’re actually increasing.
This was the fun part of this design for me how to choose stitch patterns, so they do all the work and I have less trouble with grading to all the sizes.
Even though this design is a short skirt, you can easily adjust it to your taste, and the pattern includes instruction on how to do it.
Stitch patterns
The skirt has 3 shell-like stitch patterns plus a border. The 1st one - Fairy Shells, starts from the waistband and goes about to the hip line. It is less lacy out of all 3. The 2nd - Jumping Shells, is in the middle and is more lacy and open. The 3rd - Blackberry Jam is even more open lace. The border gives a zig-zagging edge to the skirt.
Needed skills to make the skirt
The pattern difficulty is marked as Easy.
You’ll need to know how to chains, make single crochet, double crochet, and slip stitch. How to work several stitches into the same place (shells or V-stitch). How to work in the round.
The pattern is fully written and also includes charts for all the stitch patterns. If you are new to chart reading, the pattern also has links to my YouTube channel @Natalia_Yarncraft on how to read crochet charts in 2 parts: how to read flat (work in rows) charts and how to read in-the-round charts.
Sizes
The pattern is written for 9 sizes 1 (2, 3, 4) [5, 6, 7] (8, 9)
To ensure a good fit, choose a size based on hip measurements at the widest point.
Here are all the measurements:
a – Waist circumference: 29 (32.5, 38, 43) [47, 50.5, 54] (57.5, 63)” / 72.5 (81.5, 95, 107.5) [117.5, 126.5, 135] (144, 157.5) cm
b – Hip circumference: 32 (36, 42, 48) [52, 56, 60] (64, 70)” / 80 (90, 105, 120) [130, 140, 150] (160, 175) cm
c – Bottom hem circumference: 38.5 (43.25, 50.5, 57.5) [62.5, 67.25, 72] (76.75, 84)” / 96.5 (108, 126.5, 144) [156.5, 168, 180] (192, 210) cm
d – Length (all sizes): 16” / 40cm
What do you need to make the skirt
Yarn: DK weight yarn (size 3) soft cotton or cotton/bamboo blend, 450 (505, 590, 675) [730, 785, 840] (890, 980) yards / 410 (460, 535, 615) [665, 715, 765] (815, 895) m
The sample in size 5 is made with Universal Yarn Bamboo Pop in color 140 Crocodile.
Hook: US G/7 (4.5mm) (or size needed to match gauge)
Notions: Blocking mat and pins, measuring tape, scissors, tapestry needle
Optional: beads or shells, if you want to add them to your waist cord
Where to find the pattern Lacy and Short Skirt
The pattern is published in the online magazine Crochet Foundry July 2024 issue
Here is the affiliate link for the July issue. If you purchase through my link I may get a small compensation.
During summer 2024 the July issue will be available as a Summer bundle with June and August, as a single July issue it will be available later. If you would like to get more issues, check my affiliate link to the Crochet Foundry website:
If you prefer to add Lacy and Short Skirt design to your Ravelry favorites (I really appreciate it if you do) or into the queue, here is the link to Ravelry.
A few extra words about the magazine and my design.
Each issue of Crochet Foundry is not only a collection of several crochet patterns. It includes information about each designer (with all the links where you can find them), a story behind the collection, a few yarn craft related articles, a couple of puzzles/games, and more.
On the Crochet Foundry Blog, you can find interviews with designers from different issues.
My interview is published here.
Each pattern in the issue includes tester's pictures (want to be tester for my next designs, add yourself to a testing pool on Yarnpond website), yarn review, and has a few tips on how to style their designs.
Here’s my vision of how you can transform Lacy and Short Skirt, use it as a poncho or a top.
I hope you can enjoy making a project using this pattern, as much as I enjoyed designing it.
Happy crocheting!
Please, if you’re sharing your finished projects on social media, tag me @natalia_yarncraft and @crochetfoundrymagazine, and use the hashtag #LacyAndShortSkirt
ERRATA
If you download the magazine right after publication day, you can see a few errata, it was changed later on.
Don’t forget, with lengthening you’ll need more yarn. Measure already finished rounds 2-5 of the section you would like to lengthen, this is how many inches/cm each repeat will add to the length.
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