A hand-knit wedding
Filed under: Do-It-Yourself, Theme weddings
On New Year's Eve 2003, Tonks and her husband were married in his game-themed dream wedding. The deal was that he got his dream wedding, so she'd have hers one day, too. The couple plans to renew their vows in an entirely knitted wedding ceremony in June 2010. That's right: knitted. Everything from the outfits to the decorations, invitations, favors, and even food will be hand-knit by the bride herself. She blogs about her projects and hosts a podcast so you can follow her progress and learn more about this fascinating endeavor.
We recently caught up with Tonks to talk about her projects. Keep reading to see our interview.
Aisledash: What made you want to have a knit wedding?
Tonks: Sometimes. I would say it's about 50/50, actually. Many of the patterns are my own design, and I have a knack of just winging things and letting the chips fall as they may. For some of the more structured pieces, I use patterns I love or pieces of clothing I already own as a template to ensure a proper fit, but I still end up drastically modifying even the pieces that I purchased patterns specifically to make the knits. Apparently I can't just follow a pattern.
AisleDash: And you do all the kitting yourself, right?
Tonks: Yes. Everything is being knit or crocheted by me and me alone.
AisleDash: When you say this wedding is 100% knit, do you mean every last detail? Really?
Tonks: There are technically pieces that are not knit, such as my undergarments, my husband's pants and the actual food provided to eat. I can't bring myself to make my husband be covered in knitting in the middle of June, so he does get to wear regular pants and a tux shirt so that we don't have to go to the emergency room for heat stroke, but outside of these concerns, the answer is yes -- everything is knit. Even the food is knit, though we will be providing the matching actually edible food as well. For each type of food, there will be a knitted counterpart.
AisleDash: Do you have a favorite yarn?
Tonks: Silk. I love silk. Habu silk, Debbi Bliss Puresilk... any 100% silk at all. Hurray for silk!
AisleDash: Are you basing your wedding dress on any particular designer dress?
Tonks: The original inspiration was a dress I found from St. Pucchi, one of my favorite designers, but it's evolved so far beyond that specific gown that it's now more of a bit of everything I've ever loved about wedding gowns.
AisleDash: You take donations, which you say then go to the ASPCA -- does the money go toward your supplies at all or is it strictly for charity? Why the ASPCA?
Tonks: It is 100% strictly for charity. We will also be collecting at the event itself. I chose the ASPCA because I am very passionate about animals. I do believe that we are their voice, and animal cruelty is one of the things that will send me into a violent, spitting rage. I often tell my husband that I will stop rescuing animals when they have to air lift my pet supplies. ;)
AisleDash: How long do you think the whole thing will take you from start to finish? And what will you do with your time when you're finally done?
Tonks: I am giving myself two years to get everything done, and if I can't make that timeline, we'll aim for the following June. I've outlined myself a very strict schedule, but life happens, you know? While I'm aiming for the June of 2010 deadline, if I can't make it, we'll do it the following year. I'll know much closer to the date just where the reality of the completed wedding is. As for what I'll do afterwards... well, I've been toying around with the idea of knitting a "man eating" garden, complete with venus fly traps, pitcher plants, butterworts and sundews. (I know. I'm odd.)
AisleDash: Do you sell any of your work? If our readers are interested in ordering something from you, what should they do?
Tonks: I do take custom orders, and used to vend knitted and crochet pieces through my site, weavingroses.com. Since taking on the wedding, all custom orders are closed, but when the wedding is done, I'll be back up for suggestions. I do not currently offer any specific items for sale, though I am designing patterns for publication.
AisleDash: Thanks, Tonks, and good luck with everything. We can't wait to see your finished wedding!
Tonks: I'm rather obsessed with knitting, crochet and anything yarn oriented, and I'm also a fan of planning weddings. I often find myself inspired to knit things themed by the loves in my life (for instance, the mass of Stephen King themed knits i have up in Ravelry) and it seemed a natural progression in the dangerous place that is my mind.
AisleDash: Do you make up the patterns yourself?
AisleDash: Do you make up the patterns yourself?
Tonks: Sometimes. I would say it's about 50/50, actually. Many of the patterns are my own design, and I have a knack of just winging things and letting the chips fall as they may. For some of the more structured pieces, I use patterns I love or pieces of clothing I already own as a template to ensure a proper fit, but I still end up drastically modifying even the pieces that I purchased patterns specifically to make the knits. Apparently I can't just follow a pattern.
AisleDash: And you do all the kitting yourself, right?
Tonks: Yes. Everything is being knit or crocheted by me and me alone.
AisleDash: When you say this wedding is 100% knit, do you mean every last detail? Really?
Tonks: There are technically pieces that are not knit, such as my undergarments, my husband's pants and the actual food provided to eat. I can't bring myself to make my husband be covered in knitting in the middle of June, so he does get to wear regular pants and a tux shirt so that we don't have to go to the emergency room for heat stroke, but outside of these concerns, the answer is yes -- everything is knit. Even the food is knit, though we will be providing the matching actually edible food as well. For each type of food, there will be a knitted counterpart.
AisleDash: Do you have a favorite yarn?
Tonks: Silk. I love silk. Habu silk, Debbi Bliss Puresilk... any 100% silk at all. Hurray for silk!
AisleDash: Are you basing your wedding dress on any particular designer dress?
Tonks: The original inspiration was a dress I found from St. Pucchi, one of my favorite designers, but it's evolved so far beyond that specific gown that it's now more of a bit of everything I've ever loved about wedding gowns.
AisleDash: You take donations, which you say then go to the ASPCA -- does the money go toward your supplies at all or is it strictly for charity? Why the ASPCA?
Tonks: It is 100% strictly for charity. We will also be collecting at the event itself. I chose the ASPCA because I am very passionate about animals. I do believe that we are their voice, and animal cruelty is one of the things that will send me into a violent, spitting rage. I often tell my husband that I will stop rescuing animals when they have to air lift my pet supplies. ;)
AisleDash: How long do you think the whole thing will take you from start to finish? And what will you do with your time when you're finally done?
Tonks: I am giving myself two years to get everything done, and if I can't make that timeline, we'll aim for the following June. I've outlined myself a very strict schedule, but life happens, you know? While I'm aiming for the June of 2010 deadline, if I can't make it, we'll do it the following year. I'll know much closer to the date just where the reality of the completed wedding is. As for what I'll do afterwards... well, I've been toying around with the idea of knitting a "man eating" garden, complete with venus fly traps, pitcher plants, butterworts and sundews. (I know. I'm odd.)
AisleDash: Where is the wedding going to be held?
Tonks: We are hoping to host the event at On The Lamb, a yarn shop in Staunton, VA. It's an amazing shop set in an old Victorian home. There are pictures of the shop on my blog.
AisleDash: Do you sell any of your work? If our readers are interested in ordering something from you, what should they do?
Tonks: I do take custom orders, and used to vend knitted and crochet pieces through my site, weavingroses.com. Since taking on the wedding, all custom orders are closed, but when the wedding is done, I'll be back up for suggestions. I do not currently offer any specific items for sale, though I am designing patterns for publication.
AisleDash: Thanks, Tonks, and good luck with everything. We can't wait to see your finished wedding!
What's in a name?
Dress of the day: Anastasia by Maggie Sottero
Unusual wedding cakes from Dragons and Daffodils
