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Thrifty Wedding Features Gorgeous Knit Dress

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knit wedding dressI don’t know if you’ve gotten married recently (it’s been 10 years for me!) or if you’ve taken part in any sort of wedding planning recently, but weddings are expensive. Couples and their parents are going all out for that first party they will throw as man an wife, making the average wedding in Britain cost £20,248, according to the bridal industry there.

Knitter and yarn shop owner Linda Tayler wanted none of that when she married video director Ash Pears. They decided they’d rather spend their cash on an awesome honeymoon to Bali and a down payment for a house than on a lavish party. So they did it DIY, complete with homemade decor and fabric flowers, handmade party favors, a dinner on dishes picked up at thrift shops and, of course, a handknit wedding dress.

Lydia only paid about $200 for the fine wool used to knit the lacy sheath dress (lined in fabric, of course) and said it took about 4 months and more than 100,000 stitches to complete. She said some guests didn’t believe she made the dress herself, and in all the couple only spent £5,000 on their wedding.

[Photo by Johnathan Pow/Daily Mail.]

Check out this free knitted coat hanger cover pattern on our sister site here.

Knitted coat hangers are a lovely handmade gift for a bridal party, as it allows the bride to be to hang her delicate dress on a soft hanger to prevent her dress for having fold lines. Knitted coat hangers are perfect for cashmere sweaters and delicate fabrics too.  You can even add some dried lavender for knitted fragrant clothes hangers.

 

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Practice Colorwork on a Cute Knit Bunny

Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]