Category: crochet-a-long

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, crochet, crochet pattern, crochet-a-long, knit-a-long, knitting, knitting community, sew-a-long, sewing, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage crochet, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage sewing, vintage style

52 Outfits in 52 Weeks! Update!

Lizzie Violet

Did she do it? Did she succeed in her 52 garment in 52 weeks challenge? Well…. almost.

How many garments have I made so far? Since July 1st, 2018, I have made 45 garments for myself. On top of that, I’ve made 3 sweaters for my husband and several hats/scarves and a purse for myself (approx. 49 pieces including those). (I have also made many hats and scarves as gifts to others as well) OH and I should mention I made all these from either vintage patterns, self-drafted the patterns myself (I learned how to draft patterns in High School. Thank you Mrs. Hewitt) or made them from vintage reproduction patterns. My memade wardrobe is all vintage reproduction.

I’m proud of this. It’s been a lot of hard work, but I love it because it is another way to stretch my creativity! My goal is that most of my wardrobe is memade, with a small percentage of it from thrifting or clothing swaps. I’m getting there! The extra bonus of making my own clothing, they fit properly!!!

To help keep me motivated, I created groups and we have knit-a-longs, sew-a-longs, crochet-a-longs, and refashion-a-longs. These groups are my happy place!

Where does my original inspiration come from? My Mother is my sewing inspiration. She taught me how to sew when…. I think it was ten-years-old — she says I was younger than that. I learned how to sew on a Treadle sewing machine (My Great Grandma Brown’s (made in 1898)) that I now own. My Mom also made her own and all of our clothing (when we were kids), without patterns. That’s right folks, wanting to self-draft my own patterns vs using premade patterns is in the blood!

I’m incredibly happy with my achievement this year. Even after sewing for decades I am still learning new skills. That brings me to my new goal. Starting August 1st I am going to begin using Draft-at-home systems. I have quite a few that include Haslam, Mrs. Depew and many others. I’ve done a blog post on it, it you want to give it a gander! https://killerkitschdesigns.com/2019/03/13/draft-at-home-systems/

In the meantime, I’m off to sew!

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, crochet, crochet pattern, crochet-a-long, knit-a-long, knitting, knitting community, sew-a-long, sewing, vintage crochet, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage sewing

Beach-Pajama-a-long and Bag-a-long

Lizzie Violet

Let’s summer like it’s 1927! Oh yes, in our Beach Pajamas! I don’t know about anyone else, but I have always loved and been a wee bit obsessed with Beach Pajamas. The beauty of these wonderful garments is they can be one piece or two pieces. I’ve always been a fan of the combination of halter top and wide leg pants.

To make this sew-a-long accessible, it will be another bring your own pattern. It can be self-drafted, from an original vintage pattern or a reproduction pattern. It can be separates or the one-piece version. Use what works for you. (I will also provide links below to suggestions)

But that isn’t all for this a-long! To complete your summery outfit, you will also need a bag. Again, this is a bring your own pattern. The bag can be knit, crocheted or sewn (or any other technique that works for you).

Please feel free to do both the Beach Pajamas and bag or do just Beach Pajamas or just the bag. It’s all up to you!

The SAL will run from July 1 to 31. As always, if you post on Instagram please tag @killerkitsch13 and use hashtags #killerkitschsewalong #beachpajamaalong.

As with every sew-a-long, all of the information to the tutorials will be found in our Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintagewips/).

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, crochet, crochet pattern, crochet-a-long, free knitting pattern, knit-a-long, knitting, knitting community, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage crochet, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage style

Vintage Summer Knit-a-long

Lizzie Violet

If we knit or crochet it, summer will come!

The July to September (July 1 to September 30) knit-a-long in our Vintage Knitting group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintageknitalong/) will be another bring your own pattern; it just needs to be vintage (1950s and earlier) and be a summer jumper. But here is the twist, it can be knit, crochet or a combination of both! Not to worry, if you don’t have a pattern in your stash we will be providing some pattern information that will be found over in our Facebook group.  

If you post your KAL photos on Instagram please tag me at @killerkitsch13 and use tags #killerkitschknitalong and #summeralong.


1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, crochet, crochet pattern, crochet-a-long, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage crochet, vintage knitting, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage style

Vintage Crochet-a-long

Lizzie Violet

A very popular request we get is to have the occasional crochet-a-long. Your wish is at our command and for our first CAL I am super excited that we have a guest host! Cate Coles, or as many will know her, Vintage Gal Blog will be guest hosting our crochet-a-long for the Shoulder Buttoned Vintage 1930s Crochet Blouse and will be popping in to give tips and answer questions.

Many of you may know Cate from her blog called ‘Vintage Gal Blog’ and her sassy 1930s style (http://vintagegal.co.uk/). She also has a really fun YouTube channel that you can find here. https://www.youtube.com/c/VintageGal

Shoulder Buttoned Vintage 1930s Crochet Blouse is perfect for summer, because it is light and airy and can be made with cotton yarn. I know many of you are over winter and excited to get a summer wardrobe built. I know I am! This is also a fairly easy pattern.

The Shoulder Buttoned Vintage 1930s Crochet Blouse is a paid pattern and can be purchased from The Cemeterian on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/56071401/shoulder-buttoned-vintage-1930s-crochet.

As with every crochet-a-long, all of the information to the tutorials will be found in our Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintagewips/).  

Cate’s Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vintagegalblog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vintagegalblog

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VintageGal

Website: http://vintagegal.co.uk/


The CAL will run from May 1 to 31, however we do know that this CAL may take longer than a month to complete. Please keep going for as long as it takes! As always, if you post on Instagram please tag @killerkitsch13 and use hashtags #killerkitschcrochetalong. Please, also tag Cate (Vintage Gal Blog) on all of your posts as well. Her instagram is @vintagegalblog.

Photos are from Vintage Gal Blog.