When the Bernat team decided to spend the 2nd half of April celebrating brides and weddings I immediately thought of my friend, the amazingly talented crochet designer Linda Permann. Coincidentally, she had just married her long-time boyfriend in a ceremony fit for any fiber fiend! With just the right amount of yarn infusion, her special day gave nod to not only the man she loves, but the craft she adores. Linda was kind enough to chat with me about her needlework-influenced nuptials, as well as share a few of the photos from their intimate affair. Enjoy! –Vickie

VH: Your wedding had some of the most adorable nods to crochet in it that I’ve ever seen! My favorite was the roving and hook used in place of a traditional, ring bearer’s pillow — that picture seriously makes me giddy! Why was it important to you to integrate your love of fiber into your special day?

LP: The “ring pillow” is a funny story actually. I was trying to decide what to do for a ring pillow so I started crocheting a bunch of flowers in tonal scraps of yarn, but I couldn’t come up with an arrangement I was happy with. Then my husband-to-be had the bright idea that I didn’t need to crochet anything—a ball of yarn would work just as well. We ended up going with roving because I liked the look and also the symbolism of it—it’s just a raw material and then depending on what you do with it, you can make something wonderful- but it takes work, and sometimes ripping and re-doing. I’ve always seen making as a metaphor for life, and I figure it’s the same thing with marriage—it takes work, and there are imperfections, but you end up with something beautiful.

Roving Ring "Pillow"

VH: What was your favorite yarn-y element from the event?

LP: It’s a toss up between the ring pillow and the cake (which featured a crochet hook and paint brush topper)—they both made an impression! Although I guess the cake didn’t technically *use* yarn…

Be-hooked Cake

VH: You designed a lovely, classic cardigan with your dress. Setting your designer hat aside and speaking as a bride, what was important to you about the style of the piece?

LP: I wanted something simple and classic to cover my shoulders, and something I could realistically finish in time for the wedding. I’d already made one Piped Petals Cardigan for myself, so I knew it would look good on me—it was just a matter of shortening it and playing with the buttons to make it work for our wedding. I wasn’t really sure about the whole bridal sweater thing at first, but I really love how well it went with my dress.

Linda, wearing her crocheted cardi with her new hubby.

VH: As a designer, what advice on shapes, color or stitches do you have for future brides and bridal parties?

LP: Go with what you know- you don’t have to hold to traditions or other people’s perceptions of what a wedding should be. I could have gone extravagant and crazy for my shrug but I didn’t want to steal the show from the real point of the day: which was to proclaim our love and partnership in front of our friends! Choose classic designs that you will enjoy looking at for years to come in photos, and choose colors and designs that feel like you!

VH: Anything else you want to add?

LP: Just a general note on DIY weddings: I definitely perceived some pressure to DIY like crazy for my wedding, but I focused only on the things I actually wanted to make and do. I would have gone nuts trying to crochet a favor for everyone—so I didn’t try to. I know that Paul and I will cherish the details of the day, so I focused my crafty energies on things we could savor and save from the big day.

Crocheted Flower Decorations

Linda Permann is a crochet designer, occasional blogger and producer for Craftsy.com. See more of her designs on Ravelry  and in her books, Crochet Adorned, Little Crochet and Sugar and Spice.

Photos by William Wymore/ Sleeping Owl Photography, used with permission.