Make Your Own Prom Wrap or Jacket From Vintage Patterns

Wraps, shrugs, boleros, shorties or short jackets are very stylish today. They were also stylish in past eras. Combining stylish and vintage together scores a hit for today's proms and parties. It's a bonus that they're easy to make from vintage patterns. Why a vintage pattern? Because they're high quality patterns in a greater variety. After all, you have about sixty years' worth to choose from!

Boleros, Wraps, Jackets. . .

You will first select a pattern from which you'll get suggestions for types of appropriate fabric, yarn and notions. If you choose the materials first, it's much harder to find a pattern that will work.

When searching for a pattern, keep in mind that these little treasures are known by many different names and you might have to do multiple searches to find just what you're looking for. You will also need to specify the craft you're employing into your search words, such as crochet, knit, sewing, tatted, embroidered, etc. And unless you're searching through a database of just patterns, you will need to add the word "pattern" to your search.

Try looking for these:

Bolero

Shortie

Short Jacket

Shrug

Wrap

Short Sweater

Shortie jacket (sweater)

Cropped jacket (sweater)

Formal (any combination of words above)

Vintage. . .

Prom . . .

Opera . . .

Ball . . .

Ebay makes it easy to focus on just what you're looking for. In the search box put in "Knitted Bolero", then narrow it to eBay's Category of "crafts," then "knitting," then "patterns." If your return turns up too many, use the word "vintage" in your search. You can also just try "vintage knitted bolero pattern" and it just might take you directly where you need to be. You should be familiar with both ways to search.

Again, start with "Crochet Wrap" in the search box, then choose eBay's "Craft" Category, then "Crochet," then "Patterns.

It's Time to Get to Knitting (or Crocheting, or whatever)!

Your vintage pattern will tell you the type of yarn and needles or hooks to use. Within the yarn choices you have a lot of room for creativity. You should already have in your mind a color and texture. If not, go browsing through a yarn store, or better yet do searches online without leaving your chair. Now you have created your prom wrap or jacket in your mind.

If you already know how to knit or crochet, these are some of the easiest patterns to create from. If you don't know how to knit or crochet, most of these are good beginner projects. Just be sure to follow the directions exactly as given.

This is a great beginner guide to knitting and crocheting. From the very basic stitches, to specialty and fancy stitches, to joining pieces, buttonholes and finishing your project.