20 Below: DIY Tennis Dresses

I started tennis lessons last night. Oh, what fun! I’ve played tennis before but I’ve only ever taken lessons once as a child. I was happy to discover that my moves on the tennis court are decent but I’m definitely looking forward to improving my backhand as it’s beyond weak at the moment.

So it may come as no surprise that last night’s tennis lesson has provided the inspiration for today’s post. Aren’t these vintage tennis dress patterns awesome? I spent more time than I meant to browsing the pattern selection on Etsy this morning. It’s so interesting to see how the styles change over the years. The white fabric options remain pretty consistent (woohoo!).

tennis dress pattern_1968

tennis dress pattern (1968), $7

tennis dress pattern

tennis dress pattern (1960s), $12.55 

tennis dress pattern_2

vintage tennis dress pattern (1975), $4

tennis outfit pattern

retro tennis outfit pattern (1971), $4.50

tennis dress pattern

vintage tennis dress pattern (1973), $5

tennis dress pattern

tennis dress pattern (1970s), $6.25

tennis dress pattern 1978

tennis dress pattern (1978), $7

Let’s face it – half the fun of tennis is the outfits. Right?

Photography: IKEA Patterns Revealed

Yesterday I posted some up-close photos of patterns I spotted on IKEA products. Did you guess what the products were? Take another look before scrolling through this post to see the answers.

Pekannot plant pot, rattan, $39.99

Glimma unscented tealights, $3.99/100 pack

Sparsam low-energy spiral bulbs, $8.99

Alina bedspread and 2 cushion covers, $99.99

So – were your guesses correct?

Photos by Jordana.

Photography: Patterning at IKEA

On Mondays I love to head over to Jacquelyn’s blog because through her Scenes from My Weekend series, she shares interesting photos from her weekend activities. It is not as though she does something grand every weekend but the subjects and composition of her photos are so lovely. She has a great eye for detail and her honesty comes through in her posts. I encourage you to click on over and check out what Jacquelyn has been up to.

Today I thought I would try out a super mini scene-from-my-weekend à la Jacquelyn. I was in Toronto on the weekend doing an assortment of things, one of which was a trip to IKEA (I needed to stock up on crackers). I took some photos of the interesting patterns I saw. I wonder – can you name the four products in the photos below?

I’m such a fan of repetitive forms.

Photo by me using iPhone + Instagram + Pic Stitch.