On the needles

Well, knitting those few tiny things seems to have eased me back into knitting, and got me thinking about my other on-the-go projects. I have a couple of things that need finishing off that I'll be glad to see the back of. I've imposed a rule on myself when it comes to knitting, that I can only have one project per person on the go at any time i.e. one for me, one for Little One.

*Apologies for the crap ironing-board photos. My table is currently covered in bits of motorbike seat!

First up is the one I really want to finish soon. I started this at the end of last winter, and it just needs another sleeve! I adapted it to have long sleeves, as there is a major gap in my wardrobe where long sleeved jumpers should be! It has taken a considerable amount of time to knit due to the fine wool and lots of cables. I've really enjoyed making it but I'm looking forward to being able to wear it this winter.

For Little One, I'm currently making a cardi in this beautiful colour. It's insanely hard to photograph (and describe) but it's a sort of dark jade/turquoise/aqua kind of shade. Its the bottom left design, with the heart-design lace panels. Hopefully it should be a quick make- it's in DK.

Added to the one project per person rule is one more thing for my friend's baby: a blanket, of course! I wanted to do something quick and easy, with multiple colours but no seaming of squares. I settled on a zig-zag blanket, and used this one from KnitCulture as a guide, though I changed the number of stitches cast on. I'm about half way up it now, or possibly less. I can't decide how many repeats of the stripe pattern to do. Three repeats will make a fairly square blanket, but four would make it longer than it is wide. I think I'll have to measure the width more accurately once I get to the end of the third repeat and make my mind up then.

What about you? 

Are you knitting anything at the moment?

Fashion in Film: The British Film Annual 1949

I picked up a copy of The British Film Annual: 1949 from a charity shop this afternoon and couldn't wait to share some images with you all. Period cinema and film-related literature is a great way to get inspiration for vintage styles, and for the couple of pounds I paid this book does not disappoint. This book was put out by British newspaper The Daily Mail, in connection with the National Film Awards.

The book has a couple of pages each dedicated to a total of 54 films released in the previous year, with black and white and colour images. There are screen shots, studio portraits and promotional images. I've picked out a selection of my favourites to show you.

Valerie Hobson as Blanche Fury

Greta Gynt as Pat Parsons in Easy Money

Young actress Hazel Court

Jean Simmons as Ophelia in Hamlet

Anna Neagle as Judy Howard in Spring In Park Lane

There are, of course, some beautiful hats being worn.

Margaret Lockwood

Beatrice Campbell as Edie in My Brother Jonathan

Greta Gynt as Wenda in The Calendar

Of course, you can't have 1940s fashion without some novelty prints!

Sally Ann Howes in a beautiful leaf-motif dress.

Sheila Sim in The Guinea Pig

Paula Valenska in a beatiful leaf print with contrast collar.

Tiny Knitting, with baby mitts pattern

I haven't done much knitting recently. It's not exactly a summer activity, especially in the weather we've had recently! It's cooled down a little now though, and we've had a week of much-needed heavy rain, so my fingers have been getting a little twitchy for the needles.

Luckily, I have the perfect excuse to do some small projects to ease myself back into knitting. My best friend is currently expecting, with her bundle of joy due at the end of September. I've been putting together a gift bundle for her in time for meeting up in a couple of weeks- our first and last chance to see each other in a long time, as we currently live at opposite ends of the country.


First up I made this little jacket in aran weight wool/acrylic blend. It is a very simple pattern from Debbie Bliss that knits up very quickly. I've now made it twice as gifts for people!

This set of hat and mittens are done in acrylic double knitting weight. The hat is the Pointy Hat from Cool Knits For Kids, by Kate Gunn and Robyn Macdonald. I made the 3-6 months size. Again, it's a very simple make, and is knit flat then seamed which is a bonus for me. I'm not fond of knitting in the round. I didn't use a pattern for the mitts: I did a quick bit of maths then made it up as I went. The pattern is below. I haven't written in the colour changes: I worked two-row stripes, changing to the grey after row 2 (the first purl row).

Baby Mitts

Approx age 0-6 months

With 3.5mm needles and DK yarn, cast on 28 stitches.
Work 6 rows of k.1 p.1 rib.

