Raggedy Kate

I hadn't planned on dressing up for Halloween. Well not in a "costume", although I suppose some people would consider some of my "normal" clothing very costumey haha. I have no plans other than watching Arsenic and Old Lace with my friend and handing out candy if any kids even show up. But then I saw this cute costume and decided I am going to dress up anyways. I'm not sure if I will have a chance to get pictures tomorrow so I did a trial run today. What do you think? I'm a rag doll!

 Everything except the wig I already had in my wardrobe. And I already had red yarn which I sewed into the wig, so technically this costume cost me $0.00 :)

 Anyone else dressing up?

Two New Videos (better late than never!)

I am getting terribly forgetful. I've posted two youtube videos over the past few weeks and completely forgot to mention them here! The first one I filmed with my friend Britt. She was kind enough to let me give her a vintage style (which is definately NOT her normal look).


The second video I just posted a couple days ago. I got a request to do a Downton Abbey hairstyle so I filmed a simple hairstyle inspired by Lady Mary.


Subscribing to my youtube channel is the quickest way to stay updated with my videos but I will try in future to remember to post them here :)

That's All.

Anyone good at coming up with names?

I've been a busy little bee this week putting the finishing touches on my latest pdf pattern. However, this one isn't a knitting pattern, but rather a sewing pattern! I've designed a cute 1930's inspired hat and am planning on selling the pattern in my Etsy Store. However, I am having a terrible time coming up with a suitable name for the hat. After almost three days of trying to come up with a name, I've decided to ask all of you.

If you have any suggestions for a name leave me a comment on this post before the 30th of October. The creator of the name I end up using will get a free copy of the pattern (in pdf form). Thanks everyone for the help :) I'm just terrible at coming up with nifty names.

Here are some pictures of the design (which my friend Britt was kind enough to model):

The hat was loosely based on this image (from The Costumer's Manifesto)

Thanks again for your help!

That's All.

Antique Sale Treasures

Last weekend I attended an antique sale in Port Perry. It was much larger than I was expecting and I barely had time to see everything. It was one of the better antique sales I had been to in a while. Of course I might be biased since my purchase of the day was so amazing.

I have long drooled over 1920`s dresses online that I couldn't even dream of affording. One of the vendors at the sale had a rack with two dresses and a jacket on it. None of the garments where in amazing shape but a black lace 1920`s dress caught my eye. Other than a small tear in the lace near the shoulder, it was in perfect condition. I looked around for a price. I finally asked the sweet older woman running the booth. She looked me up and down. She told me the dresses were in very delicate condition. I smiled and told her I understood that. She paused for a moment and said "Well I bought them all ten years ago for $50, but I would be willing to sell them for a little less. I just loved them so much I've held onto them all this time. How about $25 for the three?" I think my jaw hit the floor before I almost yelled "I'll take them!!!". She was very sweet and gently wrapped them up for me. I think she wanted them to go to a good home and wouldn't have sold them to someone she didn't feel would appreciate them. Anyways, I suppose by now you are dying to see some pictures!

The pictures really don't do this dress justice. It is simply stunning.

The jacket is in rather poor condition but is fascinating to look at. It has boning (possibly metal?) on the inside and lots of dark sequins sewn into the trim.

This dress is actually my favourite now. The faux pearls and lace are very captivating. It's a shame it is too delicate to even think about wearing (the lace straps have almost completely disintegrated).

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Hair Styling Cabinet

I cleaned out the mirrored medicine cabinet in my bathroom and turned it into a hair styling cabinet! It now holds my most frequently used foam rollers, pins, clips, rags (for rag curling), styling combs, a head scarf (for wearing over a set at night), and my spray bottle (which is filled with water+lemon juice, which helps hold styles a little better than just water). 

 I used canning jars to store my smaller rollers and rags, and candy tins for my clips and pins. The inspiration images are glued to magnets so they are easy to change and move around.  

That's All.

DIY Tie-Scarf

I haven't done a DIY post in a while so I decided it was time for another one. This tutorial is for what I call a tie-scarf. Basically it looks like a cross between a tie and a scarf. It is very easy to make and only takes a few minutes. Thicker ones look great tied around your neck and long, thin ones can look great when used as a headband or a belt.

