Category: knit-a-long

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

Knitting yourself into an injury!

Lizzie Violet

PSA from the girl who can’t knit/crochet or sew (it hurts to cut fabric) for the next 4 to 6 weeks. I learned a hard lesson and need to share it with all of you. 😔 

I am someone who would, without realizing it, knit for hours at a time. It wouldn’t be until my digits or wrists got tired, would I realize how long I had been knitting. Then, I noticed my thumb started to get stiff in the morning (when I woke up), then sore and hard to straighten out right away (I would need to stretch it)… now it hurts to bend. Two weeks ago I stopped knitting to see if that would help, but it didn’t. I went to the doctor and I have tendonitis and it will take 4 to 6 weeks to heal fully. I’m frustrated because I can’t knit, crochet or sew and I have to be patient. Not being able to at least knit is making me antsy!

Many times I read how important resting and stretching was, but I didn’t heed this information thinking I would be fine. Don’t be like me! Take lots of breaks and stretch your hands before, during and after knitting/crochet. It will save you from injuring your digits or wrists. Here are the stretches and strengthening excises I’ve been doing. https://www.healthline.com/health/de-quervains-tenosynovitis-exercises?fbclid=IwAR0Bf34cj0-MF4o52hHbHHShFBv9_99NIfvu6sCJm7v2T3tr1pUN2VF6f-o#thumb-lifts

On the positive side, I’m hoping it is healed up in time for the next KAL/SAL and for my winter cardigan knitting plans. Unfortunately, I can’t even sew ATM because even cutting out fabric is hurting my thumb. I’ve missed out on the Beach PJ SAL and possibly the Betty dress SAL. 😔 
Do yourself a favour and take care of your hands!

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

New Challenge!

Lizzie Violet

Each year, starting on my birthday, I give myself a new garment related challenge. Last year I tried to make one garment a week and though I didn’t quite make 52 (made 45 garments for myself) I am quite proud of what I achieved. With my birthday approaching (July 31st for those keeping track), I need to come up with a new challenge. What o’ what could that challenge be?


I’ve been bouncing ideas around and decided to take a look at my wardrobe to see what I needed to fill in gaps. When I did this I noticed that I don’t have trousers, fitted skirts and very few blouses. I am also lacking coats and cardigans (and the ones I have are looking shabby). After this realization, I also concluded that I don’t have many structured/fitted garments and I believe a large part of that is because I am a curvy girl and it is hard to find sizes that fit right. I found myself saying out loud, ‘But isn’t that why you make your own clothing?’ Yes. Yes it is.


Hold on… did you say you don’t have any trousers. That is correct. I haven’t owned trousers of any kind in at least ten years. Why? I hate the way they fit. As I mentioned earlier, I am a curvy girl. I’ve always had an hourglass figure, (large boobs, smaller waist, wide hips) even when I was slender. I hated shopping for pants of any kind. If I was able to get them to fit in the hips, the waist was too big. I also have really long legs and a high waist, so I could never get the rise to fit right either. So…. I stopped wearing them. That is about to change.

Toile! Toile! Toile!

Anyone who sews knows you need to make a toile to get your fit down and when making pants I see a lot of them in my future! I want to make 3 basic types. 1930/1940 high waist style, 1950s Rockabilly style and elastic waist Beach Pyjama Style. These will cover most of my vintage inspired wardrobe needs.

Another large project I want to undertake is replacing all of my cardigans. Many are in shabby shape and I will likely repurpose them into mittens or other things. That said… knitting will need to wait for a while. I’ve done something to my thumb and need to wait a few more days before I can have it looked at. In the meantime… there is sewing!

However, me being me, I am adding and addition challenge starting January 1, 2020. I am going to start reproducing Miss Lemon’s wardrobe (from the TV show Poirot). Because in my world, one challenge is not enough!

Let’s get sewing!

Please add my Instagram account @killerkitsch13 to see regular progress updates.

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

SALE!

Lizzie Violet

I’m having a 50% off sale over in my Etsy store on all downloadable patterns!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/KillerKitschDesigns

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, bird, birds, free knitting pattern, knit-a-long, knitting, knitting community, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage style

Birds-a-long

Lizzie Violet

I’m excited to announce our next knit-a-long!!!

Let’s help encourage warm spring weather with a bird themed knit-a-long!  Everyone loves birds!

For this knit-a-long, you can use your own pattern, it just needs to be vintage (1920s (or earlier) to 1950s) and have birds on it. Not worry, if you don’t have a pattern in your stash we will be providing some patterns or information on where to search!  To be part of the KAL please join our Facebook group. The next KAL runs from April 1st to June 30th. No fool’n!

Link to our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintageknitalong/

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

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

Solving Winter Blues

Lizzie Violet

Our winter has been one of the most confusing, depressing and what feels like neverending in what feels like forever. Actually, I don’t recall a winter being this icy and grey as long as I can remember. Usually, November is bleak and grey, but from that point on the days are generally sunny and cold. We have went through three-plus months of minimal sun and it has not only been affecting my mood, but my motivation to sew. This week we had lots of sun and my sewing mojo is back! Ok… enough of the whining!

