Date cast on: 12/25/2017
Date cast off: 5/19/2018
Yarn: Knit Picks Curio, black, 6 balls, $23.94
Needles: Addi Click, received as a gift in 2010, $0
Other materials: Beads, $2.50
Pattern: Alora No. 3300 Evening Gown, published Minerva Style Book No. 33, 1930, free Previous post located here
Ravelry link here
Total cost of materials: $26.44
In 1930 Minerva released a knitting pattern for an evening gown. It was very much the style of the time: floor length with a brush train, backless, gorgeous, extremely Art Deco and deeply reminiscent of the sort of pre-Depression opulence that led to the global economy heading straight into the tank.
Eighty eight years later and I get it into my head that I’d like to knit an evening gown. I have nowhere to wear an evening gown. I don’t have any formal events coming up and even if I did, the people I know are more tuxedo t-shirt and Pabst Blue Ribbon than pre-War couture and Dom Pérignon.
I wouldn’t buy a 1930’s-style vintage evening gown because undoubtedly it would cost one more boatload of money than I care to pay for something I have no occasion to wear. I can knit a gown pretty easily with enough time and Netflix, and because this gown is for me, and no occasion at all, I felt free to choose materials that are more durable and less expensive. If I were knitting my own wedding dress, cotton crochet thread wouldn’t be my first choice. Because I was knitting a gown to swan around the house for no one to see except for me, I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on laceweight silk and cashmere.
Spending hundreds of hours knitting a lace cotton 1930-style evening gown instead of spending thousands of dollars on a handmade 1930-style evening gown? That’s unapologetically ersatz.
The original pattern was knit flat and seamed together. The bodice was knit in two pieces (front and back) and the skirt was knit in three pieces (one front gore, two back gores with train.) The original gauge called for is a somewhat insane 8 sts per inch and 7 rows per inch. KnitPicks Curio mimics this gauge pretty well on size 4 needles.
Initially I knit the bodice in two pieces and ultimately used that as the gauge. I also began by knitting the front gore of the skirt. My plan had been to follow the original pattern as closely as was reasonable. About one-third of the way through the front gore I threw this idea out the window and rewrote the pattern completely. The gore I knit was obviously going to be too short (and I realized I had about 30 stitches more than I needed to) so I frogged it and rejiggered my plan.
Because the original pattern is available for free online and my design does not deviate significantly from the original (though it does in several key ways) I’m offering it for free. Feel free to create your own evening gown from this pattern, but don’t make those finished products available for commercial purposes.
This pattern is listed for a 37″ waist. The drawstring is the narrowest part of this gown and it has a generous 4″ allowance. The intention is to make an adjustable gown that would work through personal size variations for years to come. I also added back-facing shoulder straps to hold the top closed while wearing it. I added some gold beads because I think they’re nice. I also erred in my initial calculations on length so it pools at my feet. My dress is more Morticia Addams than Ginger Rogers and I couldn’t be happier with that. If you’re going for something more Ginger Rogers and less Morticia Addams, try on your skirt periodically as you near the end. My pattern is knit completely in the round.
There is only one size listed. I invite you to reach out to me if you find any miscalculations in my math so that I can correct it.