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Today's vintage pattern is a chunky knit shawl from a 1976 Australian Women's Weekly. Just the thing to keep you cosy on these long winter evenings, and nice and quick to make if you need any last minute christmas pressies!
Happy knitting!
Sophie from Retrovert x
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Well it is dull and grey out there that I thought I'd share some vintage guaranteed to brighten up your day! So here are our top five items in the shop right now with mind bending prints that get you into the swing of the Sixties... 
These 5 pscyhedelic beauties are all available in our ebay shop (just click on an item to go to the listing) or visit us this Sunday 7th December at Judy's Vintage Fair in Cambridge Guildhall!
Have a groovy weekend ;-) Sophie from Retrovert So this week it is officially winter and I feel like sharing something to brighten up the dull day. And what better than a free vintage pattern for a hat and bag described as 'jaunty' and 'gay'! 
 The pattern is a mix of knitting and crochet and uses eye catching geometric patterning. The feathers at the back add a novel finishing touch. There's also a pattern for a matching bag. Isn't the Art Deco styling striking?
These Thirties beauties are both on my to make list. Perhaps in red or cream, or maybe royal blue and white. What do you think? Find the free pattern here on the Northern Star. Have a great week, Sophie from Retrovert x This week's Vintage Pattern isn't strictly vintage, but you can certainly see its Sixties inspiration! It's a fun pattern to play around with and its great for experimenting with different yarns. Here's what I made. Pretty crazy, but I love it! It uses samples of handspun yarns which I dyed using plants, so I pretty much made it from start to finish. I love how this fits with the idea of harmony with nature and the artistic experimentation of the hippie movement!
I even found this photo from the Isle of Wight Festival back in 1969 of someone wearing something very similar! How I wish I could travel back in time...  David Hurn/Magnum Photos Isle of Wight Festival 1969 You can find the crochet pattern on The Laughing Willow's blog.
Have a great week, Sophie from Retrovert x p.s. Join us on Pinterest for more vintage inspiration. Do share your links in the comments below so we can follow you too! Last week we took part in TRAID's #secondhandfirst campaign to promote the benefits of wearing preowned clothing. Apart from being great for the environment and cutting down on wasted resources, I think wearing second hand is the best way to express your own style and individuality! I would say my current wardrobe is 80% vintage, second hand or handmade from old textiles, but I'm going even further and have taken TRAID's pledge to source 95% of my future wardrobe secondhand rather than new. You too can take the pledge - any amount is welcomed! My style is very eclectic and I love to wear colourful prints and mix up vintage from different eras. Here's what I wore throughout the week: How do you feel about wearing secondhand clothing?
Sophie from Retrovert x Just in case you don't already know, the fabulous Cambridge Blue Belles WI are hosting a craft fair next weekend on Saturday 29th November. It promises to be a brilliant day with handmade and vintage on offer, and plenty of home made cake. I'll be bringing a selection of gorgeous vintage jewellery and accessories. 
So pop the date in your diary, bring along your Christmas lists and support local businesswomen!
Hope to see you there! Sophie from Retrovert x 
Happy Tuesday everyone! Just wanted to let you know about a brilliant campaign going on this week by fashion reuse charity TRAID.
#SECONDHANDFIRST is all about celebrating all things secondhand while committing to using more of our existing resources, rather than buying new. Find out more about how to get involved. As you know this is something that we wholeheartedly support so we are proud to join in with the campaign. I will be sharing my second hand outfits every day this week on twitter as part of the #secondhandfirst challenge and we encourage you to take the pledge too! Even if you only wear a small proportion of second hand clothing, then thats one more item that doesn't have to go to landfill and less wasted resources, so everything adds up!  The archives of the Australian Women's Weekly are a treasure trove full of interesting articles from 1933-1983. If you have a moment grab a cuppa and dive into the digital pages, from prize winning recipes for chocolate fruit crumble, to beautifully illustrated short stories you never know what you might find! Today's Vintage Pattern of the Week is a great winter accessory from a 1941 issue - a Cable Knit Turban. There's no shaping, it's just one long strip which makes it a good pattern for practising cables. Here's mine. Made from vintage 4 ply wool in a rather fabulous Land Army green. I only had one small ball so it's not quite as long as the pattern suggests, but it still ties up nicely. It has a really good feel to it and stays on securely without pins. 
So here are the instructions for knitting the turban. There's also the pattern for the matching cardigan if you fancy having a go at that too!
Happy Knitting! Sophie from Retrovert x p.s. Fancy something a bit different? Check out our other Vintage Pattern Posts Schiaparelli is one of my absolute favourite vintage designers. Her novelty and pictorial works are what appeal to me most. So when I came across this new pattern made as part of her retrospective "Shocking ! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli", I knew I had to share it with you. While not strictly a 'vintage pattern' its result is very close to the 1920s original.  Image from Philadelphia Museum of Art - Woman's Sweater Designed by Elsa Schiaparelli November 1927 Black and white hand-knitted wool Accession Number: 1969-232-54 Credit Line: Gift of Mme Elsa Schiaparelli, 1969 I would love to knit it someday. I don't really wear black so I'd be tempted to try it in blue or maybe red. The two colour Armenian style looks quite tricky, but I think it could also work using the intarsia method. Here's the link to free pattern for the Bowknot Sweater. Have a great week! Sophie from Retrovert ps Follow us on Bloglovin so you don't miss our next Vintage Pattern post!  This is one of my favourite vintage patterns. I've already made a couple of shawls from it and will definitely use it again. It is a simple crochet pattern and it works up nice and quickly. I think it would work well in a variety of yarns and is a great basis for experimenting with colour and texture. Here's one of mine. It's perfect for wearing with vintage dresses (especially over ones which you can't team with a cardi because of annoyingly shaped sleeves!) 
Here is the 1970s fringed shawl pattern from groovy crochet. Big wraparound shawls are really in this season and these would be great gifts to whip up for Christmas. If you are inspired to make this then I would absolutely love to see what you come up with! Tweet us your pic, or share a link in the comments below. Cheers, Sophie from Retrovert p.s. You can check out the previous Vintage Pattern of the Week here: 1945 Victory Jumper
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