Crocheted dress, DONE

Alright, I already mentioned this in the whatchathinkin-thread, and I thought I'd make a thread where you can follow my progress ^_^

Inspiration:
these crocheted dresses from Cruxandcrow (http://www.etsy.com/shop/cruxandcrow)




I just love how they look! Of course, I could never afford to actually buy something like this, so I decided to try and make my own version, and dye it however I want. I bought some white, thin, 100% cotton crocheting thread, and I already had a size 2 hook, so I was able to start!
I have no patterns (because I can't read them, haha), so I'm making it up as I go. At least I'm not copying someone's designs :P

Here's what I have so far. This will be the big back piece as seen in the first picture. It's 21cm (a bit over 8 inches) in diameter, and it took me about 5 hours to make. It looks somehow chunky in the photo, it's really not like that O_o

ah im so excited for this!!!

Wow, this is awesome! I can't wait to see your progress.

I crochet too, but I wouldn't know how to begin a dress like that. They look complicated. I'm eager to see how you get on with it .

Thanks, I'm happy you're excited as well ^_^

Twink, I have no idea how to make them, either xD But if you study the dress a bit, you'll notice it's basically made of doilies (google "doilies", you'll see it) that have been crocheted together. So I'm making those now :)

I'm just using basic chain stitches, double crochet, slip stitches, increasing and decreasing. Making it up as I go. The hardest part is keeping it flat, so it won't start looking like a bag :D Lots of counting. I'm surprised it's going so smoothly, there are no extra stitches so far.

I'm thinking I should decide on which day I'd post an update, so I'd have a "deadline" :D Maybe Sunday...

beautiful! i can't wait to see the finished dress
i've always wanted to crochet but i really don't have the patience!

I have the patience of an elephant, so I can do things like this. My version isn't that technically demanding, just time-consuming. I'm eager to see it finished as well :) (then I have to make another one...!)

Right now, the back piece is about 45cm (almost 18 inches) in diameter. I measured that 60cm would be enough, so it's almost done! Picture tomorrow~

WHOOOP!! i so want to make one too.

Sunday Update #1!

GLORIOUS BACK PIECE, 62cm (24½ inches) in diameter, it is DONE. About 12 hours in total.



NEXT, those two smaller doilies in the front! I'm estimating about 30cm diameter for those~

Cute, you're making real progress. Excited to see the next steps . Maybe you should write down what you're doing? I like writing down what I do as I crochet, because then I can correct myself afterwards, or make a pattern of it later on and repeat it without having to figure it out again .

this is so cool this is so cool this is so cool!!!!!!!

Twink* wrote:Cute, you're making real progress. Excited to see the next steps :). Maybe you should write down what you're doing? I like writing down what I do as I crochet, because then I can correct myself afterwards, or make a pattern of it later on and repeat it without having to figure it out again :).

Good idea, I'll do that :)


I was thinking, that if you want to make a dress like this as well but can't crochet, maybe ask your grandma/someone else skilled at crocheting to make doilies for you? Or keep an eye on flea markets, maybe someone's selling doilies. You'll just have to attach them to each other and dye ^_^ Just make sure they're well-made, clean and soft, so they'll be nice to wear.
Or, if this one's a success, buy a dress from me xD

The first small doily is almost done! It's like a flower :)Running out of my first roll of thread D: I have to buy more!

//I has more thread ^w^

Mm-hmm, I finished first of the front doilies :) A flower! The edges are a bit droopy, but I'm sure it'll be fixed when I wash them. God knows what chemicals and dirt there are on these threads. 30cm (12 inches) in diameter, 7 hours.

woooow beautiful and so detailed!
2mm hooks and thin thread seem hard to work with, how are you finding them? x

Thank you! I find it easy to work with them, though the thread feels slippery sometimes, or it comes undone O_o You like, pick just one fiber of it accidentally and it looks ugly :D Nothing that you can't fix, of course. But it's really fun, though it takes longer to finish than with thicker thread.

This project is awesome. I never could do something like this because of my skills and I guess I would end up screaming and throw it all away... haha.

I'm looking forward to see the progress  

Heh, my skills aren't good at all, like I said, I'm just using basic stitches :D Just imagine what it would be like if I knew how to make crazy sh*t like this! Irish crochet D:



Working on the second smaller front doily, it's the simplest one so far. Shouldn't take too long ^_^ Then I'll either start making those really small doilies, or the shoulder piece.

^ that is so gorgeous!

