When I was a little girl and still inclined to play dress up in my mother's cast off slips, I was particularly fond of a bright red crinoline that had once been stiff enough to make a full skirt swish and stand away from the body. The elastic waist had long ago lost its stretch, and the crinoline had lost its stiffness. It was soft and sheer and I loved the weight of it, its drape, the way it swirled and moved as I moved. When I wore that crinoline, I was a can can dancer, a flamenco dancer. The skirt transformed and transported me. Clothes can do this sometimes. I dreamed of covering that crinoline with a skirt dense with ruffles.

Inspired both by that early feeling I had when wearing that red crinoline and by the ruffled skirts and sleeves of the traditional Flamenco dresses, the Ella Goes to Spain coat is decorated with lots of little ruffles on the lower portion of both sleeves and skirt as well as cabochon rivets for a little sparkle hither and thither.

The beautifully flattering A-line silhouette of the coat sets off most every woman's figure to best advantage, regardless of height, width, and luxuriousness or spareness of her curves.

Like the original Ella Coat that preceded it, Ella Goes to Spain is imminently customizable: the construction of the garment, more top-down than otherwise, allows you to try on and fit different aspects of the coat as you go, and then knit sleeves and skirt to the perfect length.

Look at Additional Materials for more information about sizing, yarn, and required materials. If you fancy the necklace on the mannequin, they can be found in related items below and purchased here in the Noni store.

Project Difficulty Level

Intrepid Easy: Requires knowledge of knitting, purling, picking up stitches within the knitted fabric, increasing, decreasing, knitting in the round, and some hand-sewing during the finishing process.

Coat Sizes

For the pictured look, we recommend Shepherd's Wool in Garnet (Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool (worsted weight; 100% merino wool; 250 yds [229m] 4 oz [110g] skein).

Gauge  

18 sts and 24 rows over 4" (10cm) in St st using worsted weight yarn on a size 9 (5.5mm) needle or needle size to obtain gauge. Check your gauge.

Yarn Requirements by Size

NOTE: Yardage in the table above is given in yards. Please multiply by 0.9144 to get meters.

Needles and Materials

Size 9 (5.5mm) 32" (80cm) or longer circular needles 
Locking stitch markers
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Sewing needle and sewing thread
40 Noni Cabochon Rivets to decorate ruffles (optional)
4 - 6 Noni Wee or Tiny Heart Locket closures (Misty Blue coat)
3 JUL Zebra Florentine Hinge closures (Fuchsia coat)

Pictured Samples

Pictured samples were made in Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fiber Mill: worsted weight; 100% merino wool; 250 yds [229m] 4 oz [110g] skein.

This first of the Ella coats came into being after I made a felted coat for little girls. The striped pattern in the little girl's coat was inspired by the piled up mattresses in the Princess and the Pea story. I even sandwiched 3-dimensional green peas between the stripes. Because a felted garment must be made so much larger than the size it will become, I was able to wear the coat before it was felted. I was smitten with the fit of the unfelted coat and the first Ella Coat was born.

Ella is a body-skimming sweater coat for women with an A-line silhouette that is created by making the bodice first from the high waist to the shoulder. The advantage of starting here is that you ensure your coat fits perfectly before you finish the entire coat. A perfectly fitted bodice will ensure a beautifully fitting coat. Then pick up at the high waist and work the skirt, stopping when the coat is the desired length.

For a detailed tutorial on choosing colors for your coat, fitting the coat to your own body, adding beautiful details, including alternate ruffle edgings, consult the Ella Coat Knit-a-Long that was conducted through the Noni Blog.

Pattern Difficulty

Intrepid Easy: Requires knowledge of knitting, purling, picking up stitches within the knitted fabric, increasing, decreasing, knitting in the round, and some hand-sewing during the finishing process.

Gauge

18 sts and 24 rows over 4"/10cm in St st using worsted weight yarn on a size 9/5.5mm needle or size need to obtain gauge.

Yarn Requirements

Solid Coat

6-8 skeins worsted weight wool

Solid Coat with Colored Ruffle

Coat: 4-6 skeins worsted weight wool
Ruffle: 2-3 skeins worsted weight wool

Striped coats

2-3 skeins of color (A), 1 skein or 100-250 yds (91 - 230m) of every other color

Needles and Other Materials

Size 9 (5.5mm) 32" (80cm) or longer circular needles
Size 10 (6mm) needles
Size 10 J crochet hook
Row Counter (optional)
Locking stitch markers
Sewing needle and sewing thread
Velvet ribbon to line the plackets (2" (5cm) wide and twice the length of one placket)

Pictured Samples

Cover samples were made in Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fiber Mill: the coat on the front cover was made in Plum with Lime Ruffles. The striped coat on the back cover of the pattern was made using the Ocean Coat strip pattern (see chart on pattern).