Crochet Baby Pinafore Dress with Frilled Straps

This crochet baby pinafore dress starts at the waist and adds a full skirt, a centered bib and two frilled straps. Crossed trebles create the decorative panels. This tutorial consistently follows the source’s 0–3 month size; the larger numbers in its color-coded pattern are not mixed into these instructions. The finished sample can be worn over a separate shirt, as pictured.

Materials, Gauge and Size

DK / category 3 yarn, approximately 400 m for the shortest source size; sample yarns are Paintbox Cotton DK and Drops Muskat Cotton. Use a 3.5 mm hook for the waistband and 4 mm for the remaining dress, plus markers, a yarn needle, scissors and buttons to fit the loops. The source gives a 45 cm waist, about 30 cm shoulder-to-hem length, and gauge of 17 dc × 10 rows per 10 cm square. Choose by actual measurements; age is only a guide.

Stitches and Pattern Notes

US crochet terms: ch = chain; sc = single crochet; hdc = half double crochet; dc = double crochet; tr = treble crochet; sl st = slip stitch; st = stitch; sp = space; BLO = back loop only; inc = 2 stitches in one stitch. Sc2tog, hdc2tog and dc2tog combine two neighboring stitches into one. A number before a stitch tells you how many consecutive stitches to work. Parentheses followed by a repeat number describe one complete group repeated that many times.

Step 1: Make and Join the Waistband

With 3.5 mm hook, ch 81. Row 1: hdc from the second chain across for 80 stitches; ch 3 and turn to make the first button loop. Row 2: alternate hdc and sc across all 80 stitches; ch 1 and turn. Row 3 repeats that alternation, avoiding the ch-3 loop; ch 3 and turn for the second loop. Row 4 repeats the alternating row; ch 1 and turn. Row 5: hdc across 80 stitches and join to the first hdc. Ch 1 and turn. Neither the button loops nor ch 1 add a working stitch.

Step 2: Expand the Skirt

Change to 4 mm. Work 4 hdc in the first stitch, then repeat (skip one stitch, 4 hdc in the next) until three waistband stitches remain. Skip one, work 5 hdc in the next, skip the last stitch and join. You have 39 groups of four plus one group of five: 161 stitches. Make a loose ch 1 and turn.

For a plain skirt round, dc in every stitch, join and turn with a loose ch 1. Keep 161 stitches. For the decorative version, use the next two rounds alternately. Detail Round 1: dc, then crossed trebles over the next four stitches; repeat (3 dc, crossed trebles over four) until two stitches remain, then 2 dc. Detail Round 2: hdc in each stitch, join and turn. Finish the skirt with an hdc round on the right side. You can pause the skirt to make the bib and straps, then measure the total length from the shoulder before completing the hem.

Step 3: Work the Crossed-Treble Bib

For one crossed-treble group, skip two stitches and tr in each of the next two; return to the skipped stitches and tr in each, passing the new trebles in front. Four stitches are consumed and four made.

Center and mark 26 stitches across the front top of the waistband, leaving 27 on each side. Join at the right-hand marker. Bib Row 1: dc, crossed-treble group, 3 dc, crossed-treble group, 2 dc, crossed-treble group, 3 dc, crossed-treble group, dc (26). Row 2: hdc across. Rows 3–4 repeat those two rows. Repeat Rows 3–4 twice more, giving eight bib rows. Turn between rows and keep the first and last stitches marked.

Step 4: Crochet the Straps and Edge

On the first six bib stitches, alternate a row of (dc, crossed-treble group, dc) with a row of six hdc. Continue until the strap rises about 5 cm above the bib when positioned for wearing and reaches the back waistband. Add four hdc rows for the part sewn behind the waistband. Make an identical strap on the last six bib stitches.

For the upper edging, leave a tail and ch 4 for the final button loop. Join at one end of the waistband and sc around the upper outline. Along bib and strap sides, work two sc per dc-row end and one sc per hdc-row end. At strap-end corners use three sc to turn the corner. Finish at the opposite waistband end.

Step 5: Add the Frills

Pin the straps temporarily at the back. Mark the strap sides at the fourth edging stitch above the waistband and just below the bib top, on both front and back; these mark where the fuller shoulder section begins and ends. Unpin. Work the left and right frills in opposite directions so their right sides match.

Frill Row 1: sc in the starting marker, then 2 hdc in FLO of each edge stitch until the fuller section. Work 3 hdc per edge stitch across that section, then return to 2 hdc per stitch; sc in the final marker. Turn. Row 2: alternate dc and sc. Row 3: 3 sc, 3 hdc, dc until six stitches remain, then 3 hdc, 3 sc. Row 4: alternate sc and dc. Fasten off. Sew the ends of each frill back to the strap over its final three stitches, with front ends just above the waistband.

Step 6: Assemble and Check the Fit

Secure the ch-4 button loop to the waistband side. Pin each strap behind the waistband, turn the dress inside out and sew around all four sides of the overlapping strap end. Attach buttons opposite the waistband loops. Weave in the ends and check the two straps and skirt hem for symmetry. The frills are sewn to the straps; they are not loose ties. Check the finished measurements before use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which size is explained? Only the source’s 0–3 month version is written out here.

Can the skirt be plain? Yes. The source permits plain dc rounds with a few decorative rounds near the hem.

Why 161 skirt stitches? Thirty-nine four-stitch groups plus one five-stitch group give 156 + 5 = 161.

More Baby Crochet Ideas

Browse our Crochet Baby collection, compare baby bootie patterns, or explore baby cardigan ideas. Save the project to Pinterest before gathering your yarn.

Pattern and Photo Credits

Adapted from the supplied Baby Girls Dress.pdf. Pattern and photographs: supplied Baby Girls Dress reference; designer name not identified in the readable copy. Source photographs show the reference samples; captions identify any detail crops. This written adaptation has been reviewed against the supplied pattern pages but has not been physically crocheted or maker-tested. Yarn substitutions and tension can change the result.