Change to 4mm needles.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Work even in stocking stitch for 12 more rows.
Row 15: K2tog, k.11. Work a double decrease- slip 2 stitches together, knit next stitch, pass 2 slipped stitches over together. Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog.
Row 16: Purl
Row 17: K2tog, k9, double decrease, knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog.
Row 18: Purl.

Either cast off on the next row, or knit across half the stitches and do a three needle cast off, which I did. Seam the side. I used a mattress stitch which is almost invisible.


I'd wanted to make some socks or booties to complete the set, but as I already said about the hat, I hate knitting in the round, especially on tiny things. Of course, I cannot find a two needle pattern suitable for DK yarn. Can anyone point me towards one?

Service Announcement!

Blogging may be a bit hit and miss for a while around here, possibly for the next couple of weeks or so. "Why?" you ask. Well, yesterday afternoon this happened:

Yep, that's my machine with her heart ripped out! For the first time in my seven years of ownership she's in need of some major maintenance. The last couple of months she's had some major issues that I just can't ignore any longer. She'd lost speed control on the motor, having intermittent spells where a light touch of the pedal produced full speed with nothing in between for a few hours of sewing, followed by twenty minutes of normal sewing, only to return to her pedal-to-the-floor speed. On top of this the drive pulley (the little wheel at the top of the second picture which the drive belt goes around to make the handwheel move) has been slipping on its shaft when sewing at high speed. Oh, and there's an awful lot of carbon dust lurking around on the motor and in its housing, so chances are the carbon brushes are worn down and need replacing. It had got to the point where it was annoying me so much that I didn't even want to sew, so I guess that's as good a time as any to take her off the table!

If all of this technical stuff has gone right over your head, don't worry! It all basically means that I'm off to buy a new foot pedal, the most likely cause of the lack of speed control, and spend some time tinkering with a very grotty motor. 

I'll try not to let it get too quiet over here. I have a couple of unblogged things I could share, and no doubt I'll have to find something crafty to keep my hands busy. If I get desperate, there's always boyfriend's mum's sewing machine!

MMM '13, Day 13: Leopard print and new shoes

Every girl needs a bit of leopard print in her life. Luckily, I've gone a bit mad with it lately!

I made this dress a couple of weeks ago from the pattern supplement in one of my French magazines; Votre Mode from May 1956. You can see pages from this magazine here.

Featuring on the cover, the pattern is a classic '50s shirtwaist. The pattern is given for the upper half of the dress (with the option to lengthen it into a blouse). The skirt is cut as rectangles and gathered or pleated into the waist seam; I did a gathered skirt this time. I think one thing to note is that the collar is much wider than in either the illustrations or the photo. I think I'll trim it down on my next version; it's a bit excessive.

I used the leopard print cotton poplin I bought just after Christmas, and the large ones of those swirl buttons. I used the sleeves from Gertie's shirtwaist dress. This pattern has two sleeve options: straight fitted or puff. I wanted a puff sleeve, but the one with the pattern (on the cover) is hugely puffy, so a little too much volume for a day dress.

The dress buttons to the waist and has a lapped side zip. I also added side seam pockets to the skirt, so the zip continues down behind the pocket on this dress.

I also got new shoes! It's been years since I had any summer shoes that really worked for me, other than the flat ballet slipper type. I don't do heels well, and a half-size difference between my feet means that a strap of some sort or a high vamp is a must or the shoe falls off the smaller foot! I spotted these when I was doing the food shopping a couple of weeks ago and loved them. I was waiting until I could afford them, but Boyfriend's mum decided to treat me instead. So now I have a lovely pair of summer wedges with a nice '40s feel.

Plus, they happen to match the dress!

Outfit Details

Me-Mades:

Dress: Leopard print cotton, Votre Mode 10 Mai 1956

Knickers: Blue viscose jersey midis

Worn With:

Belt: New Look

Shoes: George at Asda

FPF: Cap Sleeve Classic

Again, sorry for skipping a free pattern weekend back there! Life does get in the way sometimes, heh.

This weeks free pattern is for a beautifully simple short sleeved V-neck jumper. This style is, as the name suggests, a versatile classic. It comes in sizes 34, 36 and 38 inch bust, and is knitted in 3 ply weight yarn. The tension is 7.5 stitches ans 9.5 rows per inch, and uses size 12 and 10 needles (old UK sizes).

