Category Archives: Sewing & Crochet

Here you’ll find free sewing and crochet tutorials, clothes and accessories I made or am making at the moment; as well as other sewing related things.

Bend Eyes Into Bars – DIY Hook And Bar Closure

24th April 2018Sewing & Crochet1950s, DIY, sewing, tutorial, upcycling, victorianLina

It’s easy to turn store-bought hook and eye closures into hook and bar closures. In this short tutorial I’ll show you how to make a DIY hook and bar closure.

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Hook and eyes and hook and bars are a great way to fasten your garments: I use them on skirt waistbands, as vintage dress closure together with snaps instead of a zipper closure (picture below) and as secure and historical accurate closure for my Victorian bodices. Continue reading Bend Eyes Into Bars – DIY Hook And Bar Closure →

Easter Countdown 2018 – 30 Free Easter Craft Tutorials And Recipes

1st March 2018(Historical) Cooking Recipes, DIY Crafts, Sewing & Crochetarticle, easter, recipe, sewing, tutorialLina

Count down the days until Easter Sunday 2018 with 31 free Easter and spring craft tutorials and Easter recipes.

Each day a new Easter recipe, Easter craft or sewing tutorial, or a post about Victorian and Edwardian Easter customs and traditions awaits you on my blog. Stop by every day to open a new door and find out what’s behind it waiting for you! The Countdown starts on March 1 and ends on March 31.

Follow me on instagram for behind the scenes and sneak peeks. Continue reading Easter Countdown 2018 – 30 Free Easter Craft Tutorials And Recipes →

DIY Stockings & Edwardian Boudoir Slippers

10th February 20181900s - Edwardian, Sewing & CrochetDIY, edwardian, finished historical costume, sewing, shoe, underwearLina

I haven’t shown you pictures of my DIY Edwardian boudoir slippers yet. Continue reading DIY Stockings & Edwardian Boudoir Slippers →

Advent Calendar 2017 – 24 Christmas Craft Tutorials For You!

24th November 2017(Historical) Cooking Recipes, DIY Crafts, Refashion, Sewing & Crochetarticle, christmas, DIY, edwardian, recipe, sewing, tutorial, victorianLina

I’m excited to announce that I’m hosting an Advent calendar again this year on my blog!

Count down the days until Christmas with my Advent calendar. Each day from December 1 to December 24, a new Christmas craft tutorial, a Christmas recipe or a post about Victorian Christmas customs awaits you on my blog. Continue reading Advent Calendar 2017 – 24 Christmas Craft Tutorials For You! →

1940 – 1950s Bra & Garter Belt + Free Patterns

30th October 20171950s, Sewing & Crochet1950s, belt, DIY, finished historical costume, lace, sewing, tutorial, underwearLina

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we’re clearing out Grandma’s house at the moment. And I found some of her lingerie: bras and garter belts! They’re probably from the late 1940s or early 1950s. The bras have the characteristic, pointy, conical bullet bra shape of the 1950s – but not as exaggerated as some of the 1950s bras.

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And if you want to sew your own pin-up bra or vintage garter belt, I traced the patterns of two of the bras and of one of the garter belts. You can download the patterns for free and adjust them to your size. Continue reading 1940 – 1950s Bra & Garter Belt + Free Patterns →

30+ Easy DIY Summer Crafts & Recipes

22nd July 2017(Historical) Cooking Recipes, DIY Crafts, Sewing & Crochetaccessory, boho, DIY, jeans, recipe, sewing, tutorial, upcyclingLina

Celebrate summer with these easy and fun DIY projects and summer recipes. 30+ tutorials to make your own summer accessories, summer recipes with fresh berries & flowers and, of course, ice cream recipes! Those long summer days are perfect to chill out on your DIY pallet couch with a glass of homemade refreshing lemonade enjoying the smell of your natural rose petal blush! Continue reading 30+ Easy DIY Summer Crafts & Recipes →

Jersey Applique Tutorial

15th June 2017Sewing & Crochetembroidery, hand sewing, sewing, tutorial, upcyclingLina

Jersey applique is so beautiful and such an easy project – even for a sewing beginner or for your kids! It just takes some minutes, and it’s a perfect project to use up all those jersey knit scraps. You can choose a simple design for your jersey applique, such as dots, stripes or flowers, or a more complicated pattern.

The jersey is appliqued with running stitches by hand. But even if you hate hand sewing, don’t fear: jersey applique is really easy and fast to sew. Continue reading Jersey Applique Tutorial →

Grey Crochet Lace Skirt & Jersey Knit Blazer

12th June 2017Sewing & Crochetcrochet, crochet lace, dress, lace, sewing, upcyclingLina

Many years ago, I turned a too large jersey knit sweater into a blazer. Continue reading Grey Crochet Lace Skirt & Jersey Knit Blazer →

Edwardian Lace Lavender Sachets – Tutorial

22nd May 20171900s - Edwardian, Sewing & CrochetDIY, edwardian, embroidery, flower, hand sewing, lace, sewing, tutorial, upcycling, victorianLina

Lavender sachets were a popular gift in the Victorian and Edwardian era: ‘A delightful gift that will cost but little in time or money’ (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2a).

Lace lavender sachets are fast to sew and a great way to use up fabric and lace scraps. I used lace scraps from my Edwardian lingerie blouse and muslin scraps from my Victorian afternoon gown. (UK) Muslin is very sheer – perfect for lavender sachets. Continue reading Edwardian Lace Lavender Sachets – Tutorial →

Drawn Thread Work Tutorial

21st May 2017Sewing & Crochet18th century, 1920s, DIY, edwardian, embroidery, hand sewing, lace, lace tutorial, sewing, tutorial, upcycling, victorianLina

Learn to make drawn thread work by hand! Drawn thread work is a beautiful whitework embroidery! It’s easy to make but it takes time.

‘Drawn-thread work forms a connecting link between embroidery and lace work […] it is very durable, and washes well.’ (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2)

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to make basic drawn thread work by hand. Drawn thread work is a counted thread embroidery: Warp or weft threads are removed and the remaining threads are grouped together with hemstitches.

Drawn thread work has been popular for a long time. It was already used in the Middle Ages (source), and was still popular in the Victorian and Edwardian era and the 1920s. Continue reading Drawn Thread Work Tutorial →