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Learn How to Add a Vintage Touch to Your Knit Wardrobe

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vintage design workshop

Ane is the winner.

Lots of knitters love to use vintage knitting patterns or to work from patterns that are inspired by the patterns of the past. Vintage patterns tend to have less ease and more details and shaping than many of the patterns of today, and they can be really fun to knit but are not without challenges.

The patterns of the past didn’t include the level of detailed instructions you will find today, to the point that it can even be difficult to find compatible yarn or to understand what size of garment the original pattern would make.

Vintage Design Workshop is an amazingly detailed and inspiring book for vintage knit fashion lovers. Geraldine Warner takes you through all the steps to understand and work from vintage patterns, from where to find patterns to how to choose yarn, adjusting width, length, armholes and sleeves, necklines and stitch patterns.

All that would be plenty, but there’s also a trove of information on adjusting modern patterns to have a more vintage feel, from adding shaping and changing sleeves to adding shoulder pads, buttons and Fair Isle motifs, to name just a few.

A full dictionary of patterns for sleeves, collars, necklines, pleats, pockets, cuffs, trims and edgings makes it possible to modify any pattern to have a vintage feel.

I should mention there are no full garment patterns in this book, so you need to be comfortable with adjusting patterns and/or writing your own to get the most out of this book.

Sound interesting? I’m giving away my copy this week, so leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, July 30, if you’d like a chance to win it. I’d love to know what you like about vintage patterns or if you’ve ever knit from a vintage pattern before. There’s a project in my colorwork book, the slip stitch tweed top, that feels vintage to me in style, color and pattern, but it’s not strictly vintage.

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Many of my patterns date from the fifties to the seventies so probably are considered vintage! I return to them again and again, especially baby cardigans as I like their style better than modern patterns.

  2. I’ve knit from Seventies patterns, but would love to adapt some from earlier. This book looks helpful!

  3. I looove vintage style! One of my favourite things to knit and wear are shrugs, which also seem to be quite a usual pattern to find in vintage pattern books 😀

  4. I love vintage it gives me a timeless look and fine yarns to use, I like to use natural yarns and want wear from the time I take creating, I’m not looking at throwaway fashion. Many vintage patterns are more like dressmaking in the way darts and seams are used in structure allowing you to be forgiving to areas and highlight others. Couture at my price.

  5. I haven’t knit from vintage patterns. I like the style, so would love to try some.

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

knit glasses holder

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]