I'm trying out PDF files for my patterns. The link below the image should take you to the Google Docs page where you can view the pattern. Hopefully this should make it easier on you all for patterns with multiple pages; you can download a single file rather than having three or four image files that make up the pattern. Let me know if this works ok for you!

P&B Cap Sleeve Classic free pattern

Now that we finally have a scanner I should be more inclined to keep up with pattern posts!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the pattern links- it's my first time using GoogleDocs!

Butterick 5895 Pants: MMM '13 Day 7

As I mentioned in my recent sewing plans post, one of my new patterns is Butterick 5895. This is one of Gertie's newest patterns for Butterick released for summer. The cropped trousers have a nicely vintage high waistline, with side front pockets and fasten up the back with a zip.

I went stash-diving and pulled out a length of pinstripe stretch cotton sateen that's been lurking for a good 5 years. I think I originally planned to make a blazer-type jacket from it but never did. I used a small bit for a bolero last year, but had just enough left to squeeze this pattern out. It wasn't looking like getting used for anything else, so not the end of the world if it turned out they didn't fit.

 Sorry about the image quality. I promise I'll make the effort and use the good camera for the rest of the month!

No such worries though! After a quick tweak of the back darts to fit into my hollow back, these fit nearly perfectly straight out of the packet! I cut the size 20 to account for my wide hips and thighs and got a pretty good snug fit. I like this style to be very fitted on the legs. I need to take a small amount in on the centre front seam below my tummy to eliminate a few drag lines there (a sort of reversed full-abdomen adjustment) but only a half inch.

Pretty happy with the fit of the back after taking those darts in a little. Also, I did my first invisible zip in about three years on this pair (mostly because it was the only short black zip to hand) and I think I got it as near perfect as I ever could! *happydance*

A little leopardy surprise in the pockets.

I think I found a new pattern love! My black denim is already on the way for another pair, which you'll doubtless see within a week. And no, this blouse isn't from the pattern, but shop-bought. Evidently it was in my subconscious when I got dressed this morning though!

Fabric: Cotton lycra sateen, leopard print cotton poplin (pockets)

Pattern: Butterick 5895, view B

Notions: 8" Invisible zip, Trouser hook and bar, Thread, Fusible interfacing

Worn with:

Cream vest: New look

Cherry print tie-front blouse: Internacionale

P.S. Apologies if you read this post with no photos. A certain small somebody hit the publish button while I was out of the room!

Spring Sewing Plans

Now that the weather has finally perked up, it's time to start Spring sewing, and sewing for a new season starts with new patterns! I've got a few new lovelies to work with this season.

First up is something I'm quite badly in need of: a short coat! I scored this little beauty on eBay for a couple of pounds: Vogue 7146. It seems this pattern is a little more rare than some: I could only find one other mention of it online, and it wasn't on the Vintage Patterns Wiki! So I created a page for it here.

It's also my first ever Vogue pattern, new or vintage, which for some reason I find stupidly exciting. I plan on making it up in a red and black checked wool, probably this wool/poly boucle from eBay:

Another gap in my wardrobe is basic button-down blouses, particularly with longer sleeves. This Wheldons pattern came from the same seller as the Vogue jacket. It has three-quarter length sleeves and a classically '50s smooth winged collar. I've been lusting after a black and white gingham shirt, so I think that may be it's first incarnation!

I'm very excited about this next pattern too: Butterick 5895, one of Gertie's newest patterns. I've always worn cropped jeans in summer until my last pair dropped to bits last year. This pattern has the high waist I've come to like as I've been wearing more vintage styles. The blouse is a style I like too- I have two shop bought tie-front blouses that I wear regularly, so that will be a good staple pattern for my summer wardrobe. A big thank you to my sister Kally of Millinery and Musings for getting me this pattern as part of an offer from sewdirect.com.

I'm working on a pair at the minute to test the fit, which I'll blog soon! A plain black denim pair will be the first proper pair from this pattern, but I'm tempted by this red snake-print cotton drill. Mmm... trashy!

