Linen Washing - Easy Mode

I collect a lot of vintage linens from thrift and antique stores; I'm always on the lookout for good fabric and fine hand embroidery. Unfortunately a lot of these old pieces are yellowed or stained from years of use. However, I have found the perfect weapon with which to combat these entrenched stains: Oxy-Clean

This small scoop is plenty for washing several small items or even a large tablecloth

The basic recipe is: soak the stained fabic in Oxy-Clean and hot water for a couple hours, rinse and hang dry. 

Most old embroidery threads are quite colorfast, but it pays to be a bit careful. It's always a good idea to dab a bit of your Oxy-Clean solution on a discrete corner and make sure the colors won't run. Red dye in particular tends to bleed more than other colors. If you're worried about the colors, try using cold water first. It might not get all the stains out, but it's safer for the colors.

Also, make sure to rinse your linens thoroughly to  get all the Oxy-Clean out. If there's still some left when you iron the fabric, it can leave a brown stain. This stain too can be easliy removed with another soak, though.

Before washing - note the yellowed spots on the lace as well as the stains on the linen

After soaking for ~3 hours in hot tap water and Oxy-Clean - All the yellowed spots are gone!

As a bonus, Oxy-Clean will even lighten the marks from permanent iron on transfer pens or pencils! So if you slip up when transferring a design, or can't cover the lines completely with your stitches, Oxy-Clean can help!

See the blue shadow under the grey stitch just to the right of the red? That's the line from an iron on transfer pen.

Here's that same stitch, after soaking in the same Oxy-Clean bath as the runner above. The blue shadow is no more!

Vintage Craft Book Feature: Knitting in Vogue (1981)

Another of my many needlework hobbies is the collection of vintage craft books. Found in dusty corners of second hand shops, in pride of place in used book stores, these old tomes often contain beautiful nuggets of crafting wisdom, and a heaping helping of vintage charm. Reviving the techniques, tips and retro projects is just one more way for us to bring back the wonders of the handmade.

Knitting in Vogue 1981

This book is one of my favorite vintage knitting finds. It's not just a window into the knitting style of the early 1980's, but also a window into earlier styles through the lens of the 80's. Each pattern is a reprint or reworking of an older Vogue Knitting pattern, made for 'modern' audiences.

Each garment is modeled in it's 'new' form, with all the retro charm you could want.

And there's also an image for each from the original pattern, so you can see how it was originally worn and styled.

All of the designs end up feeling a bit timeless, seeing the same garment modeled in these different styles. I really like just flipping through and looking at the pictures. Even if you don't want to knit any of the sweaters, it's a great coffee table book.

This was also the book with the pattern that eventually became my neon stepsister sweater :)

Borders Abound

 It's free pattern friday! This time it's a trio of fantastic border designs, and a bit of stitching inspiration. These patterns are also great for drawing, painting, or whatever your craft of choice. Enjoy!

Wait...What?

I shop at thrift stores a lot. Really, a lot. Clothes, books, decor items, cookware, raw materials for my shop; most of the goods I buy come from second hand shops. This is partly because I am cheap and refuse to pay full price for new when perfectly serviceable things are available used.  Mostly, however, I shop at thrift stores because they can offer some hidden gems found nowhere else.

Sometimes these gems are beautiful and unique vintage clothing, or quality kitchenware for a bargain, and sometimes the value of a find is just that makes me laugh:

So I'm a pretty avid cyclist, and I do occasionally enjoy wearing a ruffly dress and stilleto heels, just never together. I'm guessing whoever set up this photo has never experienced either one. She's using a proper cyclocross carry position at least. It is a track bike, and thus could possibly have toe clips which theoretically would fit her footwear. Though it would have her leaning way too far forward for that low neckline...

So...Post Cereals sponsored a "pounds thinner" pattern? 'Eat our sugary cereal and gain weight, then sew a dress that hides it!'

I get that they are just describing the style here, but seriously 'Empire Sorcery in Five Different Evening Moods' sounds like a collab jazz album between Darth Vader and Palpatine.

Nothing snarky to say about this one, I just really like the hair and shades on the little floating dude. He is very anime though, right? Like a little floating fairy sidekick.