Free Crochet Pattern: The Showgirl Dress

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Below you will find the free pattern for the Showgirl Dress!

Hi, its me, Emily at Crochet Aweigh! What an exciting time to be a swiftie! Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl” has just dropped and you know that I needed the perfect outfit to go to the album release party! I wanted this dress to be really special and as *sparkly* as possible! I also chose to do a fan stitch that is reminiscent of the feather fans used in “I can do it with a broken heart” at the Eras Tour, and in a lot of the imagery for this new album.

October is also National Wool Month, so all designs for this month will be done from hand dyed wool yarn from our indie dyers! The Showgirl Dress features yarn from Indigo Child Dye Art Studio, who is based out of Merritt Island, FL.

If you would like to support my very lofty yarn dreams then you can purchase a PDF of this pattern from my site, Etsy, or Ravelry.

Pattern Notes:

• This pattern is written made to measure, so as long as you have the indicated measurement for yourself or whoever you want to make this dress for, you can make it to fit.
• There is no gauge as you can make this to fit.
• This dress is designed to fit snug with 0″ ease.
• The dress is based on your upper bust measurement. Instructions say to add 2″ to the foundation row because the shell stitch shrinks the foundation row.
• The underdress is done first, andis worked in the round without turning after each row.
• After the underdress is completed we add the outside ruffles, then the straps, and beading is last.
• Turn after every row for the outside ruffles and straps.
• When doing the beaded edge rows, attach to the wrong side as it is easier to crochet beads into the work on the wrong side of the stitch.

Materials:

• Yardages listed below are for my sample size. I am an XL/size US 12
• 1305 yards Indigo Child Fingering Weight (1) Yarn in color Cocoa Beach Surf
• 1305 yards Go Handmade Party Deluxe in Orange (optional)
• 1600 yards Circulo Charme in Tangerine, a 100% cotton in Sport weight (2).
• 1600 yards Go Handmade Glitter Deluxe thread in Terracotta (optional)
• US size F/3.75mm & G/4.00 crochet hooks
• Round Elastic Cord
• Soft Tape Measure
• A variety of beads (optional). I used mostly size 6/0 glass seed beads for the smaller beads & found some larger glass crystal beads for the accents. I found these for the necklace.
• Sparkly Trim (optional)
• 1 Jewelry Clasp (optional)
• Tapestry Needle
• Scissors
• Showgirl Dress: either free on this page, or paid on my website, Etsy, or Ravelry.

Abbreviations:

Special Stitches:

Pattern Instructions:

Part 1: The Underdress

Measure above your bust where the top of your dress will sit. Hold the Charme and Glitter deluxe together for the underdress.

Round 1: Fhdc until you have your measurement. Being careful not to twist, sl st to 1 fsc.

Rnds 2-4: Ch 1, hdc in each st around. Sl st to 1 . NOTE: try it on and make sure it still fits around you. This row tends to shrink the
foundation row slightly.

Rnd 5: Ch 1, 2hdc in 1 st, *hdc in next 9, 2hdc in next. Repeat from *around. Sl st to 1 Stitch count is not crucial & you are welcome to increase more or less depending on your bust size. We simply need to increase over our bust.

Rnd 6: Ch 1, hdc in each st around. Sl st to 1st.

Rnd 7: Ch 1, 2hdc in 1 st, *hdc in next 13, 2 hdc in next. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1st.

Rnds 8-11: Repeat rnds 6-7 twice. (you can do more or less based on your bust size)

Repeat Rnd 6 until you want to decrease for the waist. I did up to row 18 for mine.

Waist Decrease:

Rnd 19: Ch 1, hdc2tog over 1 and 2 st, *hdc in next 13, hdc2tog over next 2. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1st.

Rnd 20: Ch 1, hdc in each st around. Sl st to 1st.

Rnds 21-22 : Repeat rounds 19-20. Feel free to adjust here to fit you best.

Rnds 23-30: Ch 1, hdc in each st around. Sl st to 1st.

