My Pièce de Résistance... and a giveaway!

Hi All,
I've been busy! To celebrate being done with a HUGE project I'm having a giveaway on my blog A Few Threads Loose.
One lucky reader will win one of these!

Stop by and enter! I'll also be posting soon with  a collection of vintage teddies and teddy sewing patterns.

Have a great week!

Anna

Vintage Pattern Stash

Hello all!

Since I'm in the middle of sewing project which I think will take me beyond Christmas (well beyond), I decided to bust out the pattern box and see what was in there and document it.

I was lucky enough to be given a bag of patterns by my lovely Aunty Bub - the seamstress of our family - and whilst I've only made one of them so far, they are just glorious and I love every one of them.

I have made View B of the last one - I just can't seem to find the photo right now. I will dig it up after Christmas and post it.

More patterns busted out of the box at my blog, Crimson Gardenia.

Lutterloh System International 1979 - Pics V

I am posting some more pics about the Lutterloh System... :)

What do you think of the last two patterns??So cute, huh?

You are welcome to my blog!!

Lutterloh System International 1979 - Pics III

 

Third chapter with pics from the Lutterloh System dated 1979...

more to come on my blog!!

PS: I am holding a little funny giveaway....come and try to win!!

Pattern Giveaway!

Hi!
I'm having a vintage pattern giveaway on my blog!  Check it out and good luck!

1930's Career Gal Wardrobe

After writing about the Orry-Kelly designed fashions in the 1333 movie Baby Face with my gal Barbara Stanwyck, I decided to search the Internet for home sewing patterns that may have been cribbed from character Lily Power's fabulous movie costumes. These are just some of the pretties that I found.

Check my blog for screen shots of the costumes that may have inspired these patterns.

Poll: Which Dress Pattern Would You Use?

I'm buying 2 sheets like the one below from Regency Cottage on etsy, and I can't wait to sew with them!  They're SOOO much cheaper than buying fabric yardage, they're already soft, and they're PRETTY! I may tea-dye them a little once I get them, but we'll see.....

So here's the problem.... WHICH DRESS do I make??? Each sheet is 70"x84", so I've got a fair amount of fabric to work with.

#1) Inspirational dress from etsy - won't be hard to throw together based on my measurements, etc.

#2) Re-issued pattern I bought and haven't made up yet. Not sure I'll be able to make the skirt that full, but I wouldn't be wearing a crinoline with it anyway.

#3) Vintage pattern I bought and haven't made up yet.

#4) Yet another vintage pattern I bought and haven't made up yet.

What do you all think?  Which would you choose?  Would you tea-dye this and line the bodice with muslin, or just leave it ivory and line the bodice?  So many choices! so fun!! Thanks for your 2 cents!

Pattern score!

On my bonus day off this week, I stopped in at a small antique mall on a whim and scored big with inexpensive vintage patterns from the 1940s through the 1970s!

(click on any image to see a bigger version and check the flickr tags for more info!)

Not bad for an unscheduled visit on a Tuesday! They're all scanned in and in my vintage pattern library, too.

(Crossposted on my blog)

A Life in (Mail-Order) Patterns

Some vintage patterns come in pristine factory folds. Some come carefully cut and refolded, with handwritten hints at their former owners' tastes (such as: "very good skirt pattern for me" or "make in brown check"). And some come with a history.

Enter Mrs. D. I first met Mrs D. in a 23-piece eBay lot entitled simply "Vintage Sewing Patterns - LOT DEAL @LOOK@":

You will be getting all of these patterns. Each envelope has the pattern and pattern guide for cutting. I don't know if all of the patterns are complete, but this lady seem to keep them all together but not guaranteed.

I tore the tape off the box barehanded when it arrived, crossing my fingers that a reasonable number of the patterns would be cute and within a few grades of my bust size (and they were, but we'll get to that!) But as I gingerly opened each brittle mail-order envelope and photographed the contents, I felt as if I was traveling through time.

Most vintage lots I've acquired are random mixes of envelope patterns from the 40s to the 80s, with little clue as to who owned or used them. But thanks to the mailing address that appeared on every one of these pattern envelopes, I knew they were all ordered by one particular woman in Missouri as she sewed throughout her life.

