:: An hour and a half, a yard and a half, a swimsuit and a half!

Posted by Kerry on July 21, 2008 | Permalink

I’ve been meaning to give Burdastyle a proper once-over for a while, but so far none of the free patterns that I’ve seen have really piqued my interest. Until now. Yowza!

The gorgeous, vintage-inspired bathing suit above is available as a free pattern for you to print out here. It’s rated as easy, and from the reviews on the site it sounds like it should be a breeze even for a newbie like me. I plan to give it a whirl in the next month or so - I’m planning a holiday to somewhere warm, for once, and I think it’d be a shame not to go for the full-on retro faded glamour approach.

I already have a turban and a pair of enormous sunglasses, so I guess all I need to complete the look is a tiny, vicious dog dog, a large martini and a packet of Sobranies. And a private pool. And a gay husband.

Categories: craft
Tags: bathing suit, burdastyle, free, patterns, sewing, swimming costume, swimsuit, tutorials, vintage

2 comments

:: I’m tempted to buy seven new pairs of knickers and decorate them accordingly

Posted by Kerry on July 8, 2008 | Permalink

I dabbled with embroidery when I was a child, and then got really into it last year courtesy of Sublime Stitching. After the initial excitement of embroidering everything in sight, I put it away for a little while - the last and most ambitious project I did, embroidering an illustrated Dorothy Parker quotation on to a handbag, rather took it out of me and I felt I’d earned a rest.

I don’t know whether it’s a summer thing or maybe just that I’ve finally got bored of my Nintendo DS (say it ain’t so!), but over the past couple of weeks I’ve found myself itching to start embroidering again. Having lent Joelle my Sublime Stitching book, I was forced to improvise. I looked up old botanical images of poppies online to find the perfect image for a pillowcase, and copied the outline of an Egyptian-style scarab beetle on to a handkerchief for my boyfriend. I doodled, and encouraged others to doodle so that I could do something interesting with their designs. It was all very bold and experimental, and I felt pleased with it (heck, I might even take some pictures sometime).

And yet in spite of all my exciting modern designs, I still felt a hankering. There’s something about those kitschy old embroidery patterns, isn’t there? And it’s sadly something that I can’t capture in my own drawings, however cutesy I try to make them. This, dear reader, is where Needlecrafter.com comes in. I got put on to their excellent collection of vintage needlepoint patterns by a poster on craftster, and I’m delighted with what I found - a collection beautiful early 20th century embroidery patterns, all free to download and print out for your own use.

That’s certainly scratched the kitsch itch for now - however, I suspect that my limited research has revealed only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free patterns online. Do any of you have your own favourites that you’d like to share?

Categories: craft
Tags: craftster, cross stitch, download, embroidery, free, needlecrafter, needlepoint, patterns, sewing

5 comments