Vintage patterns and making

How to make a Downton Abbey era 1920s flapper style hat- sewing pattern

We have just listed 4 sets of sewing patterns for making stylish 1920s flapper hats.  Each pack has 2 different flapper hat patterns so they are very good value. We have included step by step instructions and full size paper pattern pieces to help you make these lovely hats. The pattern also includes the decorations on each hat. These are available through our Amazon and Ebay stores as they are not downloads, due to the actual paper pattern pieces being included.

They are deceptively simple to make and we think that each one could be made in an evening.....they are excellent for 1920s revival and re-enacting but also look very elegant today with modern fashions too.

Those of you who are following the TV drama Downton Abbey will see that the new series 4 is set in the early 1920s and the ladies are wearing styles very much like these...so this is your chance for a little Downton Abbey elegance and style.....

Here are the 4 sets of 2 hats available

2 lovely and slightly unusual shapes with floral decorations- click here

2 slightly more traditional flapper shapes with leaf and flower decorations - click here

A turn down brim and a turn up brim with decorations are in this pack- click here 

And finally 2 elegant deep crowned floral trimmed flapper hats- you can find these here-

All of these are really such fun to make- and here at Vintage Visage we take our patterns seriously and so you know that you can always reach us for email back up so that you can enjoy our patterns fully. 

Have fun- and enjoy making them

Vintage shawl, cloak and hat Downton abbey, Titanic era crochet patterns

We have just listed some new patterns from the early 1900s-  the wonderful stylish and romantic era of the first series of Downton Abbey and the Titanic- we have shawls, capes/cloaks and hats and waistcoat jackets.

This is a beautiful yet not too tricky to make evening cloak- imagine this in creams, with beads and crystals sewn on for wedding wear- or in a glittery yarn for evening. You can find it by clicking  here

We also have a very soft and very easy to make shawl

You can find this as a pdf download in our etsy shop by clicking here

We also have a wonderful hat that you can make too

Very elegant- you can find this one here

The great thing about these fashions is that not only do they look good for anyone re-enacting the period- but they also look very elegant today with our modern fashions. The cloak can be worn for evening or bridal wear- t he shawls is a beautifully soft shoulder warmer, and the hat is great for keeping your head warm on these cold winter mornings....go on- have a go- we give you ideas for modern yarns in the patterns, so you will know exactly what to make them from....

Victorian Vintage crochet doily patterns for afternoon tea parties

We have a large number of very pretty patterns on the Vintage Visage website for doilies. On this post we are gong to show you some of the lovely victorian doily patterns available- they are over 100 hundred years old and are so very pretty.....

You can make them in the original white fine yarns to make beautiful tea time table accessories, or you could make them slightly bigger by using maybe a 2 ly yarn and having doilies for the bigger cake or sandwich plates on the tea table- try using lots of different pastel colours too.....

This one has a linen centre and pretty little crochet butterflies that can be made on their own and scattered around the table- try making them in lots of bright colours, and also make them into pins ad brooches- soo pretty...

Another one with a linen centre and this time little carnation flowers which again can be made on their own and scattered around the table or used as pins or brooches...
This one has a cockle shell design and lovely pointy edges...

This diamond design doily is a little more complicated to make, but is lovely, 

With this doily design, you could make the circular design on its own with thicker yarn, make it twice and then sew the 2 together with an opening at the top to make a pretty little bag

This design is called a 'Manx' design as it has the familiar 3 part design reminiscent of the Isle of Man  3 leg logo 

This one is not to difficult to make - when you get past the pattern part then it is mainly chains and loops- which are nice and simple to do. This one you could find would also drape nicely over the top of a milk jug or sugar bowl to protect the content from flies and other wee beasty insects! Which would be another pretty addition to your vintage tea table

As always, the patterns for these pretty victorian tea time doilies can be found on the Vintage Visage website by clicking here- along with lots of others too!- Enjoy!

1920s fabric flower corsages sewing pattern-Lady Crawley, Downton Abbey

You may be watching the new series of Downton Abbey TV series  which is set in the early 1920s. The series is full of lovely costumes and in the last programme it showed the ladies of the manor getting ready for the wedding of Lady Mary. We have already shown some patterns very much like the long lean dresses they were wearing- but did you see Lady Crawleys corsage and hat?

