A bonnet for your pixie..........

     My husband's grandmother recently gave me some of her old Australian Home Journal magazines.  I love old magazines, especially ones that have old knitting and sewing patterns.  At one point I loved them for the illustrations.  Now I love them because they are a window into the way things used to be made.  You can know all of your vintage style by sight, but not until you've knit or sewn a pattern from the early twentieth century do you truly begin to understand how these clothes were constructed and fit.
    The ladies these magazines were geared for are the original "wing it" designers.  Nothing says "now figure it out yourself" like a pattern with instructions that abruptly end or else tell you to now "finish all with 1/4" bias binding".
     This pattern is one of those - it tells you everything you need to know to make it, but it leaves just enough room for you to wing it.  Plus, little girls don't wear enough bonnets anymore and they are so cute!

Please don't use this pattern for commercial reasons.   These things shouldn't sit in a box in someone's attic, forgotten, and that's why I share them with you...............

Sew For Your Country.............

    I am posting this a bit later than I expected.  Between birthdays, skids and school holidays life takes over sometimes.

     Once upon a time, if you needed a new suit you would either pop down to the shops to have one tailored OR you would pop down to the shops for some fabric and make one yourself.  The US government was in full support of the home arts, especially coming out of the 1940's and 1950's.  I have fabulous knitting patterns to make to send to your soldier boys on the front, (helmet liners, fingerless gloves to use with their rifles, etc) and I am still hoping to one day acquire a fabulous pattern issued during WW2 which basically shows you how to cut a woman's suit from an old man's suit.
    Times are different now, and your average career woman doesn't have time to whip up a new suit over the weekend for Monday's meeting.  However, some of the techniques in this booklet are really good to know if you even like to sew a little bit, and knowing how to make proper pockets and buttonholes is invaluable.  
   The US government booklet shown below was issued in 1964 and distributed as a free gift by a NY state representative.  Enjoy!

Once again, I do not hold the copyright to any of these images.  I share my collection for personal, not commercial use.