[4 or 6 repeats]

Start working the doily pattern at whatever round corresponds to the point where 4 or 6 repeats matches your stitch count (you'll likely have to fiddle with that a bit, increasing a few stitches to make it work).

Hmm, I love the idea of using a doily pattern!

I'm not quite sure I understand how to make it work though... Say for example I wanted to use this doily pattern. I would start where half (if I were doing 4 repeats) the stitch count on the doily matched the number of stitches at the bustline?

Would I have to multiply the number of stitches in the lace pattern to make it large enough to be a dress since a doily is much smaller? Or, do I keep on increasing as in pattern until it reaches the desired width?

Say, for example, you are a thin woman using big needles and your stitch count just under the bust is 64 sts (completely grabbing that out of the air). Dividing it by 4 you get 16sts for your doily pattern repeat. Looking at that pattern you have 16 sts worked in row 30, so you would start the pattern from there.

Since you will be using much larger needles than you would be if you were knitting a doily you probably won't have to add any stitches. Most doilies are knit on needles around size US#2 or smaller. A lot of the vintage ones are on needles smaller than size US#0.

From the photo you posted of the inspiration it looks like there are about three rows to the inch. If you started the doily pattern on row 30 you would have 54 rows of doily pattern to knit, which works out to 18". You'll probably want to either find more lace patterns to add on to that one or find a larger doily (or table cloth, or circle/half circle shawl) pattern to start with.

Here is a nice big doily pattern and it also looks like you could easily repeat the lace pattern as many times as you needed to add length.

Looking at shawl patterns the curved portion of Innabun looks ideal for the skirt of a dress.

Herbert Niebling patterns might be a good place to look, though they can be hard to find. Most of them are large and designed for tiny needles so they might actually be too big knitted loose like that overdress. Frosted Ferns might look nice as a skirt, and it's free.

[4 or 6 repeats]

Anyone know where I can get a pattern similar to this - or at least a sewing pattern for the dress style?

Thanks in advance!

How adventurous are you when it comes to knitting without a pattern/adapting patterns?

Here's what I'd do to make a dress like that:

Knit a short decorative neck band (knit flat), then work a top down raglan cardigan (the opening will be the center back and the band will close with a few pretty little buttons) with cap sleeves. You might end up joining the center back about the same time you would bind off the cap sleeves so there might be a point where you are working the front and two backs rather than the front and a back.

Once you have everything joined back together and are working in the round again continue knitting plain until it's just under your bust.

Now pick a pretty doily pattern with 8 repeats in a round. Start working the doily pattern at whatever round corresponds to the point where 4 or 6 repeats matches your stitch count (you'll likely have to fiddle with that a bit, increasing a few stitches to make it work). How many repeats to use is a matter of how flared you want your skirt, the lace will show up more with less repeats since it won't be falling in deep folds. The photo you found looks like 4 repeats.

Depending on the doily pattern you pick you might want to "blend" the lace into the plain knit bodice, but if you pick one with a fairly solid leaf/flower center it should blend into the solid bodice without any effort.

The under dress looks like a fairly basic strapless dress, check out the major pattern publishers for prom/wedding dress patterns. You'll want something with a full skirt so you can wear tulle/crinoline under it and have it spread the lace over skirt out to display the pattern.

The thing with bamboo, and probably silk too, is that it's inelastic. Bamboo stretches easily, especially if it gets wet, and doesn't spring back. Unless you block the heck out of the dress first it will "grow" as you wear it from it's own weight. Bamboo is lovely, but I'd recommend using a blend with something that will help it not droop.

I hate it. I used AdBlock's Element hiding helper to remove it it bothered me so much with the flashing in and out. I already have the "Pin It" bookmarklet on my browser tool bar, I don't need a floating bar in the page to offer me a a button (and when I'm on my laptop I will very much want that screen real estate back!). It also takes more clicks to use it than it does to use the bookmarklet.

It might be less annoying if it were not a bar across the top but instead a narrow bar down the left side of the page, or just a narrow box of share buttons. As long as it doesn't pop in and out of existence. I don't mind things that float and therefore don't move when the rest of the page scrolls, but it needs to be there all the time, not flashing on and off.

[Pattern repeats when working from charts:]

The pattern itself covers how to user the charts pretty well I think:

Pattern repeats when working from charts: The set-up chart shows all stitches as knitted. In the other charts, the pattern repeat is outlined in red. Knit the stitches to the right of the outlined pattern repeat, repeat the stitches between the red lines until just enough stitches remain before the center stitch marker to finish by knitting the stitches to the left of the outlined pattern repeat. Repeat on second side of the shawl.

If I recall correctly you repeat the center portion of the yucca pattern twice (on each side of the shawl) the first time through.

If you are on Ravelry there's an Aeolian KAL group that might be helpful for you.

You are very welcome.

For some reason the pattern is explicitly stating that even though it seems rather obvious to me....

Thank you.
I'm gathering this is a major case of overthinking on my part.

In your defense, the pattern does make it seem like it should be something more complicated than "each vertical repeat will have one more horizontal repeat than the previous."

When you finish the increase chart you will have added enough stitches to have one more horizontal repeat in the row when you start the increase chart again. For some reason the pattern is explicitly stating that even though it seems rather obvious to me....

For yarns that you might find in a good craft store, Knitting Warehouse and Yarn Supply.

It's the central motif in Alice Starmore's "Acarsaid comfort square". It was in The Knitter issue #9 and MacMillian has it as a PDF as part of a fundraiser program. If you google "Acarsaid comfort square" you should find the PDF easily enough.