Three Filet Crochet Baby Pillow Patterns

These adorable baby pillow filet crochet patterns come from a vintage 1920 pattern book devoted to baby and small children's clothing and accessories.  These lovely pillows would be beautiful in the nursery, maybe used for back support for mom in a rocking chair or as a boudoir pillow.

Butterfly filet pattern:

Duck filet pattern:

Bunny rabbit filet pattern:

Instructions for all three pillows:

The lace edging for the duck pillow is at the bottom of this illustration:

You could also adapt these patterns to other uses such as for a yoke to a pretty little dress -- the butterfly or roses would be so pretty for that.  

And naturally, as with other filet crochet patterns, these images can be worked in cross stitch too.  

Have fun stitching up something delightful with these beautiful vintage patterns!

Happy New Year Apron Patterns!

Happy New Year everyone!  Every New Year brings with it renewed hope, dreams and ambitions.  One of my ambitions this year includes de-cluttering and what would be helpful in that department?  How about a fresh apron to keep my clothes clean!  

Whatever your ambitions are this year, a nice, new apron is always a delight.  So today I'm sharing a couple more lovely vintage apron patterns from the World War II era.  

They come from a vintage sewing book and you will need to draft pattern pieces before you begin sewing.

Previous sewing experience will be helpful when using these patterns and following the original directions.

Utility Apron

Instructions as they were originally printed:

The pattern pieces (additional instructions for how to draft your pattern are found at the end of this post):

Taffeta Party Apron

Now, of course, after the hard work is done it's time to celebrate! And what better way to celebrate than to doll up in a new taffeta party apron!  Of course you can use the fabric of your choice but how sweet this would be in taffeta:

Instructions as they were originally printed:

The pattern pieces:

The following information will be useful when making up your pattern pieces and sewing your aprons:

Of course I have other dreams and ambitions for the New Year, but first things first.  A clean, uncluttered space will encourage inspiration and creativity and be just plain nice.  I'm ready to get to work!

Happy sewing everyone and Happy New Year!

Awesome Vintage Embroidery Pattern Site!

This morning I was browsing Pinterest (which is one of my favorite things to do!) and found a wonderful site for vintage embroidery patterns.  It's a Flickr site called Hoop Love Vintage Transfers and it's loaded with vintage transfer embroidery patterns!  You can find it here.  It's a member site and you need to have a Flickr account but it's easy to join and worth it if embroidery is your thing.

The site is specific to vintage patterns from companies that are no longer in business.  So patterns from Aunt Martha and Vogart are not allowed but there are so many -- over 7,600! -- patterns that are absolutely adorable.  Here is small a sampling: 

You can see where my heart lies with these images, but there are so many patterns to choose from:  floral, folk, alphabets, cross stitch, borders and more!

These patterns are perfect for baby blankets and clothes, bibs and aprons, tea towels, pillowcases and sheets, hankies, tablecloths and hot pads,  just about anything that could use a little handmade love and color!

Check out this site if you want to explore the mother load of vintage embroidery transfer patterns!

Easy Crochet Ladies Hat Pattern

With the weather cooling down it's time to dig out your warm clothing and gear up for winter.  This time of year is perfect for rebooting your winter wardrobe and adding a new warm hat or two.  This easy crochet pattern is an oldie but a goodie.  I love the quirkiness of the design!  

The instructions as they were originally printed:

This hat comes together so quickly that you could make a couple for yourself and some for gifts in no time!  Hope you enjoy this free vintage crochet pattern!

Doll Dress, Slip & Panties Patterns

These patterns for a doll dress, slip and panties are from the same vintage World War II pattern books that I was perusing yesterday.  The beauty of these patterns is that they're adaptable to any size doll.  

Like yesterday's apron patterns, having previous sewing experience will be helpful and necessary in drafting and sewing these doll garments.

A Dress to Fit Any Doll

The instructions for the doll dress:
"To make a yoke pattern for a doll's dress, cut two squares of paper as deep and as wide as one quarter of the doll's chest measure plus 1/2 inch.  Divide these pieces into squares as in Diagram 1 and 2 [see below].  Now, draw the yoke outline to cross the squares as shown.  The center front at A, and the center back at B, should be placed on a fold.

"For the sleeve pattern, cut paper as deep as the yoke and twice as wide as the measurement around the top of the doll's arm.  Draw the triangle guide in Diagram 3 [see below], centering the top point and making the base one quarter the depth of the paper from the bottom.  Shape the front of the sleeve top to curve as at the left of the triangle and the back as at the right.  Shape the bottom as shown,  The skirt of the dress is straight and, before gathering, should measure three times around the bottom of the yoke."