Hips Increase:

Rnds 31-36: Ch 1, 2hdc in 1 , hdc in next 15, *2hdc in next, hdc in next 15. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1 . Feel free to adjust to fit you best.

Once you are happy with the width around your hips continue without increasing until you reach desired length.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

Add Elastic:

Cut a piece of elastic cord slightly smaller than your original upper bust measurement. With Charme and Glitter thread held together, attach to RS with a sl st to the foundation row of your dress. Hold elastic along the wrong side and crochet over it as you are working. Ch 1, sc in each foundation stitch. Sl st to 1st.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

Part 2: Ruffles

Try on your dress to determine where you want the top ruffle to begin. Place marker. I wanted my first ruffle just under the row with the elastic. Hold the fingering weight yarn & sequin thread together for ruffles.

Use G Hook for Ruffles.
Round 1: with top edge towards you, attach with scfp around 1 st of your marked row. Scfp around each st from your marked row. Sl st to 1st.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, 2sc in each st around. Sl st to 1st. Count your stitches! If you have a multiple of 12, then continue onto round three. If you do not have a multiple of 12, increase or decrease over the last several stitches to get a multiple of 12.

Rnd 3 (RS): Ch 1, sc in 1st, ch 3, sk 2, sc in next, *sk 2, Pfan in next, sk 2, sc in next, (ch 3, sk 2, sc in next) twice. Repeat from * around, ending by doing () only once. Sl st to 1st sc. Turn.

Rnd 4 (WS): Sl st into 1st chsp, ch 1, sc in same. *Ch 3, sc in 2nd puff of Pfan, ch 3, sk [ch1sp, puff, ch1sp], sc in 4th puff of Pfan, (ch 3, sc in next ch3sp) twice. Repeat from * around, ending by doing () only once. Ch 3, sl st to 1st sc. Turn.

Rnd 5 (RS): Sl st into 1st chsp, ch 1, sc in same. Ch 4, *sc in next ch3sp, ch 4. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1st sc. Turn.

Rnd 6 (WS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc in same. Ch 5, *sc in next ch4sp, ch 5. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1 . Turn.

Rnd 7 (RS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 2, [puff, ch 1, puff, ch 1, puff] into same sp, sc in next chsp, *(ch 5, sc in next chsp) twice, Pfan in next chsp, sc in next chsp. Repeat from * around. After last repeat (ch 5, sc in next chsp) twice, (puff, ch 1) two times into 1 chsp. Sl st to 1 puff. Turn.

Rnd 8 (WS): Sl st into 1 ch1sp and into 1 puff. Ch 1, sc into 1 puff st, *(ch 5, sc in next chsp) twice, ch 5, sc in 2 puff of Pfan, ch 5, sk (ch1sp, puff, ch1sp), sc in next puff. Repeat from * around. Ch 5, sl st to 1 sc. Turn.

Rnd 9 (RS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc into same sp, ch 5, *sc in next chsp, ch 5. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 1 sc. Turn.

Rnd 10 (WS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc into same sp, ch 5, *sc in next chsp, ch 5. Repeat from * aorund. Sl st to 1 sc. Turn.

Rnd 11 (RS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc in same, ch 5, sc in next chsp, *Pfan in next chsp, sc in next chsp, (ch 5, sc in next chsp) twice. Repeat from *around, ending by doing () only once. Ch 5, sl st to first sc. Turn.

Rnd 12 (WS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc in same sp, *ch 5, sc in 2 puff of Pfan, ch 5, sk [ch1sp, puff, ch1sp], sc in 4 puff of Pfan, (ch 5, sc in next ch5sp) twice. Repeat from * around, ending by doing () only once. Ch 5, sl st to 1 sc. Turn.

Rnd 13 (RS): Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc in same, ch 5, *sc into next ch5sp, ch 5. Repeat from * around. Turn.

Rnd 14: Sl st into 1 chsp, ch 1, sc in same, ch 5, *sc into next ch5sp, ch 5. Repeat from * around. Turn.

Repeat Rounds 7-14 until desired length for first ruffle. Try to end on either a round 7 or 11 if possible. Fasten off.