IKR! Maybe I could learn Irish crochet some day, but not now... Even I don't have the patience for that, plus there's the learning first and I'm always reluctant to learn new things O_o

My simple doilies are good enough for now! Even my sister likes what I've been doing ^_^ Here's the second front doily, it's the simplest one so far. Just chains. 30cm (12 inches) in diameter, didn't look at the time... Maybe 5 hours.

This is similar to your concept, I think. It involves doilies too: http://static.squarespace.com/static/50aba8f1e4b038728efd2bc4/50f0c6d8e4b0ceb75bc8f144/50f0c753e4b0a42e43ea9fb8/1357956999275/Screen%20Shot%202013-01-11%20at%208.07.12%20PM.png?format=1500w

It's from Eternal sunshine creations. They have a doilies sweater as well:http://static.squarespace.com/static/50aba8f1e4b038728efd2bc4/50f0c6d8e4b0ceb75bc8f144/50f0c798e4b08d03393973f4/1357957048681/Screen%20Shot%202013-01-11%20at%208.05.19%20PM.png?format=750w

^ Those look lovely! I could have smaller crocheting projects as well, make sweaters and bags ^_^

I didn't have a Sunday update, since I've been updating pretty well, and I knew I was gonna make these next...



The small ones are about 6cm (a bit over 2 inches) in diameter, and each took ten minutes :P So, 70 minutes in total.
The flowerish doilies are 10 cm (4 inches), and the stars 11cm in diameter. Didn't look at the time again, but I guess it took about half an our to make one...

Those will be in the front. Now I only have to make two ~15cm doilies and the shoulder pieces! Then I can start putting it together ^w^

i cant wait!!! you're doing them really fast

Sunday update #2, even though it's Monday here :P

Bought my third roll of thread. One roll is a bit under 5€.

No pictures, but I'll tell where I'm at. I've finished the shoulder pieces (front and back), I'm gonna attach them to each other and crochet around them to make the edges more neat. I decided to make them simple net pattern, to draw the attention to the hem more, like in the dark dress in my OP.

Then I'm going to attach together the doilies I have now, and see if I need to make more to fill any gaps :D (like those 15cm doilies...)

The final thing (with crocheting) would be going around the hem, making it prettier. I think I'm gonna leave the tassels out, that can be seen in the inspiration picture.

Then I wash the dress!

The final final thing... dyeing! It's gonna be expensive, but dammit, it's almost done!

Good luck, thanks for keeping us up-to-date, I like seeing the progress .

gaaawk, just reading through your posts makes me so excited for the result! What color(s?) are you going to dye it?

cindragale wrote:gaaawk, just reading through your posts makes me so excited for the result! What color(s?) are you going to dye it?

This one is going to my sister, and she wanted yellow-orange-green! My own dress I'm gonna probably dye black-red-somethirdcolordunnoyet, similar to the dark dress in the example picture :)

I've attached the pieces and I tried the dress on... It's so flowy and dreamy *__* I also realized I really do need two 15cm doilies for the sides. So I'm doing those now.

I also told my sister about the dyes I'm gonna buy, and she offered to pay for them. 5,99€ for one bag of dye (Dylon). They're hand dyes, the kind that you just mix with water and salt, let the fabric soak for 45 mins, wash it and let it dry. I can control pretty well where I want each color.

Sunflower yellow, Goldfish orange and Tropical green ^_^

Are those all the Dylon colors there are available? I've been wanting to dye 3 sweaters I have, they are knitted in faded colors and those don't suit me. I think I'd go for one brown, one navy blue and one rosewood red. A very long time ago I dyed t-shirts and a pair of pants, but they didn't turn out so good, so I'm nervous about trying to dye something again... I hope all goes well in the dyeing process for you!

Those are pretty much all of Dylon dyes, most likely washing machine dyes. The hand dye selection is a bit more narrow. You can check out their website: http://www.dylon.co.uk/ (skip the intro, it gets stuck on 404 otherwise O.o)
There's more info on each color and which fabrics are good for dyeing :) The thread I'm using is 100% cotton, so I assume it's gonna dye beautifully. Also, I'm gonna use hand dye because I don't want to destroy my washing machine (apart from the control over the dye) :D

I think these dyes are good, since they've done it since the 40s :o And the site from where I'm gonna order them is a Finnish army surplus site, and they use the dyes on canvas shoes, jackets and other clothes, so I have pretty high expectations!

Btw, I have never dyed anything!
... Apart from painting on a silk scarf in school :p

//Found a video!

