I Crocheted A Wedding Dress For My Sister

OK, so I didn’t crochet a wedding dress for my sister, but I did design and create the top half! If you’d like help with making your own unique crochet bridal top, read on…

First things first, I have two little sisters. One was the bride: Cassie, and the other: Letitia (aka Tishie), was the seamstress and she made the coordinating bridal skirt.

This post is about the initial design process of working out how to make a crochet wedding dress (Yes I know, it’s just the top/bodice, but I got into the habit of saying we were making a dress, so “dress” has stuck I’m afraid). The plan is to write a separate blog post for beyond the design stage (part 2 will be blocking, lining, finishing touches etc).

I took a heck of a lot of photographs of the making process but not so many of the big day itself (I was too busy stuffing my face with canapes). I will try and blag some photos later so you can see the outfit in more detail. Fingers crossed!

Inspiration for Designing A Crochet Wedding Outfit

It must have been around a year or so ago that Cassie asked me to make part of her wedding outfit. At the beginning, it felt like we had bags of time and ordinarily it is an excellent idea to plan the making of a crochet wedding dress as early as possible. There are lots of aspects you need to consider. Time, for example, is essential not just for the crocheting part but for all the swatching, measuring and calculations etc.

However, despite a fantastically early start, I couldn’t do all of it straightaway because Cassie had also announced that she was pregnant!

Research and planning were still very much possible though. Therefore, in July 2023 we had our first meeting on the Isle of Wight where I was on holiday with my Mum, my brother and his family (plus my crew). Cassie and Tishie joined us for a tasty family lunch in a little railway restaurant in Yarmouth. I brought a bundle of yarn options and a few stitch dictionaries so that Cassie could thumb through everything to bookmark favourites. It was good to get the ball rolling ASAP. It was quite exciting too.

Find Pictures for Design Inspiration

The happy bride in the above picture is the original source of inspiration. The picture shows an elegant, close fitting wedding bodice with a high neckline and long sleeves. Cassie sent me a small, blurry pic on What’s App and asked if I could make something like it. Challenge accepted!

My first port of call was a Ravelry visit to see if a crochet pattern like it already existed. Ravelry is such a good platform for finding knitting and crochet patterns and hours can be spent trawling through awesome designs. This time though, Ravelry didn’t bring up anything similar. I am guessing here but wonder if most crochet wedding dresses are bespoke?

As the most exciting patterns I found on Ravelry were cats in wedding dresses I moved focus to Pinterest. It always comes to the rescue! I did a deep dive and found other images of THE outfit, which helped to work out the top construction. Pinterest is a great source for discovering all kinds of crochet wedding dress styles, stitch patterns and crochet charts.

Pinterest Board of Crochet Wedding Dreams

If you have no clue where to start when it comes to designing crochet garments, Pinterest is an excellent first choice. I put together a thorough Pinterest board of crochet wedding inspiration, HERE. Hopefully, this will give you some fabulous crochet wedding ideas as well.

On that Pinterest board you’ll find loads of pretty bridal images and loads of beautiful crochet dresses. They’re all ideas I wanted to discuss with Cassie so she could tell me what she did and didn’t like. We eliminated a lot and it made focus so much easier; I’d had lot of the ideas flying around in my creative brain.

Seeing as the original inspiration isn’t crochet, we needed a stitch pattern that would go some way to replicate the diamondy lace. Therefore, you’ll find ideas for crochet stitch patterns. And lastly, I got a bit trigger-happy on pinning crochet charts. Charts make life immensely easy when it comes to stitch patterns and working out shaping. Although, please note that I didn’t copy any of them for construction purposes. This is a made-to-measure crochet wedding dress and I created my own (there’s more chart chat further down the post).

Considering Other Design Elements

Mood board sorted, there were also a couple of other elements to consider for the design.

When making an outfit for another person, communication is key. We discussed all kinds of different ideas so I would know for sure what the vision was. And it wasn’t just crochet talk. Cassie, Tishie and I had a What’s App group so we could talk about colours, fabrics, yarn choices, measurements… Lots of questions were asked, even down to what kind of trainers might go well (sparkly gold ones, for the evening).

It isn’t just about one element but about how they’re all going to come together. One decision might impact another so it’s a good idea that everyone involved is on the same page.

Even if Cassie said she didn’t really mind and gave me loads of creative freedom, it was still wise to cement some definites. Funnily enough, I can’t remember what the absolutes were now. I think it was the open back, long sleeves and easy access for breastfeeding. And then, through swatching, I learned that she preferred plainer geometric stitch patterns rather than lacy styles.

Easily Adjustable Crochet Top

Seeing as a baby was on the way, we had to think of what a post-pregnancy wedding outfit might need to include.

