Hello everyone ✨
The completion of a "big" project as a fairly new crocheter can be very thrilling. It's another Monday and a great time to share our needlework in the #needlworkmonday community. For today, I will be sharing with you one of my crochet projects.
In early August, I got the grand idea of making a full crochet outfit that would look elegant and decent enough to be worn to a public gathering. I didn't have a particular picture in mind but I knew that this outfit was going to be a three piece; skirt, top and gloves.
I set out to start making the project and it was going really well. I made the gloves first and these gloves had a special feature; a drawstring. The drawstring was added to ensure that the gloves remain in position and I wouldn't have to keep drawing up the gloves each time.
The pattern for the gloves was a really spontaneous one but in the end, I liked it. The gloves give off the "unique" energy. However, a great percentage of my friends who saw the gloves thought I was making a "spider-woman" outfit :). Not going to lie, I had thoughts of giving the rest of the outfit the 'spidery' look but spidery and elegant didn't seem to go well together.
Moving on, the top was my second project. I got the inspiration to make the top from a free pattern I saw on an app. It was a bit taskful because of the hexagonal opening by the chest but in the end, it came out really well. I liked the way the top looked in the end. This is a top that I can wear with a pair of jeans or a skirt and it would still look very pretty.
The final projects were the skirt and the bonus beret. The beret was added because I recently made this beret in a black colour {here} and it has come in very handy so I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have it in another colour. Also, it gives a finishing touch to the "elegance" I was looking out for.
The skirt must have been the most tedious part of this project. A friend asked me how I was going to make a skirt without any form of prior experience and I told him that I would just start, follow a straight pattern and violá. If only it was that easy.
I started making the skirt from the waist. I do not have a really large waist so the waistband was a small one. Along the line, I made little increases by the sides of the skirt. I can remember trying on the skirt after each increase I made just to ensure that I was on the right track and wouldn't have to loosen the whole skirt. In the end, I still had to loosen it and start all over:(. But it was worth it in the end.
The whole process of making the skirt was a challenge but one major challenge was something any crocheter dreads the most–yarn finishing. The yarn finished and on reaching the market, I heard that the particular colour was out of stock so I had to improvise. I got a shade darker and continued with the project. At the back of my mind, I kept reminding myself that every improvisation and every mistake is a new design, hehe. One eternity later I finished making the skirt.
After trying out the skirt, I felt like it looked really regular and devoid of uniqueness so I decided to add little extras– the external pockets. Adding a pocket outside gives the skirt a whole different feel and look. I like having pockets on my dresses so why not add one to a dress made by myself? This skirt could easily pass for a khaki skirt.
After every piece was in place, it was time to try them on. I didn't know what I was going to look like in the end, only one way to find out. With so much bliss, I tried them on and boy oh boy! I looked pretty. I like the fact that I can customise a crochet dress just for myself.
The first person I sent a picture to was my sister and she was awestruck. She liked every piece of it. I could literally hear the exhilaration in her voice. More compliments came in when I stepped out for the shoot. This outfit really speaks for itself. It makes a statement.
I do not know if I indeed attained the "elegant' look I was going for but I was nothing short of excited! It felt like I should wear the dress for as long as possible.
I would like to hear your opinion on the outfit. What do you think I should have done better? Or what adjustments do you think I should have made? Do you also like how the three + one piece turned out in the end?
With that, I have come to the end of my first three piece crochet outfit. It was a really exciting sojourn with lots of experience to gather and lessons to learn. I look forward to making more outfits. Do have a lovely Monday 😇
All images used belong to me and were taken with my mobile device except stated otherwise.
