Knit a Stunning Wedding Dress

I wasn’t that into knitting when I got married, but it never would have occurred to me at the time to knit a wedding dress. Now I’m a little sad there weren’t a lot of homemade elements in our celebration, but it doesn’t stop me from admiring people who do knit or crochet or otherwise make their own dresses, flowers and other things for their big day.

This dress is billed as the Peacock Wedding Dress from Nikarra Palmer-Simmons, but if I knit such a thing you can bet I’d be wearing it on any occasion I could think of just to show it off.

This gorgeous design is worked in lace weight yarn from the top down. The bodice is fitted and has decorative eyelets as well as a bit of beading. The full skirt features peacock feather lace and other lace designs, and it can be beaded as well. You’re going to want to click through to this pattern on Ravelry just so you can see the closeups.

Nikarra says the pattern was originally inspired by a design from Army of Knitters, but as it evolved it also includes some of Meg Swansen’s Spanish Peacock chart and the skirt is “heavily based” on a design from Irina Makarova.

She also notes that the dress is designed to be worn over an underdress and with a full tulle skirt to support its weight, particularly if you use the beads.

The pattern has four sizes, but the small and medium haven’t been tested at the time of this writing. The designer notes this pattern is best for intermediate to advanced knitters because of all the lace and the sheer size of the project. Lace is charted and written but comfort reading charts would help a lot with this project.

The pattern is free on Ravelry so if you’ve ever had a hankering to knit a wedding dress, or a dress fancy enough to be a wedding dress but you’re just wearing it to Costco, check it out. I would love to hear if you try it!

[Photo: Nikarra Palmer-Simmons]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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