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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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Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.