What I’ve been doing to combat the blues and to get inspired again, is I am researching and dreaming of my spring and summer wardrobe! I have also decided that 2019 will be the year that I up my sewing skills. It’s time to level up!

Over the last few years, I’ve been intrigued with the draft-at-home-systems such as Haslam, Mrs. Depew, Enid Gilchrist, Eiffel Pattern Drafting System, Lutterloh and other French and Italian systems. I currently have Haslam, Mrs. Depew and Enid Gilchrist and am researching others. I want to try them all! As I make a garment from each of the drafting systems I will be blogging about it and posting on my social media (Instagram & Facebook).

The beauty of these systems is they will also help me build my 2019 spring and summer wardrobe! I really want to start adding colour to my wardrobe and I’ve been obsessing a bit on 1940s summer styles such as embroidered Mexican Peasant blouses & dresses, espadrilles, big floppy hats and beach pajamas. If we get another sweltering hot summer like last year, these will be perfect. Oh, and I can’t forget a 1950s style tiki wardrobe! We will be doing a collaboration for a tiki set in our March sew-a-long! See my last post!

I also have some spring/summer knits in mind as well. I am almost done my last winter knit and am excited to get some lighter knits on my needles. I am looking to knit a few summer blouses in cotton yarn as well! You can check out my knitting queue over on Ravelry!

Are you tired of winter yet? Have you tried draft-at-home systems and if you have which ones have you used? What are your vintage summer wardrobe dreams and future makes?

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

2019 Pledge

Lizzie Violet

This time of year, people start thinking about their New Year’s resolutions and the majority of these, last for maybe the first week of January. Many years ago I stopped making resolutions. Instead, I have been making pledges and for things that will make me happy. This year I’m extra excited about my pledge for 2019!

Back in June I talked about my Me Made promises to myself and my wardrobe goals and though I wasn’t able to make everything in the potential queue, I’ve made quite a lot. I just did the math and since that post, I have sewn eighteen garments and in 2018 knit nine garments. I was basically sewing a garment a week for a while, though the last few months I haven’t quite sewn as much due to it being a busy time.  I have to say, I’m very proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished so far. In 2019 I plan to have even greater success.

Now onto my sewing and needlework plans for 2019! I’ve decided that I don’t want to just sew individual random pieces. This worked perfectly in 2018 because I needed to fill holes in my wardrobe, however, in 2019 I want to go bigger! With the exception of the sew-a-longs over in our Facebook group, I want to focus on very specific themes. The ones I want to do at the beginning of 2019 are Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors (the original) and Miss Lemon from Poirot.  These two I am firm on and am thinking about other themes for the rest of the year. I’m also considering re-producing some of Clara Bow’s outfits more towards the end of the year I have them to chime in 2020! The twenties are back baby!

  • circa 1925: Hollywood film star Clara Bow (1905 – 1965) poses with arms raised in a blouse and matching scarf. (Photo by Merland)

My scariest feat for 2019 will be…. I’m making pants. Being a skirt and dress girl, I don’t remember the last time I actually wore pants. It’s been years. I generally don’t like pants because they have never fit me properly. To get them to fit my hips the waist is always way too big or too low. Solution — make my own! The plan is to make 1930s/1940s wide-legged trousers. They tend to be the most flattering to curvy figures. For my first pair, I may go with an indie pattern or use the one in the Gertie book. I do plan to self-draft trousers, but for the first one, I make go that way.

When it come to knitting, I’m not too concerned because I mostly knit from the patterns from the 1930s to the 1950s. That said, I really want to focus in on themes and I already have a solid plan! AND, I have a few patterns I am creating myself and hope to have them ready in the first half of the year.

A pledge I have made for the blog is to write-up more blog posts about my own makes and with many more photos of those garments. There is something empowering about making your own garments and I want to share it with you all!

As I said earlier, I am really excited about my pledge this year!

What are your pledges for 2019?

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

December Beret-a-long!

Lizzie Violet

The beret has been an accessory for centuries but became a fashion staple when made popular in the 1920s by sassy actresses such as Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Marlene Dietrich, Carol Lombard, and Marion Davies. It continued to be popular as each decade of fashion changed and it is a popular quick knit, crochet or sew when you need to add a little something extra to your wardrobe!

The beret is versatile and can be worn with short hair or long hair. It can be worn all year long. It can be knit, crocheted or sewn! It really is the perfect fashion accessory. For the entire month of December, we will be doing a Beret-a-long in conjunction with the ongoing Accessory-a-long! You can knit, crochet or sew your beret!

 

 



To be part of our Beret-a-long, please join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintagewips/. If you aren’t on Facebook, you can still join in the fun via Instagram!

If you make a beret, please use the hashtags #beretalong #killerkitschknitalong #killerkitschsewalong and please tag @killerkitsch13 (Instagram).