A Special Day
It was my sister who came up with the idea.
When she announced her engagment last November, my first thought was that I had to make something for her. But what? Mom got to work right away, making doilies for the tables. My grandpa put together cupcake stands. My aunt and grandma were put in charge of the cupcake and cake making. I did my best helping with various little crafts, but knew I really wanted to knit her something.
Then, early this year, my sister called and asked if I would knit her wedding garter. She wasn't picky about the pattern - as long as it was pretty. All she asked was that the garter was lacy and white with blue ribbon.
What sister would say no, right?
Pattern: Knitted Lace Wedding Garter
Yarn: baby merino - picked up the yarn at a shop, spending the most I ever have for a skein. But by golly, it was worth every penny!
Needles: US size 0
Notes:
July 14: Original yarn - cotton - turned out to be much too harsh. Traveled to the yarn store and found a skein of baby merino. Am hoping it works much better.
July 19: After three failed attempts and twice having to tink back some rows, all the knitting done. Looked up instructions for blocking merino which involves pinning it down then lightly spraying it with water.
July 20: Awoke at 9am to head over to the store for final supplies - elastic (who knew there were so many different kinds?). Took out the pins; Mom thought ironing it would help with the curling but we found you must do so with a wet towel over the merino else it will curl more. Mom then took over, hand-stitched the light blue bias tape, put in the elastic before it was sealed all the way, then threaded in the ribbon. Then used a strand of the merino to sew up the garter. Didn't seal the end of the bias tape so we'd be able to adjust the length of elastic.
July 21: Had my sis try it on to make sure it fit, then cut and stitched the elastic a bit more since it was a little loose.
Wedding day: The photographer took pictures of all my sister's accessories - including the garter - before she put them on. When my sis mentioned how I had made the garter, I was asked to put it on my sister while the photographer snapped pictures. It lasted through the whole ceremony and reception with no problems. There was no throwing it, either! Sis took the garter with her to Alaska as a keepsake.
With that, my first forte with itty bitty toothpicks needles, itty bitty yarn and real lacework is a success. More than that, it was a special day all-around. Can't ask for more than that.