Dylon i great and the washing machine dyes are w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l and work great!! the only thing is though, if you want to make the dress colourful then the machine colour might not work as it will dye the whole thing.

^ Yeah, the hand dyes will be perfect for this :) I assume they'll work just as great as the washing machine dyes!

I haven't been crocheting as intensely lately, but now I'm working on the hem and making finishing touches. I also have the dyes now. I was thinking, that now that I have the new phone, I could probably make a video of some sort of the dyeing. Would that be interesting? :D

That would be interesting, but won't you need more hands to film & dye?
I am crossing my fingers for the end result of the dress, and please keep us up to date, I really like seeing how it comes along. I crochet & knit too, but I hardly ever have the time to discuss it with others, though I am always excited to see the creative progress with other people!

I'll stick the phone between some books or tape it to my forehead or something, or give it to my fiancé so he can do the filming :D
And thanks, I'm hoping as well that the result will be good! There's a high chance that I'll mess it up, since this is my first time crocheting something this big and dyeing D:

Lol :-)
& Good luck!

I'd suggest you test out hand dying first because I've used Nylon hand dye too and it didn't work for me :/

Alright, good idea... I'll make a test patch with the same thread and a small amount of dye to see how it goes!

RRRAAAAHHH!



Tomorrow I'll wash it and maybe take a picture of myself wearing it, right now it's the middle of the night and photos would be too dark or the flash would be ugly D: (just like in this picture)

That's fast!

that's beautiful!!

Oh my god that is epic!!!!! Can't wait to see it dyed!

Hee, me neither ^_^ I also figured out the order in which the colors should be. To avoid ugly color combinations just in case, green and orange shouldn't be next to each other. They both have yellow in them though, so it has to be in the middle. So the order would be orange on top, yellow in the middle, and green in the hem. I tested in Photoshop how the colors could turn out, you can see the weird, ugly edge between orange and green on the left. Yellow in the middle creates a smooth transition :) Besides, orange+green hurts my eyes!



I also took pictures wearing the dress after I had washed it. I took 5 pics, and couldn't decide which ones to show, so I thought f* it, here's all of them xD It took me forever to find a black dress to wear underneath, since all my clothes are black... (why do I always look so weird in pictures O_o)

My version of the dress is a bit smaller than the original, but it's OK, I think.

Wow! Cool Very nice.

Wow, it's so pretty! That is so cool that you made that. It's particularly great to see how it looks now after just slowly seeing your progress.

Well done!

I love this project! O_O So fairylike and unique <3 Makes me want to craft something beautiful as well...

I forgot how to breathe!!! This is so stunningly beautiful!! And I love how you posted your progress even though I saw all posts tonight haha ^v^ Amazing!!

I'M DOING IT

I'M DYEING THE DRESS, FINALLY

I'm just taking pictures, but I'll explain the process as well as I can =^.^=

I think it's looking quite lovely so far!

Can't wait to see it   

Kkkkkk, posting these now! I'm so bad ;_;

OK, so, I used Dylon hand dyes, colors Goldfish Orange, Sunflower Yellow and Tropical Green. Following the instructions (more or less; I wasn't too picky about the amount of salt, haha), I started with the yellow, because I thought it would be easier to start with the middle. Put the dye in the blue vat and mixed salt and water in a bucket, then poured it in. Wearing gloves, I put the dress into the liquid and squished it around a little and rubbed lightly. Left it for ~15 minutes, got back and did it again, and adjusted the dress to sink it in a bit more, to get that gradient effect better... Another 15 minutes, more squishing and adjusting. Looks disgusting, I know xD



After another 15 minutes I took it out of the dye and hand-washed it in the sink with a dab of detergent, until the water was clear. This is how it looked after that:



Then the orange. Same process:



Result:



And the green... I love how it looks in this picture, dunno why:



AND FINISHED



My sister seemed to love it, and she even wore it when we visited our dad during the summer. It fits her perfectly ^^ Even though I'm the larger sibling xD

WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY
-I'd dye the whole thing yellow first, since it gives a nice base color for the others as seen in the gradient; it would look more "whole".
-I'd use less dye; now the colors are rather strong! But I figured I shouldn't keep any leftovers since I didn't know if I was ever gonna use them again, so I just dumped them all in :D Though we'll see if it'll fade as the dress is used and washed more.
-I'd make the gradient more gradual xD The transition didn't look that abrupt while doing the dyeing, I can see it now when it's hanging.

I hope you like it and sorry for taking forever =^.^=
Now, to make one for myself... :p