Thrifty Wedding Features Gorgeous Knit Dress

I 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.

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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