Because she was growing a baby, the bride’s measurements were going to change quite a bit over the months leading up the the wedding, which meant measurements were postponed until as late as possible. The final design also needed to factor in lunch, dinner, and snacks for a 6 month-old baby. I added ties at the back of the neck so that they could be adjusted easily according to fit, and the waistband had poppers so it could be undone to allow for easy access to feeding. I am pleased to report that Baby M was very well-fed on the day; the top did not stand in her way at all.

Swatching for Pretty Crochet Stitch Patterns

I came back from the Isle of Wight trip in July with bookmarks in all the pages of the stitch dictionaries. I then left them in the bottom of my crochet basket until October. In the half-term holiday, my family and I drove up to the Highlands of Scotland to stay with Cassie and James. It was Halloween and by then she was starting to look like a pumpkin, which is what you get if you wear orange t-shirts at 8 months.

I had told myself that one of the reasons to visit was to show her a big bundle of different swatches so she could choose favourites. I think I’d managed to complete two by then. Tishie was there as well so I’m sure we must have chatted at length about handmade wedding dresses and things. I don’t recall. Oh well, it was a lovely holiday.

A Swatch Consultation With the Bride

Roll on a few more months and it was time to start properly planning in earnest. No more delays or distractions. With a rucksack of swatches this time, in February I booked a flight to Inverness so we could make some final decisions.

None of the first batch of crochet swatches passed muster. They were too open, too lacy, a bit too flouncy. Some pattern repeats were too big, some overly complicated and some had unexpected little faces in the patterns. However, we eliminated a lot of styles and that was super useful. That weekend, the yarn was chosen and new swatches were worked up over the breakfast table. Crochet cogs were now in motion.

Yarn For A Crochet Wedding Dress

I didn’t really know where to start in terms of the yarn to choose to crochet something bridal. Initial conversations determined that 4ply cotton yarn might be a good place to start so I ordered a few different yarn choices online. I listened to my own advice on yarn substitution to help with that too.

After all the swatching, in all the different yarn choices, we narrowed it down to two. Rowan Summerlite 4ply and DMC Petra in size 3. Both in shades of Ecru.

We preferred the Rowan Summerlite 4ply. It’s twice the price of the DMC Petra. It feels like excellent quality because it is excellent quality. Unfortunately, the shade didn’t work. Not to mention the softness of the yarn made it very absorbent. Any spills would have soaked in immediately. The Northcotts are a messy family and we knew it was inevitable that Cassie would spill something down herself.

DMC Petra is a shiny, mercerised cotton, which we thought would be better at shaking off spills. The slightly golden colour was spot on too. I used one ball for lots of swatching, then purchased five for the final piece, which was plenty.

Should You Use a Finer Yarn for Finer Crochet Garments?

If I was more dexterous and had more time, I think I would have been tempted to use a size 5 Petra yarn rather than the 3 as it would have made a much finer and more delicate garment. My poor fingers though… I was already using a 2mm crochet hook with the size 3 yarn. The making process would have taken too long as finer yarn means more work.

Finer yarn would have affected the look of the stitch patterns too. For example, the diamond shapes on the main body would have come up smaller and I would have had to adjust the pattern repeats to make them look right. To be frank, that would have been too much fannying around.

It is absolutely worth considering finer yarn though. I think it would create beautiful crochet fabric for bridal wear. It just wasn’t possible for this project.

A Made to Measure Crochet Bodice

I may have mentioned once or twice in other blog posts that maths and I are not friends. I am not algebraically blessed but in spite of frequent numeric nightmares, I have learned to respect a spreadsheet.

And you should see the spreadsheet I put together for this one teeny little top! I’m talking at least 150 rows of numbers. It is a lot but I adopted a very strict measure-twice-crochet-once approach.

I began with the standard Craft Yarn Council guide as a starting point but made-to-measure means you get the actual measurements directly from the body you’re making a garment for. In terms of how much information you need to design a made-to-measure crochet wedding dress, a good rule of thumb is: the more the merrier! I did fly back home without a couple of crucial measurements, which was a bit daft. Got them via our What’s App chat a week later.

Quite a bit of research went into how best to measure a body to make your own clothes. I watched a lot of videos about drafting sewing patterns and knitting patterns as there isn’t as much when it comes to designing crochet clothes. I’ve noted some resources below – they’re knitting books and videos.

How Much Ease to Add For Fitted Crochet Top?

When you’re doing made-to-measure, you also need to consider fit. How much “ease” will you apply to your measurements? Do you want the garment to be very fitted and therefore have negative ease? Or, do you want to add extra room for loose fit crochet clothes and have positive ease? Choices, choices…

Cotton yarn doesn’t have ping or stretch, especially in crochet. Once it’s blocked into shape, it probably won’t change much more. That meant I wanted to avoid negative ease as Cassie wouldn’t have been able to move. In the end, I opted for 2-4 cm positive ease to add to her actual body measurements. I adjusted this where necessary, tweaking places where the stitch count or pattern repeats dictated how much it would actually be.

