Vintage patterns and making

Vintage 1940s toy sewing patterns- giraffe, monkey, lamb, frog, camel, etc

We have just sourced a wonderful book of vintage 1940s toy sewing patterns. There are 10 altogether- there is a giraffe, a camel, a lamb, a tortoise, a monkey, a china doll, a peasant doll, a frog, a clown and a cockerel. They are  all very cute and definitely have that vintage retro feel about them!

The patterns are all in diagram form- which means that there is a squared grid which shows you the size and shape of the pieces to be cut. You would then transfer those shapes onto 1 inch squared paper.That means that the sewing patterns are perfect for delivery as a pdf or on a cd. 

They are all quite simple to make and only have a few pieces each to cut out. If you are an experienced maker you will already understand how to resize a squared grid to make the toys bigger or smaller too.

At the moment they are on Ebay as a cd- but look out for them on the website soon as a pdf download. Click here to find them

Knit a tiny Vintage Santa to decorate the christmas tree

This is such as cute tiny little Santa which you can knit as a little character or as a Christmas tree decoration.

This Santa, or father Christmas as he was more popularly called in the wartime 1940s in the UK when he was originally published, measures 4 and three quarter inches- perfect for the tree!  he was originally made in a fine 3 ply yarn, and so if you wished for a larger Santa then you could make him in 4 ply or DK and he will be a little bigger.....

We guess if you are clever and inventive that just by changing the colour of his clothes and hair, you could also make nativity characters from the same pattern which would also look very cute on the tree.

The pattern to make him can be found on our Vintage Visage website by clicking here- enjoy!

How to sew or knit a cute little vintage llama toy pdf

Llamas are such wonderful animals and have recently become very popular to keep for their coats which can be brushed to obtain the fibres to make luscious yarns.

They are such cute animals too- even though they can be a little naughty towards some humans (they can spit and chase!) they are very loveable and have many fans.

If you wish to make your own little llamas- you may keep llamas yourself and want to sell cute little toys to go along with the other merchandise- we have a couple of vintage patterns that you might like.

One is to sew, and one is to knit....

1940s llama vintage knitting pattern

this is Lucy llama who dates from the 1940s and who you can knit- shes very cute - especially if you knit her in lovely soft alpaca yarn...you can find the pattern to purchase by clicking here

If you prefer a sewing pattern- this cute little llama toy is available to purchase as a pdf download

 

1940s sewn llama

This is Holly llama who again dates from the 1940s and is made via a diagram sewing pattern (eg the pattern is charted on a grid and you would then transfer the shape onto squared paper). You can find her as a pdf download to purchase by clicking here

Little llamas make great gifts- there is definitely a cuteness about their funny little faces!- enjoy!

Vintage 1940s wartime Lux family dolls knitting patterns

This family of dolls is so cute and dates from the 1940s. It has a baby doll, a little girl, a little boy, a mummy , a soldier and a sailor. They are all knitted and also pretty simple to make and would make great period toys in a drama, or lovely 194os memorabilia as well as being funky toys to make for today. You could have a great time making them modern clothes too!

You can make them from odds and eds of yarns and leftovers form other projects- after all, they were designed to be made form that in the austere wartime years when yarn and new toys were hard to come by for lots of families.....they make great stocking fillers too.....

Find this cute little crew on the Vintage Visage website as a download by clicking here

 

Vintage 1940s lapel doll pins, brooches, Christmas tree decorations knitting pattern......pdf download

This is a lovely example of how vintage patterns which were designed for one type of use, can also be used for other things.

Here at Vintage Visage we love these 1940s lapel doll pins and brooches- they are so cute and sweet  and easy to make. They use tiny amonts of yarn and so can use up all of your left overs and odds and ends of yarn. There are 8 designs- a ballerina, a pierrot, an airman, a sailor, girl and boy twins, a 'gay bachelor', and a golly.

The were originally made with embroidery thread and then the clothes are knitted to create the different types of character-  you could easily make up your own personalised characters by just changing colours - perhaps make a bride and groom! (for the top of a cake perhaps?...)- or make one for each of your friends, knitting the clothes like each of their favourites!

We think that these would also make great Christmas tree decorations- the pierrot could be quite easily made into a santa, or a mrs claus, and the others would look cute too. The ballerina could be turned into a fairy very easily by making the clothes in white and adding some knitted or net wings.

For those of you who are looking to make items to sell then these are perfect- they are quick and easy to make, and when you have made each one, attach it to a piece of card with a pretty design or your own logo. People love to buy small items which are called 'impulse buys' and once your customers  know the quality of your work then hopefully they will be back for bigger items too.....

You can find this to buy in our etsy shop here as a pdf download

Have fun making these cute little guys and girls......

Vintage rare Alice in Wonderland toys sewing pattern

Once in a while we come across a very rare and wonderful publication that we are excited about- this booklet of vintage Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass toys sewing patterns is one of those finds that we love! 

There are 9 diagram patterns in this downloadable pattern and they have a great vintage feel which can be enhanced with the choice of fabrics that you use.

 

All the toys are actually designed to be quite tall at around 21 inches, but as the patterns are in draft form (this means that they are charted in squares and you will have to draw the pattern shapes onto squared paper) if you are an experienced maker you should be able to make the squares bigger or smaller to make the toys bigger or smaller too. Designs are

The White Rabbit

The Mad Hatter

Humpy Dumpty

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

The Walrus (from the Walrus and the Carpenter)

The White Queen

The White Knight

The Frog Footman

The Flamingo

We think that these patterns are so cute and they have the possibility of customising to your own designs and tastes by using your own choices of fabrics- we like the idea of using vintage floral fabric for them...

Here is the link- have fun and enjoy

Vintage Alice In Wonderland Sewing Patterns