MAKING MY OWN wedding OUTFIT!
For my handmade wedding outfit, I had originally planned to make a sweater to wear over a thrifted dress. I chose the “Georges Sweater” by Kolibri by Johanna, a gorgeous, open-back, haloed sweater with a dramatic bow in the back. When I couldn’t find a backless dress that suited the off-white color of the undyed fiber or the steep angle of the sweater back, I decided to try my hand at knitting my own dress!
Below are some photos documenting the process, followed by pictures of the finished look - some of which have been published in the bridal knitting book WEDDING by Kolibri by Johanna, the designer of the sweater pattern.
Process photos by me - and wedding photography by the wonderful Inna at Peach Plum Pear Photo!
Georges Sweater
The sweater was knit using two strands of laceweight yarn, a blend of baby alpaca, mulberry silk, and super kid mohair fibers.
Bath time! The completed sweater was washed in bergamot sweater soap and blocked to dry into its final shape.
Here you can see the delicate details of the raglan increases for the front shoulders and the i-cord trim at the neckline.
And voilà - the finished sweater, seen here from the back to highlight its main feature - a gorgeous, oversized, feminine bow.
MAKING THE DRESS
This was truly the most ambitious knit I ever attempted, and involved a bit of trial and error. I don’t regret it one bit, and most importantly, just had a lot of fun making my outfit. Truly a project I’ll never forget <3
Comparing the swatch of the Francesca lace and bamboo yarn with the swatch from the Georges sweater in mohair. Starting to play around with which colors of beads I want to incorporate (the answer was: all of them!)
Completing the first few repeats of the first lace charts. The gray yarn shown on the edge is scrap yarn (leftover from my Tavia Skirt!) for a provisional cast-on, allowing me to pick up those stitches later to knit an enclosed waistband and top.
Bead time. I used Miyuki 8/0 seed beads in six different hues and opacities (five of them shown here - I wasn't sure about the sixth at first, and made the call to add it in towards the end!): translucent peony, opaque limestone luster, crystal ivory gold, butter cream ceylon, white pearl ceylon, and ivory pearl ceylon.
Applying the different colored beads throughout the lace design with a 0.6mm crochet hook. Since I increased the bead placement compared to what the pattern called for, there are over 2,500 beads in the dress!
Having finished the skirt, enclosing a strip of elastic into a waistband knit up from the provisionally cast-on stitches.
Waistband complete! The skirt will be set aside while I work the top from the top-down, and then graft to these stitches.
I couldn't find a pattern that suited the backless, sleeveless look I was envisioning to pair with the dress, and decided I'd try to design my own. It took a bit of trial and error to get going! First I started with knitting the top front straps separately, eventually joining the right to the left by using an i-cord cast-on.
Then, using the lace motif from the skirt, I picked up the cast-on stitches for the front straps held on scrap yarn, and knitted one repeat of the lace chart for the back straps, eventually adding increases on the outer edges to start shaping the back where it would join at the underarm.
I would slip the work onto larger circumference needles to try it on as I went. Once I was just about at the right length and angle of the open back, I had to do a bit of math to make sure the total stitch count would match what was on hold for the skirt, and proceeded with the last few rows accordingly.
Getting ready to make my skirt + top into a dress!
Holding the needle with the top stitches parallel with the needle with the skirt waistband stitches, I cut a length of yarn three times the circumference of the waist and began to graft the pieces together using a tapestry needle and a grafting technique called kitchener stitch.
Trying on my just-finished dress! You'll notice the length is shorter here than it appears in the day-of photos - I was warned by my local yarn shop that bamboo yarns can grow after they're blocked, so I tried to anticipate that by ending a few inches short.
View of the backless top I designed to match the open-back Georges sweater I'd be wearing over it. That little bit of scrap yarn gathered at the back? This is from the enclosed waistband, where I left a 1" section unsewn in case I needed to make any adjustments to the fit between August and November.
Detail shot of the lace motif. I just loved the design of it, like art deco peacock feathers. Underneath I wore a midi-length champagne-colored silk slip, and for shoes I chose a comfortable pair of Rothys flats.
Detail view of the beading in the lace motif. Because the beads were so tiny and many of them translucent, you really don't see them - but you do get the little glint of their shine throughout, and they offer the dress a nice, gentle weight that added to its drape.