More than 4cm and it wouldn’t have been a “fitted” top. However, it is difficult to judge exactly how much ease was in the final garment because Cassie lost weight. Post-pregnancy weight loss was always a possibility, it’s why I made things adjustable. But I am disappointed she didn’t eat more biscuits and cake to maintain the same shape once she’d had her measurements taken.

Using Charts to Draft a Crochet Pattern

With all the numbers plugged in and stitch counts calculated, I was ready to start drafting the shaping of the main body and sleeves. Using Stitchfiddle, I drew up the main body and sleeve stitch patterns to print and scribble on. These charts meant I had a visual guide to follow when crocheting.

Charts have been a lifesaver actually. I wouldn’t have trusted my brain without seeing what the numbers had come up with. Spreadsheet maths allows me to calculate the number of stitches and rows needed for each part of the garment whether it’s the upper arm, wrist, waist or bust etc. The charts show me how it all correlates and where I should make potential increases and/or decreases.

I won’t show you everything because I don’t want to give away too many secrets! However, below are some rough drawings and charts to show my chaotic thought processes.

Crochet Set-in Sleeves

I spent most of my time working out the set in sleeves. A set-in sleeve is more fitted and tailored than other sleeve styles. At the top, it has a curved cap that sits neatly and accurately into an armhole that has the same measurements as the perimeter of the cap.

I had never designed a set-in sleeve crochet garment before and it’s hard to find definitive facts on the best way. I am certainly more comfortable with a casual “drop sleeve”. If you have any hot tips on this, please show me where to find them!

My favourite videos were a short series of knitting tutorials by Suzanne Bryan. There was some really useful information about body measurements and great details about set-in sleeves. I watched the videos religiously and used the body measurement advice to help build my spreadsheet.

I also used two knitting books which had more dreaded maths for me to get my head around. Both had their own take on the best way to work out the formulae for knitted set-in sleeves. Given that they both have different advice, I sort of aimed somewhere between the two and went with my gut a little bit as well. Gosh, it’s difficult though! Seeing as there isn’t one agreed way, I wonder if many designers plump for an empirical approach instead?

Both of these knitting books cover an extraordinary amount of information about all garment construction. Wouldn’t it be amazing if such a book existed for crochet?! Do you know of any?

A Mock Up on a Form

At the same time as messing about with charts, I also drew up the measurements on paper to create rudimentary pattern pieces. I’m glad I did this step as it was enormously helpful.

What I haven’t mentioned thus far is that from the week after I left her in Februry, to a week or two before the wedding on June 1st, Cassie was off galivanting across the world. We couldn’t do fittings for the dress!

I worried slightly but perhaps not as much as I could have. Just look at my band of helpers pictured below. Tishie had two borrowed dressmaker’s dummies so I paid a visit to the New Forest, to Dad’s house, so I could use them. Turns out neither of them could be adjusted to Cassie’s size but nevermind, one provided a similar enough shape for me to drape parcel-taped calico across its polka dot form. It was a much needed step as I went away with a few redrafts.

It was also an opportunity to see how the skirt and top might look when together. Definitely a helpful stage.

Tishie has similar arms to Cassie so I used her to determine if I was on the right path for the sleeves. Another boon. I added an additional cm in length and width thanks to that try-on. Mr PP, the boer goat, was totally useless. He just walked over everything and stank of pee.

Time to Crochet A Wedding Dress!

With the yarn and stitches worked out, measurements written down and charts drawn up, it was time to get making. I was really looking forward to starting but simultaneously terrified. It could all go horribly wrong! However, by the time all of the above had been titivated to the point of excess, it was April. Time to pick up the crochet hook!

In the next blog post about how I designed a crochet wedding dress, I’ll talk more about the chosen stitch patterns (there are four of them!) and how they all came together. And I’d better not forget to mention the details such as the buttons and lining.

I’ll also aim to answer any questions, if you have them?

I know I haven’t told you about Tishie’s beautifully layered, silk and tulle skirt here (it was delicate and floaty and works so so well with the top). Combined, everything worked out just as we’d hoped. Oh, and Cassie crocheted a tie for James in matching colours! It was a proper team effort.

And before I leave Part 1, here are a few takeaways for making a crochet wedding dress.

• 1: Measure twice, thrice, four times, crochet once.
• 2: Make a mock-up out of cheap fabric, it is a very useful step.
• 3: If the bride has a baby whilst you’re crocheting her dress/top, make it adjustable!
• 4: If you can, ensure the bride is available to try on the outfit a few weeks before it’s needed. You might need to make adjustments.