Tag: vintagereproduction

1940s, 1945, pants, sewing, slacks, trousers, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage sewing, vintage style

Two New Vintage/Vintage Reproduction Sew-a-longs!

Lizzie Violet

We are adding two new sew-a-longs to our Discord Community!!! Details are below. (you can join the Killer Kitsch Discord Community by clicking here!)

Starting May 1st – Vintage Spring Dresses!!!

Starting June 1st Vintage Playsuits!!!

As with all of our sew-a-longs in our Discord Community, you don’t have to start the SAL on the first of the month as the SALs will be open-ended after they begin. We will have separate sections/folders within the community so you won’t get lost!

The SALs are vintage/vintage reproduction. Though you don’t necessarily need to use a vintage pattern, the finished garment must look as if it belongs to an era that is (1970s and earlier).

If you post photos of your garments from the sew-a-long, please tag @killerkitsch13. I would love to repost them on my Instagram.

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, Sew Over It, sew-a-long, sewing, vintage, Vintage Community, vintage life, vintage pattern, vintage reproduction, vintage sewing, vintage style

Sew Over It’s Betty Dress Sew-a-long

Lizzie Violet

We are super excited to be making another dress with Aly from Sewcial Dee for our August sew-a-long. We will be making the very popular Betty Dress from Sew Over It! 

With this tutorial we will be posting the tutorial in three steps and will be posting those steps weekly. If you are someone who is new to dressmaking, this will be the perfect tutorial and sew-a-long for you. You will find the tutorials here (www.sewcialdee.com)

OH! and there is more!!! Aly will be running a giveaway related to the Betty dress for the add-on pack! For more info on the giveaway and to enter, head on over to Aly’s Instagram @sewcial.dee. The contest will run from August 1st to August 15th.

As with every sew-a-long, all of the links to the tutorials and more information on the Betty dress will also be found in the files area of our Facebook group.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/killerkitschvintagewips/

The Betty Dress will be a will be a paid, downloadable pattern and can be found on the Sew Over it website.  https://sewoverit.co.uk/product/betty-dress-sewing-pattern/ I believe many already have a copy of this pattern and this will be the perfect opportunity to make it!  

Now a little bit about Aly! Aly is a postmodern girl in a new century world Southern California girl with an affinity for all things retro. Aly’s blog is about sewing and focused towards vintage styles (either vintage patterns or vintage recreation patterns). Aly’s posts are an indepth look and review about the patterns she recreates, with added flair. Aly considers the pinup look to be part of her lifestyle and she also uses this space to offer her opinion on vintage reproduction brands she loves. 

Aly’s social media links can be found below.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sewcial.dee/ 

Website: https://sewcialdee.com/ 


 

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/).