Friday’s Child: Fancywork 1892
At a little antique store in Galesburg, IL I found a pair of crumbling newsprint magazines from the 1890′s. I bought them, of course. And here, for your viewing (and printing) pleasure, is the complete...
View ArticleWednesday’s Child: Straight Jacket Part 2
Last week I showed you how I started making a straight jacket out of a martial arts uniform. I finished up the project by adding sleeve-caps and straps that allow the actor to have their hands free and...
View ArticleWednesday’s Child: Happy October!
It is finally October! We here at Lothruin.com are looking forward to the season opener of Eagle Hollow Haunts this Friday, October 4th. Costuming is nearly finished, and I get to act while the season...
View ArticleFriday’s Child: Nurse Hat
One of the costumes I’ve put together for the haunted house this year is a nurse. Nurses are a standard in horror genre movies and games, and “sexy” nurse costumes aren’t hard to find year round. But...
View ArticleMonday’s Child: Vintage Rehab Pink Cardigan
I love vintage clothing, and I love knits, so it should come as no surprise at all that I adore vintage knits. This past season, I worked on my collection of vintage sweaters, focusing on wool. I buy...
View ArticleSunday’s Child: Knit-O-Graf
Some day, a part of my needlework museum library will include a copy of every Knit-O-Graf and Knit-to-Fit chart published. I’m only up to 2 of each so far. In the 1950s, knits featuring colorful...
View ArticleSaturday’s Child: French Toast Muffins
Using up all the food you buy is a great way to live frugally, but it can be difficult. We are conditioned to think of cheap ingredients as basically disposable, and also to think of a lot of...
View ArticleThursday’s Child: Everycolor Yarn
I frequently hit up my local thrift stores on dollar days looking for clothing for my family and also for items I can use as materials. Among the items I always look for are fur and leather coats, wool...
View ArticleTuesday’s Child: Rhino Polka
I have been a member of Spoonflower.com for a long time now. When I first joined, I designed some fabrics using drawings of ferrets I happened to have handy, and they’ve been there, slowly selling, for...
View ArticleMonday’s Child: 80s Boucle
It is fall again, and my vintage sweater collection is ready to keep me toasty. I’ve been busy with lots of laundering and mending over the last year, to get everything ready. It isn’t always easy,...
View ArticlePapyrifera Shawl
My first foray into lace. I used a vintage mohair yarn, and finished the shawl just in time to wear it during my sister’s wedding. The pattern is Papyrifera by Gisela Beyer. I had to modify the edge...
View ArticleToe Beans Paw Stocking
My first for-sale pattern is finally done! The Toe Beans Paw Stocking relies on short rows for shaping, so unlike most paw-shaped stockings, there is no having to break the yarn for the individual...
View ArticleMaking a Fae Part 2
After some experimentation involving wire, I settled on using Worbla for the base of the petals, to give them that lift and droop so specific to iris petals. I also used pieces of a yellow marabou boa...
View ArticleMaking a Fae Part 3
A simple custom vest made of the second-dye satin, wrong side out for some textural variety, a pair of gold leggings hemmed to just below the knee, and a lucky thrift store find blouse round out the...
View ArticleMaking a Fae Reprise
The faerie troupe participates in a ren faire in May and a pirate festival in August, which gave us a chance to refine the costume after putting it through its paces. The biggest addition was a new...
View Article1930s Quilt Blocks
I am in love with these beautiful grandmother’s flower garden blocks! True vintage, 1930s fabrics, a few of which show pre-cut staining, so they probably came from clothing, as would have been typical...
View ArticleWard Bennett Mobius Chair
This beauty is an original Ward Bennett low-back Mobius executive chair made by Brickel Associates for Steve Chase. The wood is solid carved Ash, with the original Design Tex mohair upholstery, and...
View ArticleEdwardian Fabric Reproduction
I was so lucky in September to find three original Edwardian garments! A two-piece black day dress stayed with me and the other two found a home with my friend at Mode Vintage and Macabre, but not...
View Article1930s Repro
The grandmother’s flower garden blocks I got a while back feature tiny motifs of beautiful fabrics. Each 1.5″ hexagon was carefully cut to utilize the same motif, so I only have tiny glimpses into the...
View ArticleA Very Cheerful Bag
Several YEARS ago, I started a stash-busting project using random single balls of wool yarn to create a granny hex, choosing the Merry-Go-Round Hex from Mijo Crochet. I really started it out of...
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