I’m having a 50% off sale over in my Etsy store on all downloadable patterns!
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/KillerKitschDesigns
Tag: knitting patterns
52 Outfits in 52 Weeks! Update!
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!
2019 Pledge
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?
New Knit-A-Long announced!
Since Spring weather is right around the corner, we have decided to have spring/summer patterns for our next Knit-a-long (KAL). Going forward we are going to have a theme for most of our KALs. The next KAL (July 1 to September 30th) will be an Agatha Christie themed KAL.
This knit-a-long will run from April 1st to June 30th and during the knit-a-long you are welcome to knit one or all of the patterns. I will provide the patterns to you for free and they will be available in our Facebook Group. (Please do not share the patterns as they come from either my store or a private collection.) In the future we will also be looking for other vintage knitting pattern businesses to sponsor our KALs.
I have posted the patterns in our group prior to the KAL to give you a chance to buy your yarn. Please hold off starting this KAL until April 1st, so we can all start together. Trust me, even I am having itchy start knitting the patterns now fingers. 
Please post your progress photos and finished jumpers photos in the group and on Instagram. We will have a progress thread already set up for you.
When you post on Instagram please tag me and use hashtag #killerkitschknitalong. During the knit-a-long I will be reposting your photos in my Instagram and/or adding them to the photos in the group.
I hope everyone is as excited as I am for this next knit-a-long. The last ones have been incredibly fun and all the jumpers beautiful! Don’t worry if you are still working on your jumper from our other KALs, please keep posting about them. We want to see your beautiful work.
First Vintage KAL of 2018
Our first KAL of 2018 is off to an amazing start. Our Facebook group and Instagram are lighting up with progress photos and questions. I am super happy how much everyone is loving the sweaters we choose for this Vintage KAL and our last one. The 1938 two colour jumper, the 1937 cable jumper and 1950s bed jacket colour combinations were so incredible! Now the colours being chosen for the 1940s Champion Jumper and the 1950s Blouse, beyond amazing! Many people are already done the front of the Champion Jumper. It is DK (double knit weight) so I’m not surprised.
Here are some progress photos so far.
To see all the details for the new KAL, please click here and it will take you to a previous post!
SALE!
Hello! I’m having a 25% off sale in my Etsy store. Use code YULETIME2017 at checkout. This applies to all downloadable patterns. Sale ends on December 17th!
Don’t forget to join our Vintage Knit-a-long group on Facebook!
Killer Kitsch Knit-a-long part IV
I am continually blown away by the jumpers being created for this knit-a-long. The colourways, the way the finished jumpers look. Everything. I am already excited about the next knit-a-long and this one isn’t even done yet.
Here are some photos from the knit-a-long including an updated slideshow of finished sweaters.
Here are more progress shots.
Killer Kitsch Knit-a-long part trios
We now have fifty plus vintage knitters participating in our knit-a-long! That is so amazing! What else is amazing is having someone tell you, they made their first jumper because of the knit-a-long or that this was the first jumper they ever knit from a vintage pattern! Yeah!
We are still doing this knit-a-long until December and there is still time to join in. Please contact me through my Instagram account (@killerkitsch13) or via our Ravelry group.
We now have five finished jumpers, with a bunch more on the verge of being done. Here are the finished jumpers! I’m so excited to see the rest being finished up! I am also planning the next knit-along and will be announcing it on December 1st.
As well, here are some more progress photos! There are so many colour combinations and it makes me smile how creative everyone is getting. There are also a couple cable jumpers and bedjackets in the works as well. I’m hoping to have shots of those soon as well.
This knit-a-long has not only inspired me to knit as many vintage garments as possible, but it has started a really amazing community of vintage knitters who have become friends.
Killer Kitsch Knit-a-long part deux
Oh my goodness! We are now at almost 40 participants in the first Killer Kitsch Knit-a-long. It has also evolved from just Instagram. I realized partway through the knit-a-long that I should also be posting on my Ravelry and I have set-up a group! It is called the Killer Kitsch Vintage Knit-a-long and you can view it here. Please join us for our next knit-a-long. I honestly had no idea these many people would be interested. I am cuffed.
After discussions with the core group of original knit-a-long participants, we decided to do this 3 to 4 times a year. We may pick themes from time to time. I’m overjoyed that this community is also building! In addition, we have decided to extend this one until the end of December. That way, more can join in and it gives knitters an opportunity to do two patterns if they can fit it in. Having a community doing the same thing at the same time is motivating and incredibly fun!
If that wasn’t enough, I am being completely blown away by all of the different colour combinations chosen for the two-colour jumper and the work on the cable jumper… oh my!
Below is the next set of progress photos including finished sweaters by Carmen, Michelle, Katy and myself. There will be a few others finished very soon as well.
Killer Kitsch Vintage Knit-a-long
For the months of September and October, I am hosting a vintage knit-a-long that offers three vintage sweater patterns from my Etsy shop! We have quite a few participants and I am having a lot of fun watching their progress on the version of the pattern they selected.
When I first put the idea out there, I asked those who were interested, to vote on patterns from my store. The top three would be the patterns for the knit along. The variety of the three patterns is wonderful and it made it hard to choose one. Many of us went with the two coloured jumper, one participant choose the cable jumper and another the bed jacket.
Every day I check to see what everyone is up to and right from the beginning I have been absolutely beside myself with joy! The colour combinations are beyond stunning! There are a lot of greens! I want to do this sweater again and this time will choose more fall colours. I choose the eggshell blue and grey colour because it reminded me of one of my favourite pre-code stars, Ruby Keeler.
We are nineteen days in and look at the amazing progress so far! These are only a few of the wonderfully talented women who are part of the Killer Kitsch Knit-a-long! I will have another post soon showing, even more, progress and eventually finished jumpers!
Please also check out all of the Instagram accounts of the participants! All of these ladies have killer vintage style and a few of them also have blogs. (links will be in their profile info at the top of their accounts)
@rorytheredd
@esmesvintagecloset
@raven_rose_retro
@mckeeveramanda
@marenmarnie
@thebendyredhead
@vintagedreamblog
@kamikatdesigns
@lovelyladylilian
@kellispieces
@marieloumarble
@handmadebyhandyside
@hortensepia
Killer Kitsch Designs 