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....

easy to knit hat, neck warmer and wristwarmers-knitting pattern now available to download on kindle

We are expanding our range of patterns available on the kindle- you can download these patterns to kindle, or to your ipad if you have the kindle app. Its a great way of storing patterns as you can slip the reader into your knitting bag! Sometimes you don't want to have to print out patterns, and so the kindle reader and the ipad are better sizes to carry around than the laptop!  We reformat our patterns especially for the kindle reader so that you can change the font size too and there is less text on each page to make it easy to read.

This is currently our best selling pattern on Kindle- its a very easy to make hat, neckwarmer and wristwarmers with cute little knitted flowers as decorations- we have provided the flower pattern in 2 sizes and they are also pretty as pins, brooches or embellishments for other hats, bags and accessories.

You can go straight to the pattern on Amazon Kindle by clicking here- check out our other vintage patterns there too by clicking on the Vintage Visage  at the top of the page under the title.

Vintage 1940 flower loom patterns- hat, bag and vestee

Making flowers on a flower loom is a craft which is gaining in popularity. Many make the flowers as individual items and make pins, brooches and embellishments for decorating hats. We have even seen a bridal bouquet made form flower loom flowers!

However, you can also use lots of flowers and join them together to make bigger items. The usual way of doing this is to use crochet, but if you are an adept sewer or patchworker then you could use those methods too. You can make throws, shawls, bedspreads by just joining them together in stripes and squares, or you can use  chic  vintage 1940s patterns  such as the one below to make hats, bags and vestees

We think these are just wonderful- that handbag is so chic and would not look out of place with todays modern fashions. This does show a huge potential for flower loom flowers....as usual you can find this pattern and other flower loom patterns on the Vintage Visage website to purchase and download by clicking here

Joan of arc helmet hat crochet pattern

Sometimes in our researching we come across interesting  and intriguing little items like this one. This Joan of Arc helmet hat dates from the early 1900s and we are racking our brains to think what it may have been designed and used for at that time. 

We must admit that we do rather like it, although we would possibly make it a bit less austere by adding some crocheted or fabric sewn flowers to the side.

Has anyone got any ideas what this hat would have been designed for at that time? Was it a fashion item (and to go with which fashions?...) or somehow a functional item? But for what? All ideas and suggestions gratefully received. The pattern is available on the Vintage Visage website for those interesting in making it.

Vintage 1940s fair isle beret knitting pattern

We have just popped this set of gorgeous fair isle design knitted childrens berets  onto the website. They re so cute, even when photographed in black and white....

The little girls have also got such cute 'little girl ' faces...is it just me or do little girls these days seem to have faces which are much more 'grown up'?

Fair isle is so useful for using up odds and ends of yarn, and these berets use tiny amounts of each colour. You could make them in lovely creams, whites and neutrals for a classy look, a range of soft chalky pastel colours for a pretty look, or how about using lots of bright colours on a white or black background for a more dramatic look. We think that one of the best things about fair isle knitting is choosing your range of colours before you start- but thats because we love all types of colours and we have an arts training background.

We do know that some of you are a little nervous about choosing colours that 'go', and our advice is always to look at something that you like - it might be a picture in a magazine, or a flower, or a painting- and see which colours are in that, and try to reproduce by using yarns of similar colours. For instance, if you like a bunch of nasturtiums, you will gets yellows, golds, oranges and greens. If you take yarns of those colours, add a cream, faun or black background and use them for fair isle designs and change the yarn every couple of rows (as usually instructed in the pattern or chart) it would look so pretty.

Please note that we do not recommend these patterns if you are a beginner at knitting. These berets incorporate 2 methods, which is 'knitting in the round' (on 4 double pointed or a circular needle) and multicolour knitting, so we recommend that you have experience in both of these methods before starting these.

You can find these patterns as a set on the Vintage Visage website by clicking here

Vintage top hat knitting pattern

Top hats! Who knew that you could knit a top hat? This is a great knitting pattern which actually dates from the 1960s for a very chic knitted top hat......

Of course when knitted its much softer that the traditional stiff top hat- but that is part of its charm and its wonder, We love this- its  chic but also slightly arty in that it has that twist on what you might expect a top hat to be- not quite as mad and odd as the cup made from fur (I think that was the surrealists?) but nevertheless interesting.

Its very easy to make- its made with chunky yarn and we have made one in an evening when knitting quickly. If you wish it to be stiff- you can of course add a stiff interior of card or stiff plastic to make it more upright. Find it by clicking here to download on the Vintage Visage website

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

 

Early 1930s vintage hat and tam crochet patterns

Following on from the recent item on 1930s knitted hats- (we will spare you the history lesson this time!) here are a range of the crocheted hats and tams that we also sourced- these are just as elegant, and some are so pretty. Made in modern yarns they would be great today- make them in colours to match your new autumn wardrobe....

Cute little hat with tiny bobbles as a trim- try adding crocheted flowers and leaves too for more decoration...

Lovely little close fitting hat with a open work lace stitch centre

A chic little number with a turn back brim

More bobbly trims on this one

Chic little hat with an open owrk stitch.

All of these items are so easy to make- check them out on the website to download and purchase by clicking  here along with lots more of our vintage crochet hat patterns

Vintage 1930s knitting patterns for elegant hats

The 1930s was an interesting time for fashion and that decade produced some lovely hat patterns. The 1920s flapper time had been and gone, and the austerity of the 1940s was not yet apparent. Having said that, the early 1930s were of course the time of the great depression when many people were destitute and had no money at all, and of course at that time there was no welfare state to help the needy.

The 1930s were, we think here at Vintage Visage, the decade when knitting and crochet as a home hobby really took off. The 1920s did have commercial knitting patterns, but in the 1930s there were many more publications such as magazines, and leaflets from yarn companies, which encouraged the housewife to make items for the family. It might sound sexist to say it was the females who knitted, but in truth that was who the home yarn craft market was aimed at, as it was assumed that the males went out to work and the females stayed at home and ran the household.

The 1930s fashions had become long, lean and elegant at the beginning of the decade, and these particular hat patterns that we have sourced- which are quite rare- date from the early 1930s. The hat patterns are very elegant and delicate- sitting very softly on the top of the head and were designed to go with the long lean jackets and dresses that were popular at the time.

Today we can make them for contemporary use as well as period dramas and reenactments of the 1930s. Imagine these made in the beautiful modern yarns of today- silks, cashmeres mohairs etc.....they would look great with modern fashion such as linens and jeans. Hats make good gifts and also sell well.

Anyway- enough of the history lesson as you probably just want to look at the lovely hat pics! As ever, the link to the hat patterns is at the bottom of the last photo- enjoy and have fun!

This pretty striped cap has a matching triangular scarf- very stylish!

This one is an easy make- mainly knit 1 purl 1 rib- very much the ancestor of the modern beanie hat....

This one has a very lovely texture knit stitch- and is knitted on 2 needles with 3 ply yarn

This on e s very similar- but with a lovely cravat scarf.

Have fun making these- find the patterns to download here along with so many other hat patterns too......