Hippie-dippy mail-order clothes company who sold you kits for making smocks, dresses and even dolls. They were always patterned and had the sewing instructions printed on the back of the fabric. The Clothkits doll was called Kitty.
FASHION
Clothkits
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Do You Remember Clothkits?
Do You Remember Clothkits?
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Anonymous
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We lived in Shetland when the boys were babies and everything was mail-order so Clothkits was a really exciting find. I remember that my sister was so envious of these very different clothes. My son wore the printed dungarees and they were well-admired.
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Anonymous
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We lived in Shetland when the boys were babies and everything was mail-order so Clothkits was a really exciting find. I remember that my sister was so envious of these very different clothes. My son wore the printed dungarees and they were well-admired.
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Anonymous
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My mother, now in her 80's, was a Clothkits afficionado! She started buying the kits in the 70's for herself mostly, and then when I had two offspring, she was more than happy to kit out her grandchildren. Frocks, smocks, waistcoats (not to mention other usables like tablecloths) for her, chinese style suits, dresses, changing mats and so on for the grandkids, boy and girl. Even I wore a clothkits jumper which lasted throughout the 80's and which my son ended up wearing for a time in the 90's. I MUST dig it out and see if it still fits round this middle aged beer belly now. A fine cotton crochet, it was, so it might stretch!
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Anonymous
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Never mind the memories I'm still wearing 3 Cothkit jackets I made! Wearing one out last night prompted friends to say say 'What a lovely jacket!' and of course when I said 'Clothkits' they all sighed in memory of a great Clothkits clothes-making era. I still have a beautiful olive green quilted tabbard hanging in my wardrobe which I simply cannot bear to throw out but fear the time to wear it again will simply not happen! Does anyone know the year Clothkits was launched?
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Anonymous
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I sewed lots of Clothkits clothes for my elder daughter in the late seventies/early eighties, which were then handed on to my younger daughter seven years later. The knitted dresses were very hard-wearing. I even have the baby bag with the detachable changing mat and lots of pockets for baby toiletries. I have kept all my Clothkits clothes in a memory chest, in the hope that my career-minded daughters may eventually provide me with granddaughters.
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Anonymous
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i remember clothkits well - i was one of the "hippie" moms (not that i ever realised i was a hippie mom) who used to buy and sew then dress my daughter in what i thought (and still do) were imaginative, hardwearing, pretty and unusual clothes. Whenever she was wearing these clothes strangers used to comment on how lovely they were regularly. I only wish clothkits were still going and i would especially love to get hold of the one quilted jacked with the little animals in the pocket for my grandchildren. My daughter loved that jacket. I also loved the way clothkits sold all the socks, jerseys, t-shirts and accessories to match up with the clothes you made, THATS what made clothkits different and made the whole concept looking stunning, different and unusual.
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Anonymous
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I'm American, but my mom ordered Clothkits and sewed them for me. I loved them! I had this wonderful lavender wrap-around skirt with teal cats printed on it, that was my favorite. I wish these were still made; I would sew them for my girls! I was probably the only kid in Bakersfield, California wearing Clothkits...
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Anonymous
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Oh Clothkits, where are you now???? My little girl and boy were dressed in Clothkits clothes in the early 80s - even my Mum swore by their jacket/cardigans as they were so easy to put on (she had bad arthritis).I have many photos and many happy memories of making the kits. I LOVED the catalogues, too - as the lady above wrote, they were always happy pictures.I used to spend ages in the shop in Bath and the one in Cheltenham, but that one wasn`t open for very long, I seem to remember. Now that I have a little granddaughter, I`d love to be making the kits again. Sic transit gloria mundi!!
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Anonymous
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How wonderful to find other Clothkits enthusiasts. I am an Australian who lived in London in the 1980s and I loved Clothkits and the colourful, happy catalogue that was eagerly anticipated twice a year. I still have the jungle printed padded jacket that I made for my daughter's first day at school - she is wearing it in all the photos of that special day. I often wonder what happened to the twins girls who were the models for the clothes - they would be in their thirties now!
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Anonymous
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i was born in England and i now live in New York. My family moved to America when i was only 6 but i remember my clothkits clothes very well. Just recently my mum found a kit that she never made. It had really pretty 70's fabric that was supposed to be turned into a dress. i've decided to use the fabric and ready cut out pockets to make an awesome minidress.
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