The Gerbera Dress: A Crochet Pattern Review

Crochet Pattern Review of the Gerbera Dress designed by Alanna of Hippy Daze Crochet. Review done by Emily of Crochet Aweigh for Cre8tion Crochet.

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It’s me, Emily with Crochet Aweigh.

The Gerbera Dress designed by Alanna Miall is the cutest little number that you simply NEED in your closet. This dress might be the perfect one to ring in the New Year if you start crocheting now! The ruffles are a fun accent that make this easy to dress up for a party or the holidays. If you prefer a more casual look you can easily dress it down for a family picnic, or a stroll through the park on a nice day. This design is made to measure so you can create it for yourself, or anyone who you can get measurements of!

Visit with me on Instagram @Crochet.Aweigh for all kinds of awesome crochet makes and inspiration.

If you love this dress, you’ll love the Mariposa Dress, also designed by Alanna Miall!

What Materials Do You Need to Crochet the Gerbera Dress?

• 1400+ meters (1400 meters is for size small) of any DK/Lightweight #3 yarn. Converted to yards is 1531 yards. I used just over 2,000 yards for my size, approximately a size US 12.
• E4/3.5mm Crochet Hook – We love Clover Amour Ergonomic hooks!
• Soft tape measure
• Scissors and yarn needle for weaving ends
• Stitch Markers – I love these cute kitty ones!
• Elastic between 2mm – 8mm. Alanna used 4mm for her sample dress.
• The Gerbera Dress, Paid Crochet Pattern from Hippy Daze Crochet

Material Notes:

Normally I would order yarn online for a larger project, but I was anxious to get started on this as I was selected as a pattern tester, and we had a deadline of about a month to complete the dress. I went to my local Hobby Lobby and selected an acrylic blend DK weight baby yarn in white. I chose this yarn because it was the only DK weight they had in white. I really wanted to make this in white, but when I swatched the baby yarn, I just wasn’t happy with it. I thought it would be too hot to wear comfortably where I live in Florida.

Instead of making a dress that I would never wear, I decided to switch to my “old faithful”: Berroco Modern Cotton DK. I chose the color 6692, or “Breakers”, but this dress would look amazing in any color! I usually wear a size 12 dress and I used just over 2,000 yards of the Berroco Modern Cotton DK. This is a 60% Pima Cotton / 40% Modal Rayon blend. You are probably familiar with cotton, but rayon is a unique fiber derived from the Beech Tree. By combining the cotton and rayon you get a yarn that withstands the test of time, has an incredible drape, soft feel, and is machine washable! Can I get an Amen?

One other thing that is important for the materials is the choice of elastic. Alanna is from Australia and they must sell their elastic by millimeter sizes because that is what she specifies for. When I went to Hobby Lobby all I could find for elastic was by the fractions of an inch. I chose a flat 1/4″ elastic, which was not the right choice. Choose a round elastic if you are going to make this dress. My flat elastic shows through the stitches and it would have been much more subtle if I had gone with a round elastic.

Made to Measure Notes:

This pattern is made to measure. Rather than being graded for specific sizes, the designer gives instructions on how to make a dress that fits to specific measurements. This has pros and cons. The advantages to made to measure is that you are less worried about gauge, that you can adjust the rows or stitches without worrying about the size, and add customizations. The biggest disadvantage to made to measure is that you can’t make a specific size garment without having those precise measurements. For example: you want to make a gift for a family member who lives across the country. You want it to be a surprise so you don’t want to ask them to measure themselves. You know they wear a size medium in regular clothes, but without the specific measurements it will be hard to make them a made to measure garment. It would be easier to find a garment pattern that was written for standard sizes and then you know that the medium would fit them. However, If you are someone who crochets mostly for themselves then made to measure patterns are amazing!

The measurements you need to take before beginning the Gerbera Dress pattern is as follows:

• Bust measurement divided by 2
• Top of breasts (where the elastic sits) to upper waist
• Under bust to top of the hips
• Hips circumference
• Waist to where you want the bottom of the dress (before the bottom ruffle) to be

How Long Does it Take to Crochet the Gerbera Dress?

I timed myself on this project and it took just under 30 hours. I typically wear a size 12 in dresses so if you are smaller than me then it will take you less time.

Gauge:

The gauge for the Gerbera Dress is 18 stitches across = 3.6″, and 10 rows high including the foundation row = 3.6″high. I made a gauge swatch with the E4/3.5mm hook Alanna recommended, but my swatch was way too small. I went up to and F/3.75mm hook and got it pretty close. You can see in the photos above that my width matched, but the height was a little short. I figured that since the width matched, and the pattern was made to measure, I could always add a few more rows in length if I need to. I personally move forward with the project whenever the width matches.

Pattern Notes:

This dress, considered a pattern for advanced beginners, is worked up in a few different steps. First we make 2 panels for front and back around the bust. The pattern repeat is only 2 rows, and uses only single crochet and double crochet. The “slanted” stitches that you see are only double crochets worked back across 3 other doubles. Visually it looks much harder than it actually is. The ruffles have a few more stitches thrown in, but Alanna provides instructions for each.

After those 2 bust panels are sewn together at the underarms, we add the elastic and do the top ruffle. Once the ruffle is complete we attach to one of the side seams of the bust panels and proceed in a similar pattern repeat, this time comprised of only double crochets, until you reach the top of your hips. She then offers instructions for increasing over your hips. My dress was already running a bit bigger than I wanted so I only did 2 sets of increases. Once you are done with the increases you continue on until you have the length you want before the bottom ruffle. Then the bottom ruffle is exactly the same as the top ruffle.

The Gerbera Dress is a wonderful introduction to made to measure patterns if you are looking to give one a try. This pattern is easy to follow and perfect for the advanced beginner crocheter who wants to learn how to add elastic to their projects, and learn some basic sizing skills. Comment below to let me know what occasion you are making your Gerbera Dress for!

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