Last up is a new dress pattern, Simplicity 2444. I treated myself to a copy of Sew magazine which this came free with. I love the unusual dart placement and bow collar of this pattern. Again, I'm already working on my first version of this.

And thanks to taking part in Me-Made-May you will actually see some of the results of my planning. I'm aware I write an awful lot of "I'm going to make..." posts then never show you all the results. I'm trying to change that. Honest!

Vintage Design Workshop: A Book Review

For my birthday this year my mum gave me a copy of Vintage Design Workshop: Knitting techniques for modern style, by Geraldine Warner. This book is a fairly new release, written by the owner of Skiff Vintage Knitting.

This book differs from many vintage knitting books in that it does not contain actual garment patterns, but rather detailed techniques about working with vintage patterns. The book is divided into two main sections, 'Updating Vintage Patterns' and 'Retro-styling Modern Patterns', which are in turn divided into smaller chapters as follows:

Updating Vintage Patterns:

1. Preparation. Includes assessing your pattern, swatching and tension, and taking measurements.

2. Substituting yarns. How to find suitable yarns, quantities and period-appropriate colours.

3. Adjusting vintage sizes. Adjusting widths, lengths, sleeves, shoulders and necklines, and working with stitch patterns.


Retro-styling Modern Patterns

4. Adjusting sizes. Work out how to get a vintage fit, including ease, shaping, darts and lengths.

5. Patterns For Vintage Elements. Basic patterns for pattern elements, including sleeves, neckline treatments, pleats, pockets and cuffs. This chapter also has instructions for stitch patterns, fair isle designs, embroidery and edgings.

6. Adding elements to patterns. Adding shoulder pads, buttons and finishing tips.

The back of the book had good lists of resources, a needle size conversion chart, glossaries, a thorough index and instructions on making knitters graph paper for charting!

This book is beautiful throughout. While there are no garment patterns in the book, there is a wealth of images of inspiring vintage patterns and advertisements, as well as reproduced garments.

The chapters dedicated to the more mathematical aspects, such as resizing and pattern adaptation are clear and concise, with written instructions and diagrams for clarity. The author also includes case-study style working examples to show how the numbers work.

The author uses one pattern as a continuous example throughout the book, this Bestway "Tea-Time Jumper". This gives a good visual example for many of the aspects covered in the book, particularly the effect of yarn choice.

The Patterns

The 'Elements' section with the patterns is a lovely addition in the book. The patterns are all written for double knitting weight yarn on 4mm needles. The sleeve types included are short set-in, short puff, short pleated cap, box top, and fitted long sleeves. The collars include peter pan, pointed and tied. There are instructions for various pleats and pockets, as well as cuff styles and hem treatments.

There are written instructions for nine decorative stitch patterns, and charted instructions for five fair isle designs. This is my favourite design: so cute!

This book is ideal for those of you who, like me, love the vintage styles but want or need to make a few changes. One issue many of us may be familiar with is sizing issues. Vintage patterns so often come in a single size, often in sizes smaller than you may need. A 34 or 36 inch bust seems to be most common in my collection, but that's no good for my 40 inch measurement! This book takes you through the necessary steps for making a pattern fit, and brings to light things you need to consider when making alterations that may not seem obvious until you run into trouble. For example, what would happen to the points on this jumper if you simply cast on more stitches without considering the stitch pattern?

I've already used this book to help with adapting the sleeves on my current knit from short to long sleeves, using the instructions on page 115.

All in all a highly recommended read for those who want to widen their knowledge in this area, and divert from following patterns to the letter. This book is great if you have the essential knitting skills but aren't sure how to go about making changes to patterns. I know I'll certainly be referring to it often as I rarely follow a pattern directly, mostly due to the sizing issues I already mentioned. This book opens up a world of opportunity for adapting and designing knitting patterns exactly as you'd like, and will be an invaluable resource for me.

Thanks Mum!

FPF: Bestway Feather and Fan summer sweater

This week's free pattern is for this lovely late '50s short sleeved jumper by Bestway, in a sweet lacey feather and fan stitch pattern.

The pattern is in two sizes, for a 34 and 36 inch bust. It is worked in 4 ply yarn on old UK size 10 and 11 needles.