Checking off the projects

Over the weekend we hit the six month mark, and for the most part, the wedding is pretty much on schedule. There are still a few things *cough* flowers *cough* that are a little bit behind, but overall the old to do list isn't too bad. I've also recently made some progress in the projects category. The STD's are out, and last night I decided to (finally) finish my garter. I don't know if we are going to do the toss, but I still wanted one anyway. I started it about a month or two ago, and I put it on the back burner because I was a little nervous about cutting and closing the material. After finishing the STD's, I had the confidence to finish my garter up.

The inspiration from my garter came from the detailing on my dress. I wanted an organza skirt to poke out from the bottom and a design above similar to the lace of my dress.

Supplies: sewing needles, size 7 crochet hook, ivory organza material, ecru thread size 10, champagne ribbon, sewing scissors, white sewing thread, and sewing pins.
The crocheted edge was the first thing I finished. I designed the pattern from my dress with holes in the design to tread ribbon through. The end result was a circle with a circumference of 22". I also added starch to make the bottom of the pattern stay down. It didn't work as well as I would have liked. I don't think I let the iron sit on the material long enough, because I was worried about damaging it.

If anyone wants to learn how to crochet. I would suggest going to this website and using thick thread and a large hook to start with.

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/cms/HowToGuide.asp?Articleid=839

I was lucky to have someone to teach me this skill, but if you are going to teach yourself, you will need pictures! The above website has really clear pictures and explanations of the basic stitches.

Next, I measured the length of organza with the crocheted circle. I made sure to add pleats into my measuring. I cut the height of the organza to be two inches all the way around and closed the material with a candle. (I got this technique from Miss Poodle and Mrs. Piglet.) The first side of the organza that I closed burnt too much, but I just cut that part off. It was ok since I had added all the extra material for pleats.

Here is the finished crochet design and cut and closed organza put together with pins.
After that, I used a needle and thread to sew the top of the organza to the top of the crocheted circle. To finish her off, I weaved the champagne ribbon through the top holes and cut and closed the ends of the ribbon.

End Result

Yay! One more task down!

I didn't actually match the material colors to my dress, and the garter is obviously darker than my dress. It still works because no one can see it and off white and tan are our wedding colors.

Are you planning on wearing a garter? Did you have any task that you put off because you were nervous about making a mistake?