I originally purchased the yarn I am using for the Minerva 1930’s evening gown. Because I loved the color so much and it was the last of their ebay stock, I decided to risk purchasing a dk weight over a fingering yarn in hopes the dense silk would be sufficient. I did not like how it was knitting up so I decided to try this pattern. I crocheted a few swatches and it appeared that the 7dc shells gave the 1.5” gauge and 9 dc shells gave the 2” gauge so I set out to follow the swatch measurements. I chose to start my project at the waist and work up and then work the skirt backwards (top to bottom instead of bottom to top) because I want to lengthen the skirt and have the bottom of the skirt be a bright color, maybe magenta.

So I started the waist using what I thought were correct gauges, but by the time I got to the worked round after the first increase, it seemed too large for my small waist. The piece lying flat measured approx 14” (to make 28”) and just didn’t seem right. So I unraveled it and after spending a good hour untangling the mess with my boyfriend, I started over, this time following the exact instructions. I am on day 2 and it seems to be more accurate at 26”. My big concern is whether it will be too heavy and if I have enough yarn.

03/02/2012 Putting this project on hold for a bit. :-( I finished the top on the 27th and showed it to my sister in law, who then reminded me I never finished the baby blanket for my niece. Oops! The guilt convinced me to get back to work on the blanket and put this down for a bit. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I had a bit of trouble with the pattern once I got to the armholes, row 2 to be specific. I was somehow supposed to increase from 7 to 8 shells but ending with a single chain on top of chain 3 still kept me at 7 shells. Since I’m small on top, I let it be with the 7 shells instead of the 8. So basically I did 3 rows of 7 and then decreased to 6 on row 4. Did the same thing for the second armhole and went on to the yoke. I suppose I get impatient, but not everything was lining up the way it seemed like it was supposed to in the pattern, so I improvised a lot to stay as close to The pattern as I could. The last step in row 4 of the yoke calls for 2 even rounds, but the straps didn’t seem wide enough, so I added an extra row. I still have to do the finished edging, but I was happy to see that it fits! I followed the pattern and did the 7.5” to the armhole, but maybe I should have made it a bit longer because I have a long torso. Hopefully blocking and the weight of the skirt will help, other than that I don’t really mind a high waist.

03/27/2012 I got antsy and started this back up. Got through the first 4 1/2” of the skirt, working the rounds of 17 shells, I’m ready for my first increase.

05/07/2012. A few weeks ago, I decided to go ahead and sew the skirt to the top so I would feel as if I’m making progress and I’m glad I did! First, the waist looked awkward with the 2 rows of single crochets and second, it wasn’t very flowy so it had a weird shape. I continued with tight shells for those first 4 1/2” and then switched to loose shells and it didn’t look right at all! I was up to the knees but since this is going to be my wedding dress in november, I decided to start over from the waist. This time, instead if making the skirt separate, I just started upside down from the waist on the sc (and started the skirt loose to begin with), did only 3 rows of 17 before the first increase and it looks TONS better! I am now on the 7 shells of 48 row, so I’m getting there!

P.s. when I started this projects, I jokingly told Jacob it is my wedding dress and he can propose when it’s finished. The proposal came quicker than i thought an I now have til November 3rd to finish this. Yikes!

05/15/2012 The dress is now long enough so that it should fall below the knees when blocked. Did the finishing edging for the top, but am having a hard time deciding what I want for my contrast color. I’m thinking of a rose color since our theme is vintage. My cousin suggested I add a train, but I dunno. I think I’m going to add some beads to the top to make it a bit more fancy.

Uploaded a couple of pics of my progress so far, the only poufy-ish dress I had to put under for now was a red polka dot one lol. I’m not digging how it looks like I have no shape on top, it just seems to plain. I think I’ll find a waist cincher of the contrasting color and see how that looks.

The top is not tight enough and though I LIKE it so far, I don’t LOVE it. I need to love it, so I’ve undid the whole top and am starting again. I also finally decided on an accent yarn and was a bit disappointed when it came in…it’s not nearly as silky as the duck egg considering it is also supposed to be silk. It almost feels like cotton.

07/16/2012 Just thought I’d update this. I ended up taking pretty much the whole thing apart! I’ve strung iridescent beads onto the yarn for the top so that I can have some bead accents in between the shells. For the skirt, I’m changing the shape so that it is a “trumpet” fit and flares into a train of the alternating color. We’ll be going on a week long vacation with a 17 hour drive each way so I better have time to work on this! I’ve been so crazy busy lately, this has taken the back burner. :( I did find a seamstress to make the under-dress in the alternating color.

09/01/2012 I finished the top last month and am about just under the butt into the skirt. Unfortunately, I did not get as much done during vacation as I wanted to and now that school has begun, I’m starting to freak! Just 2 months to go and I’m not really sure how I’m going to tackle the flared portion of the skirt. The seamstress finished a white underdress and it fits great over it, I just need to tweak the “sleeves” a bit and then try and get the flare and the train done by November.

10/14/2012 School started in August and I realized I would no longer have time to finish the dress on my own, so I enlisted my mother to help. To get the dress to be tight instead of A-line, we kept the same amount of stitches as the waist for a good 3-4 inches, made some subtle increases around the butt and top of thighs, decreased mid-thigh and made more increases where the dress starts to flare. I had attempted to make an upside down v shape with the faro yarn on the back so that i can transition to faro all around once i got to the flare but my “v” came out crooked. :( It’s okay though, I’m going to put a satin sash to cover it. So once i got to the butt area, my mom took over. Basically she made several increases when she got to the flare and has kept the same amount of stitches when we got to a point that the crocheted dress draped nicely over the trumpet. She has a few more inches until she hits the front bottom, so we figured out where the train starts and decided she would go back and forth from one seam to the other for the train portion. It is coming out beautifully and I am so grateful for my momma. My sis hasn’t sent me the pics of the progress so far, but the gloves I made are the same faro color here unfortunately i broke my right hand and it is in a cast so i can only wear one glove. Should be interesting.
edit sis just sent pics, uploaded even though they aren’t very clear.

12/1/2012 It’s been over a month, but the dress was finally finished and blocked on October 30th. You can see from the blocking picture, the transition from the hips to the flare is kind of awkward, but it fit quite nice! We widened up the straps to match the shape of the under dress and sewed snaps all around the top of both dresses to help keep it in place. My mom had been worried she didn’t make it long enough pre-blocking, but after it was blocked it actually ended up being TOO long and I kept getting my heels caught in it all day! It’s crazy to think when i started this project, I had no real purpose for it; I just wanted to make this beautifully vintage A-Line dress and everything transformed perfectly. Happy with how it turned out and happy to be married. :) Final pictures courtesy of Old South Photography in Zachary, LA.