The oldest patterns in her careful collection seemed to be from the late 40s or early 50s (most of the postmarks are undated, but I used this Cemetarian article for reference). For example, this gorgeous deep-V Marian Martin 9279 day dress with pocket detail: bust size 32, postage, 1 cent.

The most recent ones are from 1990--I didn't even know mail-order patterns were still available then! The last one is a multi-size pattern, but from her 80s purchases I gather Mrs. D was sewing a bust size 42 at this point. And the postage had gone up to 18 cents.

Here's what I learned about "this lady":

• She probably had a daughter or two. There are four 1950s girls patterns in the collection, and I am so keeping the below two for when Cartoonist Baby gets old enough. The first one, Mail Order 3863, is from 1954 or earlier--I was able to date it by the newspaper comic strip pages she used to trace the bolero pattern. I think the second, Mail Order 9276, could make a fun modern party dress, with that lovely notched neckline and sash.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• She was probably on the shorter side. Many of the patterns in the lot are "half-size" patterns, meant for women 5'3" and under. That said, none of the misses' patterns seem to have been shortened for a smaller torso, so perhaps she either traced them, or never actually sewed them up. And I see no signs of any FBAs, but perhaps she was busty as well, as suggested by her note on the below Mail Order 1447 shirtwaist pattern from 1963: "cut shirt bigger." LOVE the tab details on the shoulder yoke, but I'm too tall for this one.
  
  
  
  
  
• She loved a trim button-front shirtwaist day dress, with pockets if possible. (Witness the Marian Martin 9096 at the top of this post). From her 50s and 60s orders, you'd almost think no other style of dress existed:
  
  

  Mail Order (Anne Adams) 4750, from 1958. Wouldn't this be great made up in perpendicular stripes as illustrated?
  
  

  
  
  

  Mail Order 9213. Check out the gored skirt with partial yoke and those cute cuffs (collar optional):
  
  

  
  
  

  Mail Order 4874, with its collar and pleats, is a more dressy variation on this theme--I imagine this in a polka-dot silk, especially with those gloves and bag. Though she could just as easily have done it in a cotton.
  
  

  
  
  

  It wasn't just her--the shirtwaist seems to be a staple of the mail-order pattern business, as evidenced by this pink tissue poster (enlarged version here) in one of the envelopes featuring "Pattern Hits of the Month--Voted Tops by Our Fashion Council for Style, Sewing Ease, Flattery."
  
  

  
  
  
• ...At least until the mid-1960s, when things got a little looser. Mrs. D had gone up a bit in bust size, and was trying out less fitted styles. Here's 8349, from 1964:
  
  
  
  
  

  And 9066, from 1963. It's not even belted!
  
  

  
  
  

  By the 70s and 80s, she was in bust sizes 40 or 42, and had gotten into relaxed jumpers (4785) and culottes (9069). I wonder if she made this tank in a polka dot and wore with sunglasses?
  
  

  
  
  

  It's not 50s style, but it is belted and pocketed:
  
  

  
  
  
• She made at least occasional forays into embroidery and crochet. Or not--the transfers on the three apron and embroidery patterns are unused, and I can't tell if she ever made the very 70s owl crochet pattern:
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  By 1983, she was quite relaxed!
  
  

  
  

Of course, there's much more I don't know about her, such as:

• Did she also sew with envelope patterns? There was one mixed in--a 1950s Simplicity envelope pattern for a girls dress--but the pattern was so shredded that I could barely see the illustration. Perhaps she stored those separately.
  
• Did she ever wear pants? Evening dresses? Blouses? Suits? Perhaps she bought those ready-to-wear, but her mail-order sewing preference seems to have been strongly in the day-dress camp.
  

So there you have it! A life in mail order patterns! I've made a Flickr gallery so you can see the whole collection and I've been entering all the patterns into the Vintage Pattern Wiki (here's one, for example). I'm keeping all the non-half-size shirtwaists, but as soon as I set up an Etsy shop I'll be selling all the larger sizes, half sizes, and styles that don't quite suit me, like this "Patt-o-Rama 8356" (too bulky in the bust area for me):

Crossposted to my blog, of course!