You will need:
-A strip of fabric that is the length you want your tie-scarf and twice your desired width
-Sewing machine (although I suppose you could do this by hand if you have a lot more patience than I do)

Instructions:
1) Iron your fabric
2) Pin the long sides of the rectangle (wrong sides together) and sew
3) Flip the fabric right-side out and iron it so that the seam lies in the centre
4) Fold one of the short ends in half, with the seam on the outside the fold, and sew

5) Flip the seam so that it doesn't show (this should now form a pointed end) and iron

6) Repeat on other end
7) Topstitch around the entire edge of the scarf
8) If desired, handstitch the opened of the pointed end closed (I don't normally bother)

I made a wider one using some up old flannel with a horse print.

I actually saw a very similar scarf that was featured in Life magazine in 1949 a few weeks ago on The Cats and the Berries blog. 

Vintage Adventures

Last weekend was the most fun I've had in ages! It started with my best friend, Britt, and I having a sleepover. We filmed a video for my youtube channel but I haven't finished editting it yet.

The next day we awoke nice and early to hop on the train to Toronto. After reading about the Bata Shoe Musuem's exhibit of 1920's shoes on Tea with the Vintage Baroness  I knew I had to find a way to see it. Britt and I had an amazing time (although I'm too cheap to pay for the subway so we had to walk for about an hour to get there). The exhibit was filled with lots of beautiful shoes. I wish I had of been able to get better pictures but my battery was low (as was the lighting). 

Britt and I at the train station

These were one of my favourite pairs!

These were the most stunning shoes I have ever seen in my life.

Same shoes as above. Just as stunning from the back.

The next day I went for a stunning country drive with my parents. We headed up to Warkworth to look at a couple of properties for sale. On our way there we decided to take a different route and stumbled across The Roseneath Carousel. If you are ever in the area go! It has to be the coolest thing I've seen in ages. It is enclosed in a building and in stunning condition. It was built in 1906 and features a (very, very loud) 1934 Wurlitzer 125 Military Band organ. It was about $3 for a ride, and boy what a ride! The music pulses as the carousel spins around (a lot faster than you would expect!!). It is now closed for the season, which makes me sad because I want to go back! 

I also recently finished knitting myself a new scarf (before I hurt my wrist). I've named him Renard (which is french for fox). I love the fact he has four little legs which makes him feel much more like a stole. I found the pattern for free here. 

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My Favourite Item

A couple posts ago I asked if anyone had any questions about me (since I couldn't come up with 7 random facts). The only respond I got was from Jennie. She asked "Out of all your clothing, shoes, bags etc, what is your favourite item, and why?"

My favourite item is a late 1950s/early 1960's dress my grandmother gave me. It is one of the few pieces of old clothing she has kept. She has always had a deep love of clothing and held onto this dress as it was a favourite of hers. She gave to it me last year and it fits me perfectly. The soft green netting (which hangs over a rich brown lining) is quite worn and starting to disintegrate so unfortunately this dress spends most of it's time carefully folded in it's box. 

Here is a (slightly blurry) picture of it from last year when I went to see Swan Lake at the National Ballet in Toronto. 

That's All

Ann Harding Inspired Hairstyle (and a very sore wrist)

I've hurt my wrist, which means no knitting and a lot less computer time for at least the next week :( I did however upload another hair tutorial before my wrist decided to hurt like hell. I have been working on so many knitting projects (and some new patterns!) which makes it very difficult not knit. Oh well... Hopefully a few days of rest and I will be back to knitting and typing. Until then enjoy the video! (I actually made a few other videos but my computer decided to delete them all because it hates me.)

Thrifting Finds and Giveaway Winner

I don't often shop at thrift stores for the simple reason all the thrift stores where I live are extremely over priced and never have interesting things. However I was dropping off a resume at a nearby store and thought I would pop in to see if there was any vintage to save.  I didn't find much but I did end up buying this dress:

It may not be very old, but it is handmade. For $6 I thought it was worth a shot. I plan on styling (and possibly altering it) to make it more 1920's style.

Also, to my great surprise, amid the 1980's  sewing patterns were lurking these sweet 1960's ones! I still haven't decided whether to keep them or sell them. Anyone want to make me an offer? haha

Today, while property hunting in the country, my parents and I stopped at a little store that was for sale. It was basically a junk shop but the building was rather interesting. I had a bit of a hunt around and managed to find two little treasures. First was this Baby Ben Westclox. I have another Westclox and want to start a collection. It was a steal at $1.50

The second item I found was this cow creamer. I have wanted a cow creamer for ages! It was only $2.50 so I snapped it up and am currently giving it a VERY good wash...

And now for the giveaway winners! Drumroll please...
Winner of first prize is: #5, Perdita!   
Winner of the second prize is: #2, adarhysenthe! 

Thank you to everyone for entering! If the winners could email me at purlsofthepast@live.ca so I can send you your prizes.

That's All.