I do! Eveliina crocheted her wedding dress herself—it took nine months to complete

Eveliina Aakkula, where did you get the idea to crochet your own wedding dress?

At first, the idea of crocheting my wedding dress was just a fun joke that lingered in the back of my mind, so I decided to browse through patterns. Before long, I found Chi Krnetan Chrysanthemum Lace Dress—a pattern I had purchased in July 2016.

Crocheting has always been the most natural way for me to do crafts, so I never even considered other options.

In the fall of 2016, I picked up some Jutaka silk yarn at the Tampere crafts fair. The following spring, I chose bleached linen yarn as my second material.

Was it easy to follow the pattern and crochet, or did you ever feel like giving up?

I started, as the pattern instructed, with the bodice, working the front and back separately. At one point, I had to unravel the entire bodice because, even though I had done a gauge swatch, the size I chose still wasn’t right. My yarn and hook size were different from the pattern. I was really upset to rip everything out, but I had no choice.

Each of the back and front pieces had 34 rows, and the skirt altogether had around 100 rows. There was plenty of skirt and train to work on, so I did get a bit tired of repeating the same rounds.

Fortunately, the pattern was very clear and included charts. Because of that, I never felt like giving up. However, when I ran out of the original silk yarn for the skirt and couldn’t find a matching replacement, I started worrying about how it would turn out. After trying another silk yarn and ripping that out too, I decided to crochet the rest of the skirt with double strands of linen yarn. Luckily, you can’t see the difference in the finished dress.

How did you finish your outfit?

My sister Johanna Aakkula sewed the underslip to my measurements and helped block the crocheted dress.

How long did it take you? Would you tackle a project like this again?

I began crocheting in July 2017 and finished the dress in March 2018. I worked on it during my younger child’s naps and in the evenings. The sewing of the underslip and the final details of the crocheted dress continued until just one week before our wedding day, August 25, 2018.

Crocheting the dress was an exciting journey. It’s good to challenge yourself with something new, but for such a large project, it’s usually a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Did you keep your wedding dress hidden from your spouse? What did he think of it?

My husband did see me crocheting the dress now and then, and sometimes caught a peek during a fitting, but he only saw the completed dress on our wedding day.

He thought the dress was beautiful, skillfully made, and perfectly matched my personality.

What did your wedding guests say about your dress?

Almost every guest admired it and wondered if I had really crocheted the dress myself. Even in the church, I heard someone whisper, “Wow, I wonder if she made it herself.” Throughout the evening, I explained how I made the dress and how long it took. It was wonderful to get praise from people I know for such a big project.

You shared a photo of your crocheted wedding dress in a Facebook crafting group. Did the feedback there surprise you?

Initially, I was surprised by how fast and how many likes and reactions I received. Over 5,000 likes was incredible! Every comment and congratulations warmed my heart.

Are you saving the dress as a keepsake, or do you have other plans for it?

For now, I’m planning to keep the dress as a memento. We’ll see what I might use it for later. My dream is to display it somewhere so more people can admire it.

What advice would you give to those inspired by your work? Do you need to be an experienced crocheter for a wedding dress project, or could it be done with less experience?

Patience and persistence are essential, because sometimes you have to unravel your work even if you’ve been very careful with your gauge swatches.

The pattern is so well-made and clear that you can finish it even with limited experience. The fabric evens out because it’s stretchy, and the pattern repeats so many times that you pick it up quickly. I tried on the dress whenever possible, so I could make adjustments right away.