Vintage Pattern Stashing/Destashing!

In the first part of this series on my blog, I covered the modern patterns I picked up recently in anticipation of the post-preggo return of my waist. In part two: a look at my recent vintage stashing and destashing!

Although I've bought individual vintage patterns here and there on Etsy or eBay (like the one for my orange silk floral maternity dress), most of my collection are the result of lucky bids on poorly photographed and/or described eBay pattern lots. The ones with clear pictures and detailed descriptions usually sell for too high, but there's less competition on the fuzzy ones. Said lots tend to contain some patterns way out of my size or taste zone--but I can resell those or give them away (and I will, I swear!)

Stashing!

First up--the pattern at the top of this post, a lovely scoop-neck dress with circle skirt from 1948. Here's a less frighteningly faceless view from the Vintage Pattern Wiki:

I'd definitely go knee-length in a lightweight cotton, and I'm not sure I'd do the swirly lace treatment. But I don't know that I'll get to it anytime soon, as it's hardly nursing-friendly.

From 1945, a crisp, practical shirtwaist day dress with nice big pockets and a center front pleat. I'm loving the striped cap-sleeve look. The handwritten penciled note reads "very good skirt pattern for me." Me too!

The below ruffled sweetheart neckline housedress is actually a "maternity dress or pinafore", and is super adjustable thanks to the back tie belt. It reminds me of Gertie's recent ode to housedresses (and this 40s housedress in particular). I'd lower the neckline and go for the tinier ruffle treatment. And I have no idea why her eyes are closed.

This 1941 button-front makes me wish I was a hat and gloves girl. It's begging to be made up in polka-dot rayon... "The button fronts are top-stitched to the side fronts for a smartly tailored effect." For sure!

Oh goodness I love a shirtwaist--and with a gathered bust over a fitted midriff, too!

I mentioned this one in a recent post on my blog, but I'll show it off again because I love it SO much (and thanks to Sarah, I've learned it's officially from 1940). In case you hadn't noticed, the "vertical seaming in the front of the frock lends slenderizing flattery to this design."

And before we move on from one-piece dresses--I'm not usually a 60s gal, but this one is my size with a wonderful tie-neck detail. Both the pencil and full skirts are fabulous, and I love the layered polka-dot view:

In the two-piece department... This jacket/skirt combo is undated but the (unprinted) pattern pieces are still in factory folds--1940s, right? I love the shaping so much I could be inspired to bend my "no high necklines" rule...

Here's a "Simple to Make" two-piece dress from 1943, with more hand-written notes ("brown + white check"--no thanks!). I wonder if I could make this work for the office?

It'll be a while before Cartoonist Baby is old enough, but this 1954 sundress and bolero mail-order is worth holding onto:

I'm uncertain about this Hollywood men's shirt pattern -- it's in Cartoonist Husband's collar size, but I find the men's faces in this illustration strangely terrifying:

So that's some of what's staying around. Since I have a 36" high bust (and a 41" full bust), I'll have to grade some of these a few sizes (I hear that even if you lose all your pregnancy weight it takes up to 9 months for your ribcage and hips to realign). But that's a skill I've been meaning to learn anyway, and I'll have some help from the latest addition to my sewing library, Grading Techniques for Fashion Design. The book explains manual pattern grading in detail, and has incredibly detailed, illustrated step-by-step directions for accurately grading dozens of styles of bodices, skirts, sleeves, dresses, pants, shirts, etc. by one or many sizes; the 1974 edition can be had used for about $10.

As for what's (probably) going...

Destashing:

It's super cute and in my size, but it's just too big and blousy up top for my figure:

Similarly, double-breasted + full-busted can = total disaster (with the exception of trenchcoats). This fabulous 1946 suit probably deserves a better home:

And once again, I just need to admit to myself that square-dancing is not in my future:

By the way, speaking of the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki--I do try, whenever I acquire a vintage pattern--whether or not I plan to keep it--to check to see if it's in the Wiki. And if not, I add it--you can see my contributions here.

(Crossposted to my blog, Polka Dot Overload).