Kalia

I designed Kalia for my own wedding day. It is an intermediate-level, 100% made-to-measure and fully customizable crochet dress pattern.

Kalia is designed to give you the freedom to create a dress that feels like you. You will decide the width and length of the dress, the type and length of the sleeves, and whether you want to add a train. You can also adjust the shaping, silhouette and overall look of the dress to your liking. Because of this, finished Kalia dresses may look very different from one another — and that is exactly the idea behind the pattern.

Alterations are not only allowed but encouraged. I will guide you through the process of making the top and adding the skirt, explaining the logic behind the construction along the way. From there, the final shape and appearance of your dress will depend on your choices, your measurements and your vision.

I hope you will enjoy the creative process as much as I did when designing and making mine.

Pattern

The pattern includes both written instructions and charts.

As Kalia is made to measure, you will need to take and check your measurements throughout the making process. The instructions will guide you through the necessary measurements and construction steps, but the final dimensions of the dress are up to you.

Yarn

Hook size: 3.5 mm Choose a yarn that works well with a 3.5 mm crochet hook. I recommend fingering-weight yarn, particularly cotton, cotton/acrylic blends or viscose.

I especially recommend yarns made from 4 separate plies/strands — they create a beautiful stitch definition and look fantastic in the finished dress.

Yarn quantity

The amount of yarn you need will depend heavily on the dress you choose to create. Consider your size, the length and width of the dress, the silhouette, the presence of a train, the amount of ruffling and your individual crochet tension.

A short, fitted size S dress may take around 1000 m, while a long, wide dress with a train and plenty of ruffles can require up to 5000 m.

The Kalia I made for my wedding was a size S, long, mermaid-shaped dress with a train, and I used approximately 3000 m of yarn.

The general rule is simple: the wider and fuller you make your dress, the more yarn you will need.

Because of the potentially large amount of yarn required, I strongly recommend choosing a yarn that is continuously available rather than a limited or discontinued colourway. That way, if you run out, you have a better chance of being able to buy more of the same yarn.

You will also need

Bra — used for taking measurements and checking the fit of the top.

Measuring tape — essential, as Kalia is a made-to-measure pattern.

3.5 mm crochet hook