Optional Last Round: String a lot of beads onto the Charme.
With G hook & Charme: With WS facing, attach yarn to any st on the previous round with a sl st.

Sc in each st, including every chain. Pull up a bead into each st as shown in photos. You pull up the next bead on the last step of the sc. You will probaly have to cut yarn, add more beads, and reattach a few times during the round. Do this all the way around, sl st to 1 sc.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

Middle Ruffle:

Try your dress on and place marker on the row where you want your middle ruffle to begin. Keep in mind that your first ruffle will stretch during blocking. You want your first ruffle to overlap the middle one a little bit, but not a lot. Repeat steps for first ruffle, but attach to your new middle marker.

Bottom Ruffle:

Try your dress on and place marker on the row where you want your bottom ruffle to begin. Keep in mind that your other ruffles will stretch during blocking. You want your middle ruffle to overlap the middle one a little bit, but not a lot. Repeat steps for first ruffle, but attach to your new marker.

Part 3: Straps

Try Dress on. Use stitch markers to mark the front of the dress where you want each strap to start. I chose to center each strap to the middle of my breasts. Place markers at the back of the dress where the straps will attach to. Measure from this point, above your shoulder to the back where the strap will attach to. Subtract 1.5-3″ for stretch. This will be the length of the strap.

Right Strap

Row 1: With F hook & RS facing, attach Charme and Glitter thread to right stitch marker (right as in your right side, marker will look like left marker). Ch 3 (counts as first dc here and
throughout), 2 Puffs in next st, dc in next. Turn.

Row 2: Ch 3, 2 puffs in between puffs
of previous round. Dc in top of ch3.
Turn.

Repeat row 2 until you reach desired length. Fasten off, and leave a tail for sewing. With wrong side to wrong side, sew to the back over the marked st and next 2 sts.

Left Strap:

With RS facing, attach Charme and Glitter Thread 2 stitches to the right of front left st marker.

Row 1: Ch 3, 2 puffs in next st, dc in marked st. Turn.

Row 2: Ch 3, 2 puffs in between puffs of previous round. Dc in top of ch3. Turn.

Repeat row 2 until you reach same length as right strap. Fasten off, and leave a tail for sewing. With wrong side to wrong side, sew to the back over the marked st and next 2 sts.

Straps Border:
Similar to how we did the last row of the ruffles, we will do a beaded sc border around the straps on all sides. String lots of
beads onto the Charme and attach to the WS.

Place 1 sc in each st across the top edge, place 2 sc in each row end of the puff st straps. Sl st to join to 1st st. Do this for the head opening and the arm openings.

I also sewed a 24″long sparkly trim across the front of mine, just under the beaded border. Totally optional, but it looks amazing!

After wearing this once, the weight of the beads kept pulling the straps down my shoulders so I added this back neck tie. I
chose a spot on the back of the straps & attached the Charme only with a sl st. Then I chained 50 (you can do more or less), and fastened off. Attach to the same spot on the other strap and repeat. Fasten off & weave in ends.

Part 4: Optional Beads

This is the really fun & creative part! You can make this whatever you want! I purchased a bunch of different orange, silver, and
turquoise beads from Hobby Lobby.

I started by making a necklace with a jewelry clasp and the
largest orange beads.

Then I added the 4 strands in the middle with the smaller beads.

I made 2 strands on each shoulder with the smaller beads. My shorter strands were 15″ each and the longer ones were 18″each. I attached them to a spot on the back side of the straps. This can be a little tricky since it is hard to gauge how long or the placement. I definitely recommend a sewing
mannequin that is adjustable in size so you can set it to your measurements. This will save you a lot of time trying the
dress on over and over again.

Weave in your ends and block on your mannequin if you have one. Blocking ruffles is easiest by hanging it.
And baby that’s show business for you! Your dress is done!

I hope you love your new Showgirl Dress! Just remember that sequins are forever & this dress will help you dance through the lightning strikes! Comment below if you have any questions, and if you make this scarf please post it on social media and tag me so I can see! I love seeing your creations!