Free Barbie Doll Dress Knitting Pattern for Straight Needles (fits 11.5 inch dolls)

Knit a pretty doll’s dress with this free pattern, ideal for using up leftover yarn. Knit back and forth in rows of easy stockinette, it fits 11.5 inch dolls, including Barbie.

Hate seaming? You can also knit this dress pattern in the round with a circular needle or DPNs.
There’s also a crochet Barbie dress version too.

What you Need

• 3.25mm (size 3 US) knitting needles
• 35m, 38 yds or 10 grams approx of sport or 4 ply yarn
  I used Drops Baby Merino wool.
• Scrap of sport or 4 ply yarn in 2nd colour for belt (optional)
• Tapestry needle for seaming & weaving in ends.

Finished dress measurements: 12-13 cm (5 in) long approx & 5 cm (2 in) across waist (front)

Tension/gauge is 26 stitches and 39 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) approx, but since doll’s clothes are so small, the best way to judge the size is to hold the dress up to (or try it on) the doll as you knit.

TIP: if you’re concerned about sizing, you could also knit the Barbie crop top pattern first, as it’s only 15 rows to knit and rows 1-12 are the same as for this dress pattern.

Abbreviations

• Rx – row number x
• kx – knit x stitches
• px – purl x stitches
• m1 – make 1 stitch (increase a stitch) using your preferred increase method
  I used M1L: Put your left needle under the bar between the previous & next stitch from front to back, lift it up and place it on the left needle. Then knit into the back of it to make a new stitch.
• k2tog – knit 2 stitches together to decrease by 1 stitch
• st – stitches
• st st – stockinette stitch: knit the odd (right side) rows and purl the even (wrong side) rows

Barbie Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

This doll dress is knit back and forth in rows from the top down and seamed down the back. There are a lot of increases & decreases for shaping, but if you miss the odd one or put it in the wrong place, it’s no big deal. Barbie won’t mind! 😊

Note: row 1-12 of the dress are the same as the crop top pattern.

Neckline

Option 1: For a tighter firm neckline, use the cable cast on method (video demo), where you put your needle between the previous 2 stitches when casting on each stitch.

Option 2: For a looser, stretchy neckline that can be worn off the shoulder, use the knitted cast on (video) instead, where you put your needle into the previous stitch when casting on each stitch. This also makes the dress easier for small children to get on & off.

Cast on 26 stitches.
R1: knit all stitches
R2 and all even rows unless stated: purl all stitches

Increase at sides and front for shoulders:
R3: k6, m1, k2, m1, k2, m1, k6, m1, k2, m1, k2, m1, k6 [32 st]
R5: k6, m1, k4, m1, k2, m1, k8, m1, k2, m1, k4, m1, k6 [38 st]

Armholes

R7: k6. Cast off the next 6 stitches. Start by knitting stitches 7 & 8 and pass stitch 7 over 8 to cast it off.
Knit 13 more stitches, so that you have 6 stitches, the cast off gap and 14 more stitches.
Now cast off the next 6 stitches. Again, start by knitting the next 2 stitches, and passing the 1st over the 2nd.
Finally knit the last 5 stitches.
So you have 6 stitches, a cast off gap, 14 stitches, a cast off gap & 6 stitches [26 st]

R8: p6, cast on 2 stitches using the backwards loop method with your thumb (video), p14, cast on another 2 stitches, p6 [30 st]

Rest of Top

Front increases for bust:
R9: k10, m1, k10, m1, k10 [32 st]
R11: k10, m1, k12, m1, k10 [34 st]

Back & side decreases for waist:
R13: k3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k16, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k3 [30 stitches]
R15: k3, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k14, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k3 [26 stitches]
R16-18: 3 rows st st [purl, knit, purl]

Switch to belt colour for next 2 rows (optional):
R19-20: 2 rows st st in belt colour [knit, purl]

Switch back to main colour for rest of pattern
R21-22: 2 rows st st [knit, purl]

Cast off in k1,p1 rib or your preferred method.
To cast off in rib, start by knitting the 1st stitch, purling the 2nd, and passing the 1st stitch over the 2nd. Then knit the 3rd stitch & pass the previous stitch over it, purl the 4th stitch etc.

Seaming & Finishing

Seam the back of the dress using mattress stitch for a neat finish, working 1 stitch in on each side. See my mattress stitch guide & video tutorial here.

Reinforce Armholes (optional)

The underside of the armholes is a bit delicate and sharp doll fingers can get caught there.

You can make the armholes more robust by threading your tapestry needle with a length of yarn and adding a few vertical stitches over the bottom side of the armhole (overstitching).

I’ve shown this overstitching in a contrast pink colour on the left below so you can see the stitches made. When you use matching yarn (right) you won’t see it at all:

Washing & Blocking

It’s nice to block your dress so Barbie looks her best:

• Step 1: Soak it in a bowl of cool water for about half an hour (add a drop of wool wash if you like)
• Step 2: Gently squeeze out the excess water (pressing it inside a towel helps)
• Step 3: Lay the dress out neatly on a baking rack or similar and when you’re happy with the shape, leave it to dry

I hope you enjoy knitting this cute doll’s dress and find the pattern easy to follow.
Got any questions or feedback? Please leave a comment below.

This 11.5 inch doll’s dress pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission. While it’s also designed to fit Barbie dolls, it’s not associated with Mattel in any way – I’m just a big Barbie fan. 😊