She had the most lovely fabric rose chiffon or organza flower as a corsage and the same flowers on her hat. Now can make your own beautiful fabric rose corsages from our instructions which are downloadable from the website (links below the pictures)

Now here at Vintage Visage we have mentioned how much we love sewing fabric flowers- they look so pretty and are useful as they use up lots of scraps of beautiful fabrics. We have a selection of very pretty genuine 1920s sewing instructions for these pretty flowers below. The first one, the wild rose, is very like Lady Crawleys corsage on Downton Abbey....

its so pretty- imagine lots of these set together on a hat too- gorgeous!

This one is smaller but still so pretty- its been made here with a spotty dotty fabric but you can of course use plain or printed fabrics- vintage floral fabrics would look lovely...

This one for instance is made from plaid or tartan fabric- you also get the instructions for the wonderful bunch of grapes too

These fabric flowers were made from black velvet for a very luxurious feel

And if you are looking for something pretty but slightly less fancy, then these little 1920s fruit and leaf clusters made from tiny scraps of silk would fit the bill nicely.

All of these could be made as gifts, or to sell- try presenting them on pretty cards for a cute touch.

As always, the patterns can be purchased and instantly downloaded from our Vintage Visage website by clicking here- it will take you straight to the correct page in a new window.

Downton Abbey era 1920s flapper dress easy sewing pattern

We watched the new series of Downton Abbey which started here last night and were pleased to see it enter the era of the early 1920s. Downton Abbey is such a popular programme and so we are sure that it will influence a lot of fashion and accessories. We are looking closely at the costumes featured as it is an era that we do very much like here at Vintage Visage.

The fashions of the 1920s (for the well off, admittedly) were lean and elegant. We searched around for some comparable patterns in our archives and came up with this lovely and very easy to make flapper dress diagram sewing pattern. Apparantly you can make this in one hour! 

We did see a rather elegant knitted long top worn by the actress penelope Wilton- it has a long sailor collar at the front with a bow, and we know we have a similar one in the archives somewhere so we will be looking for it asap!

We noticed that Lady Mary had a long lean look for her 'going away outfit'. We have found a similar look, not sewn but knitted, which is quite fun 

You can find the pattern for the flapper dress here by clicking here, and the pattern for the knitted suit here by clicking here. Both are pdf downloads so no waiting for the postman-Enjoy!

Vintage dachshund wiener dog coat sewing pattern pdf

This is such an elegant dog coat for a dachshund wiener dog- this is a vintage sewing pattern which can be instantly downloaded which makes your dachshund wiener look like an english country gentleman!

The original was made in tweed- just like the traditional jackets of country gents in the UK- and so gives your dog a real air of authority and haughtiness. We here at Vintage Visage love it! Why not make it to match your autumn hacking jackets or your mans harris tweed jacket? Of course, you do not have to make it in tweed- there are all sorts of lovely woven fabric that you can make this coat in- you could even upcycle and recycle old jumpers or blankets, or even old tweed coats that may have beautiful fabric but be beyond their best....

The pattern is available on our website- you can go there instantly by clicking the link at the bottom of the photo

As its downloadable you do not of course receive the actual paper pieces- the pattern is written and you get a squared grid diagram of the easy to draw pieces which you then copy onto a grid of one inch squares. It is actually much easier to make than we have perhaps  made it sound and here at Vintage Visage we offer a full email back up service just in case there is something that you don't understand at first glance- so you can buy with confidence knowing that you will be able to make our wonderful items at home. So give it a try- dress your dachshund like an english country gent!

This is an easy to make diagram sewing pattern which is instantly downloadable for a wonderful vintage dachshund, wiener dog, elegant dog coat. It was originally made with British tweed fabric and really would make your dog look as if it belongs to an English Country gentleman- perhaps even one from Downton abbey! 

Click here to go to the website page for the pattern

Vintage ostrich feather crochet pattern from Downton Abbey era

Did you know that you can crochet faux ostrich feathers? We found this fabulous and quite rare very old antique vintage pattern to show you just how to do it....the pattern dates from the early part of the 20th century- just at the time when Downton Abbey is set. So, if you would love to emulate the wonderful feathered hats from  that era but would prefer not to use real feathers then this pattern is for you.

We think these crocheted feathers have great potential- once you have made one from the instructions and understand the process, then you should be able to make them in lots of different sizes and yarns- they would look fantastic made in lots of creams and whites, but equally as good in bright parrot colours too. 

Use them for music hall hats, decorating scarves and accessories and even for home decor!

You can find the pattern to download from the Vintage Visage website- you can go instantly there by clicking the text after the photo below- have fun

Click here to go to the pattern on the website

We do have crochet hats patterns for the same era too, so do take a look around