Girl Scout Sweater Pattern

I've been digging through my vintage Girl Scout collection of books and memorabilia and came across this sweater pattern.  It comes from a vintage Girl Scout handbook for the older girl.  It appears that after the sweater is knit, the trefoil design is cross stitched on.

What makes this a neat project is that you could cross stitch the pattern onto a ready-made sweater if you aren't a knitter.

This would also be a great project to do with younger Scouts too.  Have the girls practice their cross stitch embroidery on simple grid fabric as they learn to sew.

A terrific knitting and cross stitch pattern from a vintage Girl Scout handbook ready for Scouts today!

Vintage Ann Orr Cross Stitch Patterns

Here  are some sweet vintage cross stitch patterns by Ann Orr that would be so lovely to create today.  Feel free to print these little sweeties and stitch away!  You may want to enlarge them first for easier reading.  These vintage patterns were originally published in the 1920's and come from an antique pattern book.

Either of these would look so nice in a baby nursery, a little sunbonnet girl and alphabet.

Fruit for the kitchen, this would make a nice house warming gift!

Stay tuned for more free vintage Ann Orr cross stitch patterns coming soon!

Button, button, who's got the button?

One of the perks of having a sewing business is being surrounded by pure loveliness like these Czech, iridescent buttons.  These buttons just shimmer and dazzle in the light!  I've added them to numerous projects from pretty little dresses, to coats and craft totes.  These buttons always add a little extra something to make the final product special.

A collection of Czech glass buttons.

Beautiful lavender

Blue and gold

Tulip motif

Awesome modern pop to this one!

These Czech buttons come in varying sizes from quite small to very large.  I've found them at several locations but by far the best source for me has been online auctions.  They can be spendy, but oh so worth it if you was to add pop to your favorite sewing project!

Here's an example of a pretty little craft tote that I made and embellished with one of the rose glass buttons.  It really added the right touch to the final product.

Happy crafting!

Starting at the Beginning....

Sentimental Baby began in 1998 as a specialty garment business specializing in custom Christening or Baptismal gowns, First Communion and special occasion dresses featuring hand embroidery, high quality fabrics and vintage laces.  Here are some examples of work from this early time.

This sweet First Communion gown and head piece were made out of Swiss Nelona batiste fabric, vintage and antique laces and was detailed with hand smocking and delicate silk ribbon hand embroidery.

First Communion Dress, photo by Susan Ewbank.

Another early example is this special occasion dress showing the front and side sleeve.  It was also created with Swiss Nelona  batiste fabrics and beautiful antique and vintage laces, and detailed with hand embroidery.

Bullion rose detailing on sleeve and collar.

Antique laces and shadow work embroidery at the hem.

Occasionally I'd work in either silk or, as in this example, wool.  This little coat also features hand embroidery on the collar, the handmade buttons and on the sleeves.

Rose bullion embroidery on collar and handmade buttons.

Sleeve detail.

These early pieces are some of Sentimental Baby's favorite First Communion gowns, specialty dresses and dainty little coats!  I'll share more soon!  :-)

Lucky Find!!

I can't go by a thrift store without going inside, I just have to, I never know what I'll find.  Over the years I have found some wonderful treasures including a vintage 1930's Double Wedding Ring quilt in pristine condition for $15.00, so far my best find.

Well, several weeks ago, thumbing through the used sewing patterns at my local thrift store, I found these treasures!  Vintage sewing patterns from the 1930's!  Three vintage Butterick, a DuBarry and a Pictorial Printed Pattern.  And, because it was the thrift store, I got them for a song.... oh happy day!!

Vintage DuBarry sewing pattern dated 1939.

This Pictorial Printed sewing pattern is dated 1931.

The take home message:  Don't ignore your local thrift store for vintage sewing pattern finds!

Little Girls' Patterns Featuring Pleats

These patterns come from our vintage pattern library.  Most of these are from the 1960's and 70's although one looks older, maybe from the 40's.  The feature that ties them together is the wonderful use of pleats.  

Sweet Dachshund transfer pattern! 

This Simplicity pattern was used to make the dress below using Girl Scout and s'more fabric.

The bags were made with a combination on contemporary and vintage Girl Scout fabric.

Vintage Girl Scout Badge Quilt

This vintage Girl Scout badge quilt was crafted using Girl Scout badges from the 1920's and the 1930's and accented with a vintage 1920's 3 star membership pin.  Some of these badges are quite interesting... The khaki badges from the 1920's include the star fill "Stargazer" and the thrifty bee "Economist" as well as the wise owl "Economist" and the all seeing eye "Observer."  The grey green square badges from the 1930's include the baseball "Athlete" badge, the tent shape "Woodcraft Scout" and the lightning bolt "Electrician"---what a cool badge!  Then there are the round badges from the 1930's including "Aviation" which must have been a pretty amazing badge to earn back in the day, and "Motorist" another awesome badge for a girl in the 30's.

My favorite badge is the GS "Rambler" badge, it just says it all -- Go Girl Scouts!