1950s, 1960s, cardigan, filthy sugar, handknit cardigan, heather babcock, killer kitsch designs, knitting, knitting community, rockabilly, small business, toronto author, toronto business, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage style, wanda wiggles

The Miss Bow Collection!

Introducing the Miss Bow Collection, inspired by that sassy beret wearing Clara Bow! Clara Bow was an actress of the pre-code and silent film era and known for her very sexy style. Clara was also a huge fan of berets and ascot style scarves! This is why The Miss Bow Collection is named after her. 

Both the beret and ascot scarf are hand knit from original 1930s patterns and are made from the softest 100% acrylic yarn. 


The collection is on sale in our Etsy Store. I will add the link for each colour below.

Colour:
Miss Bow in Cherry Red with Blush Pink flowers
Miss Bow in Teal with Raven Black flowers SOLD OUT
Miss Bow in Blush Pink with Cherry Red flowers SOLD OUT

Size (beret): The beret fits most average sized heads.

Size (scarf): From keyhole to keyhole is approximately 14” unstretched. Because of the way the scarf is knit, it will have a good amount of allowance for stretching.

We are also having a giveaway to help celebrate the launch of this new collection! All the details are over on Instagram and our Killer Kitsch account!

1950s, 1960s, cardigan, filthy sugar, handknit cardigan, heather babcock, killer kitsch designs, knitting, knitting community, rockabilly, small business, toronto author, toronto business, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage style, wanda wiggles

The Nicest Bad Girl Cropped Cardigan

I now have two versions of The Nicest Bad Girl Cropped Cardigan for sale in my Etsy store! I will have a few more colour combinations coming, but I wanted to get these ones up now, as they will be perfect for your Valentine’s outfit!

The Nicest Bad Girl Cropped Cardigan name was inspired by my friend Heather aka Blue Suede Sue (you will find her over on Instagram) and the nicest bad girls from the b-movies of the 1950s. These nice bad girls could be sweet as pie, but you sure wouldn’t want to make them mad! This cardigan is handknit by me, from an original 1950s pattern. 

The Nicest Bad Girl Cropped Cardigan is made from the softest 100% acrylic yarn. The fit of this cardigan is cropped (sitting at your waist) and the overall body is a looser fit. The sleeves are ¾ in length so you can show off your lucite bracelets. 

Click on below to go directly to your cardigan of choice!
Cherry Red with pink flowers!
Blush Pink with red flowers!

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, sewing, Uncategorized, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage knitting, vintage knitting patterns, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage sewing, vintage style

I’ve Awoken the Monster

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a little girl would draw and draw and draw. Some of those drawings were of glorious garments to be worn by princesses and queens. Then one day, an evil sorcerer cast a spell on the young girl forcing her to take job after job after job leaving little time to draw or sew. This left the little girl very, very sad.

One day, while the little girl was re-arranging books on a very dusty bookcase, she came across a book of drawings. These drawings looked familiar and a nostalgia began to build in that little girl. It grew and grew and grew until that little part of her heart woke up again. A monster that had been hidden away, climbed out and reminded the little girl how much joy drawing and then turning her illustrations into garments made her. The little girl decided it was time to stop hiding that wonderful monster away! That little girl started drawing again, every single day!

Not the end, but a new beginning.

I am that little girl. After a few decades of not drawing, I have begun again. My skills are rusty. Oh boy… are they ever.  The thing is, you need to practice. They say 10,000 hours until you have finally got it. I’m about 14 or 15 hours in at this point. I have a ways to go.

You are wondering why I decided to begin again. For myself, it is easiest for me to articulate my ideas in writing and by drawing. Since I have begun making my own garments again, I have millions of ideas floating in my head. Many moons ago, I would sketch an outfit, draft up a pattern and make it. I’ve gotten back to the latter and need to do the former to help work out the look and feel. I’ve already created one of the outfits I drew.

I’m going to do something here. Step outside of my comfort zone. I’m going to post pictures of some of the drawings I’ve done so far (these are only a few, I haven’t taken pictures of everything). Maybe in a years time, when I look back, I will see an improvement. When you look at them, be gentle. I am just starting again after many years of not drawing. I’ve awoken a monster in my head and this is how to release it.

One hour at a time… 10,000 hours ahead of me!

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1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, sewing, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage sewing, vintage style

Patio Dress Sew-a-long

Ric-rac
Patty wac
Give your dress some trim!

We’ve self-drafted a circle skirt. We’ve self-drafted a peasant blouse. Let’s put it all together and make a self-drafted, two-piece patio dress! Our next sew-a-long begins on August 1st and it will end on August 31st! However, the beauty of this sew-a-long is you don’t need to self-draft the pattern. If you have patio dress pattern or patterns for the separate pieces that will work together, please use those as well.

I know you are wondering why I am announcing this so soon. Our next sew-a-long begins on August 1st and it will end on August 31st. I’m making this one a month long, so that everyone has time to complete this SAL since it is a bigger project than the other ones we’ve done so far.

A patio dress can be one complete dress or separates. It can be a circle skirt or a tiered skirt. The top can be peasant style, v-neck or a blouse style. It’s up to you. Know what else is up to you, how you decorate it. The most popular way to decorate it is with ricrac and embroidered ribbon, however, I have seen lace and other trims used! So… have fun with it!

I am including links to how to self-draft and other tutorials and of course, photos for reference!

Please join our Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintagewips/ 

If you post photos on Instagram, please tag me @killerkitsch13 and use hashtags, #killerkitschsewalong #patiodresssewalong

We are starting on August 1st and will do the SAL for the month of August!

Everyone is welcome to join!


Tiered Skirt —
http://sevenfarmgirlsisters.com/tiered-petticoatskirt-tutorial/
http://www.sewstylish.com/app/uploads/2017/11/SSBlogPeasantSkirt.pdf
http://www.squaredancesewing.com/swinging_skirts_2/tiered_skirts/basic_calculations.html
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/322148179567614459/
https://www.domestic-divaonline.com/tiered-skirts

Peasant Blouse Tutorials (just add ricrac) —
http://thingsofcloth.blogspot.com/2008/07/adult-size-peasant-blouse-tutorial.html?m=1
http://apairandasparediy.com/2015/07/diy-off-the-shoulder-top-3/
http://dushonok.com/2015/07/17/off-the-shoulder-top-diy/
http://www.trashtocouture.com/2017/05/diy-off-shoulder-ruffle-top.html
https://mellysews.com/2014/09/sew-peasant-top-pattern-women.html
https://wkdesigner.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/off-shoulder-ruffled-blouse/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5s0bUCsDhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIEHfnJlKbE

Patterns to purchase — (Etsy has many, here is an example)

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/597775572/vintage-sewing-pattern-reproduction?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=patio%20dress%20pattern&ref=sr_gallery-1-1

How to sew on Ric rac —
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Too8kKlsco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHEDW6QI8gY
https://blog.treasurie.com/sewing-ric-rac/
https://sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/how-sew-rick-rack-most-terrific-trims