Vintage patterns and making

Vintage Christmas angels to embroider or trace pdf

This set of wonderful retrolicious Christmas angels motifs can be used for embroidery as they were originally intended, as they can be traced from the pdf file that is downloaded.

This is a tracing pattern for a set of very sweet retro christmas angels- you can use them as motifs for embroidery by tracing onto fabric and then embroidering as they were originally intended, or you could just as easily trace the motifs onto cards and make very pretty christmas cards and/or tags. There are 2 sizes of angels - one a group of 5 together, and 5 individual ones. As it is a pdf file, then you can print them out to which ever size you wish to trace them.

They could also be embroidered onto card, and then hung onto the tree , or embroidered onto stiffened/fused fabric which is then cut to make angel shaped decorations for the Christmas tree.

They can really be used for whatever your imagination would like- they are very iconic motifs and could be useful for all tyes of items for the festive season,find them in our etsy shop as a pdf download here 

Make do and mend - mending, recycling and upcycling clothes and home decor

Is the art of make do and mend still active? We have some wonderful digitised booklets from the 1930s and 40s which show how to patch clothes and gloves, darn, mend the cuff of jumpers, coats, turned up trousers, re-front the husbands shirt, refoot stocking and repair knickers.....

We are in the midst of a recession yet most of us, we think, buy new rather than mend the old ones- is that so?- or can you tell us what you mend to either save money or save resources....let us know your thoughts. We do think that perhaps the advice to make a pair of knickers from an old jersey may be a tad too far these days for most of us tho!.......

This is one of several ebooklets that we have on the make do and mend subject- its quite rare we think, and we also have the more usual pink one, both dating from the wartime 1940s in the UK
This one below dates from the 1930s, and besides clothes mending has all sorts of mending tips for around the house......

of course, somme of the mending information for the homemay now be out of date- we think cisterns for instnce have moved on and improved since the 1930s....but just in case you have a vintage 1930s cistern which has broken- now you coukd fix it!

Find the digitalised ebooklets on our website here

 

Vintage Baby christening shawls knitting patterns

One of the more popular areas for knitting these days does seem to be shawls and baby shawls in particular- we have lots of vintage knitting patterns for shawls which can be used for all sorts of thins, including baby christenings, weddings, winter warmers and pretty home decor as throws or table cloths.

In this post we are concentrating on intricate lace shawls- these are from over 100 years ago and are very delicate and pretty, along shetland lace design lines...

These shawls are knitted in fine yarns- around a 2 ply- and so are a labour of love as they take a while to make an it does seem at first as if its not growing very fast! Double Knitting shawls of course are quicker, but they do not feel as delicate, and sometimes the lace effect does not look as effective as the yarn can hide some of the more delicate work.

Find the patterns here

The next 2 are slightly more recent, from around the late 1940s and are very beautiful made up

If you are making shawls to sell- they are very popular gifts for people to give at baby showers etc- then we do recommend that you make them with a yarn such as cashmere or merino or silk and blends of these luscious fibres. Why? Well for one thing it feels much more luxurious to the touch, and secondly, shawls take a long time to knit, and customers will pay a premium for a beautiful luxurious fibre yarn, but may be unwilling to pay a good price for your time if its an acrylic yarn. 

Keep an eye out for other posts featuring shawls, both knitted and crocheted.....

Vintage Wallpaper designs

Here at Vintage Visage we not only source vintage and antique patterns for makers, but we also sourse design inspiration resources for designers , be they graphic designers, textile designers or fashion designers. One of  favourites and most popular ones is our vintage wallpaper designs. We have design booklets of lots of vintage wallpapers that we have digitalised from the very early 1900s victorian era, through 1920s up to the 1940s. Many use the booklets to look at for inspiration for their own designs, but we also have TV , film and theatre designers who use the images as period reference if they have to make 1900s, 1920s or 1940s interior decoration and  rooms for sets. 

Here are a few of the images and booklets we have available-

You can find them on our website here

Vintage hat box sewing patterns

Hat boxes are very popular at the moment- not only do people want to use them to store their hats and delicate fascinators but increasingly they are using them as general storage around the house, especially if they are covered in pretty papers or vintage fabrics or even embroidery. They can be stacked in decreasing sizes and can look fun and funky.

Both of our patterns/instructions very easy to make- once you understand the process they can easily be made in all sorts of sizes, and you could also adapt the shapes if you are confident. We offer a full email back up service to all of our pattern so you can buy with confidence knowing that you have a helping hand available if necessary. These 2 hat box patterns are covered in fabric - one even gives a paisley cross stitch pattern to embroider on too- and can look so pretty- you can match the fabric to your existing home decor, use neutrals, whites and creams for wedding items, or imagine them n pretty vintage floral fabrics.....yet another one of our items that you can make as gifts, or even to sell......have fun

Vintage Hat Box Patterns here