Behind the purple door

Vintage knitting patterns — decoded, step by step.

Welcome inside.
I'm Isi, and this is your home for vintage fashion — without the gatekeeping. Whether you want to knit your first 1950s cardigan or build a handmade capsule wardrobe from scratch, you're in the right place.

What we explore together:
Vintage pattern tutorials — even the confusing ones

Flip Through Friday — rare vintage magazines from the 1940s–60s

Capsule Wardrobe Diaries — building a vintage-inspired wardrobe, one piece at a time

Yarn Lab — fiber tests, material deep-dives & honest reviews

Vintage Verdict — construction methods, garment history & technical details

Knitter. Seamstress. Vintage explorer. New videos every week.
Step inside the purple door. 🚪

Contact: hello@behindthepurpledoor.com


Behind the purple door

Hi everyone, I just uploaded a short. as some of you couldn’t follow the drafting process easily, I thought I’d try a different way. Let me know if this helps. Have a nice day and happy knitting :)

https://youtu.be/3otcbz413kE?is=zmEOv...

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 15

Behind the purple door

I just shared the process on how to create the basic block :) go have a look and let me know if you have tried it and how things went. If you are uncertain on the measurements here is a little schematic that should help

1 month ago | [YT] | 22

Behind the purple door

Hi everyone, as the pictures of designs were only visible for a short time, I thought I’d share theme here for you to enjoy :) happy Sunday

1 month ago | [YT] | 8

Behind the purple door

I’ve been diving deep into the construction secrets of the 1950s. Which of these silhouettes do you think would be the most wearable today? 1, 2, or 3? I found the answer to why they fit so perfectly in this old German magazine.

https://youtu.be/SmCj5JeSXK8

2 months ago | [YT] | 3

Behind the purple door

I can’t unsee this anymore:

vintage sweaters were often designed more like tailored garments than modern knitwear.

Higher armholes, shaped shoulders, denser fabric…

and suddenly modern sweaters started making a lot more sense to me.

Have you ever had a handmade sweater that looked “technically correct” but somehow still felt wrong?

3 months ago | [YT] | 2

Behind the purple door

„I didn’t expect vintage knitting to be THIS different… what surprised you most?“

4 months ago | [YT] | 0

Behind the purple door

Hey kicked off my search for the perfected knitted t shirts using the contiguous method. Have you ever tried it?

5 months ago | [YT] | 0

Behind the purple door

How would you rate your average outfit? Be honest ;)

6 months ago | [YT] | 1

Behind the purple door

Are you team knitting from stash or buying new yarn 😄 Check out my newest short to view my opinion

6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 1