Sunday, March 31, 2013

McCall 1310 - Boys' or Girls Western Shirts


 1946.  With Embroidery or applique trim.


A terrific western shirt, particularly appealing because it allows the girls to play, perhaps in the Dale Evans role.  Who wouldn't want to be "Queen of the West!"

From http://www.denveroldwest.com/



This printed pattern has been cut but doesn't seem to have been used.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Butterick 7892 - Little Girls' Romper Dress

A few years before 1921

In a time before it was acceptable for women or girls to wear trousers, this seems to me like a humane way to dress an active little girl.  The rompers themselves aren't much different from boys' rompers.


But at lunch time, or when one of those old-fashioned, elderly relatives appears, give her hands and face a quick scrub and button on her skirt and you have your little lady (more or less.)

You could even make extra skirts so that you always had a clean one on hand.



This unprinted pattern is unused.

Interestingly, this idea of rompers-and-detachable-skirt shows up for women in the 1930s through the 1950s, when it's known as a "play suit."

Friday, January 25, 2013

Aladdin Apron Company - Bungalow Apron

1926

This pattern is the first documentary evidence I've acquired showing that some women expanded beyond home sewing into cottage industry.  It seems logical that a woman who sewed well and efficiently might chose to supplement her income by sewing for others with less time or skill, but without some sort of documentary evidence, it's impossible to prove.

The Aladdin Apron Company of Asbury Park New Jersey may have been a side business for a textile mill, or it may have been a small entrepreneur (perhaps even a woman,) negotiating deals for materials and then taking out classified ads in small town newspapers like the Kingsport Tennessee Times for May 10th, 1926.


The instruction sheet provides fascinating details.


Note that among the potential customers for these high grade percale aprons are factory girls.  It's also interesting how much emphasis is made in the instructions to work neatly and evenly.   A poorly made apron won't generate repeat sales for either the maker or for Aladdin.

As the instruction sheet indicates, the pattern for this very simple bungalow apron (house dress, more or less) has been cut from unprinted lightweight brown kraft paper that will stand up to repeated use better than the usual pattern tissue used for most home sewing patterns. Only one "fits most" size appears to have been available.  This particular style with the two-piece front was very popular in the 1920s.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Maudella 2987 - Keep Fit Costume


Late 1930s, early 1940s.

This seems to be a pretty early Maudella offering.  In the United States this would almost certainly be called a "gymnasium suit," and might be worn with a white blouse underneath.

This pattern may have been offered in response to movement started in the 1930s to promote fitness for women.  It's tempting to imagine Maude Dunsford reading about (or even being a member of) the Women's League of Heath and Beauty, founded in 1930 by Mary Bagot-Stack and in 1935 carried on by her daughter Prunella. (1)

Click on the image to watch a lovely 1930s British Pathe film of League ladies going through their paces.

This pattern is unprinted but each pattern piece is stamped with its name.  There is no separate instruction sheet, only the text instructions on the back of the envelope.

                                                                                                                                                                        
(1)The League survives today as The Fitness League.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Standard Designer 3804 - Surgical Gown and Cap

1920s

This one could use a little research.  I don't have enough context to know whether this is really intended for medical use or is a costume pattern.  The only other costume pattern I have from Standard Designer dates to about the same time but is in an entirely different number range.

Just a few years earlier during WWI, the Red Cross authorized patterns for surgical gowns, so the idea of home-sewn medical wear isn't entirely new.

This unprinted pattern and its envelope both show signs of wear.



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Simplicity 3954 - Girls' and Misses' Ski Suit

1940s

There is finally snow in the mountains, so it's time to wax up the skis and head out.

Here's Simplicity's description of this ski suit pattern.
The hip-length jacket buttons snugly down the front.  Gathers at shoulder yokes are smart and allow ample room for action.  The sides are belted and there are two large convenient patch pockets.  The long sleeves are roomy and gathered to a wristband.  The trousers are dart-fitted at the top, close at the left side with a slide fastener, and finished with attached belts which buckle at the side.  Welt pockets at front add a neat note.
The description fails to mention that the legs of the trousers can either be pegged with darts, in which case slide fasteners are inserted, or left loose.  An elastic band can be sewn in to keep the legs over the boots.
Recommended fabrics include corduroy, waterproof poplin, gabardine, flannel, serge, novelty woolens.  In this case, the flannel is assumed to be wool.  Although the illustration shows only solids, you'd get a snappy effect by making the jacket in a plaid and the trousers in a solid to pick up a color in the plaid.

Although the jacket is lined, you'll probably want to wear a heavy sweater under it.

This unprinted pattern is unused.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Butterick 1200 - for Cutting Down and Re-footing Stockings

Nineteen-teens to early 1920s.

This one takes the Unsung Sewing Patterns award for Justly Forgotten Economies.  I can think of few sewing tasks grimmer than cutting down old stockings in order to sew them up again.   

That said, this pattern raises some interesting questions on clothing usage.  Did people re-use only stockings from their own households, or could one buy used stockings for just this purpose?  Was it considered acceptable to use single stockings and match them up as best one could (easier with black, of course, than with tan or other colors)?  Did ladies do this as part of charitable work to provide clothing to the poor, particularly for children?

According to Clothing - Choice, Care, Cost, published in 1920, the cost of hosiery in general almost quadrupled during World War I.  The "make do and mend" efforts of World War II are still well known to us,  but this pattern may be evidence of the same type of effort during the previous war.  This book also mentions that factory seconds stockings could be purchased inexpensively - these may also have been candidates for cutting down.


Although the instructions indicate that the stockings could be sewn on the machine, I think machine stitching would be heavy-looking and would be uncomfortable, particularly in the feet where the rather stiff seams might rub.

The envelope indicates that this pattern could be used for re-footing stockings, but the instructions themselves are silent on this point. 
This is an unprinted pattern.