Doll Slip and Panties

The instructions for the doll slip and panties:

"The dress yoke pattern may be used as a foundation for shaping the front and back of a slip pattern, as shown by the dotted lines at the left.  The neck and armhole are cut a little deeper than the yoke, and flare is added to the skirt.  The center line, shown here at A [see below], is placed on a fold of the goods in cutting.

"For the front of the panty pattern, cut a piece of paper a little wider than one half the doll's hip measurement and as deep as the length of the panties plus allowance for finishes.  Crease or map the paper in squares, as at B [see below], and use these as guide lines in shaping the crotch and the bottom of the legs, also, the waistline, as shown, The back of the panties is cut like the front except that the waistline is straight."

Once you create the paper patterns for your doll you'll be able to create as many little dresses for her as you want, maybe even a whole new wardrobe!  

These patterns may have come from vintage World War II pattern books but the design is timeless and would certainly make lovely garments today for your special doll.  Enjoy!

1920 Apron Pattern With Filet Crochet Edging

For the crochet lovers out there we have this filet crochet pattern featuring bluebirds.  This is another treasure from the vintage 1920 pattern book that I've been pouring over for the past few days.

This neat little pattern makes a lovely apron, as you can see... and who doesn't need a new apron?  The pattern featured here is for the crochet edging and the beading at the top and very general instructions for the apron construction.  

The instructions:

The pattern:

Just like the patterns in my last post, this design could be used for filet crochet or cross stitch.  The instructions suggest using this design for a crocheted dresser scarf but I could see using it for any number of things.... crochet one bird and use it as a pocket on an up-cycled sweater, or trim hand towels for the guest bathroom.

Or imagine this lovely design at the hem of a beautiful, handmade heirloom Christening gown, or at the yoke of a First Communion dress; they actually look like doves to me.

Whatever you choose to make with this design will be lovely, I'm sure!  

Kitten Softie Toy Pattern

This adorable kitten softie is part of the Kitty Family Vintage Toy Animal Sewing Pattern that's been very popular in my Etsy shop for some time now.  The kitten is super easy to sew with minimal pieces and can be made out of scrap fabric.

This little cutie was part of an iron transfer pattern and you'll need to enlarge the pattern pieces to the size desired.  The pattern includes a 1/4" seam allowance.  

The original pattern main body measures about 8" from top of ears to bottom of paws but these pattern pieces can be reproduced any size you'd like.  Simply cut out the pattern pieces and follow the directions indicated.  For the face, use your favorite transfer pen or transfer method, then embroider.

This is what mama kitty looks like and the family together is really sweet.  This vintage pattern is I think from the 1950s and I've heard several nostalgic stories from the fond memories this little family congers up.

If you'd like to purchase the full size pattern and the pattern for the mama kitty, visit my Etsy shop here.    As you can see from the illustration, mama and kittens in different patterns or colors would be fun and  so cute!

Free Scottie Dog Knitting Pattern Plus Bonus!

And here's the free Scottie dog pattern that was promised for my fellow knitters.  This vintage knitting pattern comes from a different pattern book in my collection but it's just as adorable as the kitty cat pattern, if not cuter.  Love the looks of this softie!

The Scottie dog pattern was featured with this toddler's knit dress.  This photo gives you an idea of the size of the dog when finished.  This dress was too sweet to not include so I've added the pattern here as well:

Baby Dress Number 374, size 2

Two knit patterns today instead of one!  The dress is beautiful and what a treasure it would be to create both for a special little girl for a holiday gift or pretty birthday party dress.

Free Kitty Cat Crochet Pattern

It's been a long, difficult summer but now autumn is here with it's cool air, comforting familiarity and gentle dormancy....

Today we offer this cute kitten pattern for those of you who love to crochet.  Christmas is just around the corner and this would make a nice gift for your special little one.  It looks easy enough to make several fairly quickly for all of your favorite kiddos!

Enjoy this free kitten crochet pattern, I'd love to see your handy work!  Tomorrow's feature pattern with be a Scottie dog for the knitters out there!

Baby Sweater Set Crochet Pattern

And here's a baby set pattern for the crochet enthusiast!  This sweet little set includes bonnet, booties, sweater and blanket.  This pattern is also sized for the six month old infant and would make a lovely set for a newborn baby.

This pattern came from the same vintage pattern book that the last sweater set pattern came from.  

The instructions:

The last posting, which included the baby sweater set knit pattern, contains the helpful "General Instruction" sheet at the end that will benefit both the knitter and crocheter.  Check it out for help with abbreviations and information regarding blocking, dye lots and more.  I hope you enjoy these lovely, baby set patterns, as beautiful today as they were years ago!

Now, let me see what else I can find in my vintage pattern book collection.....  happy stitching!