Vintage Sewing Patterns

Time sure does get away from me, but then that is probably my fault.  I keep going from one interest to another and then back again - reading, music and records from the past, sewing and vintage fashion, researching vintage items, family history, family pictures and letters, all sorts of collections - it just goes on and on and on.  

I have always enjoyed sewing since I was a little girl.  I would get into sewing kicks off and on throughout my adult years.  I would sew a lot for a year or two and then not touch a sewing machine for years.  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was in one of my sewing sprees and began buying lots and lots of patterns, material and notions - just couldn't pass up a sale.  Of course, my sewing slacked off way before I used all the patterns, materials and notions.

Last week I started going through some of my sewing patterns and I also pulled a couple of boxes of my grandmother's old patterns, some of which I remember her using to make clothes for me back in the 1950s.  Some of her older patterns are in bad shape and I need to look at those to see if they can be salvaged in any way.  

I opened this Companion Butterick pattern from the early 1940s - #2197.  There were no markings like seam allowances, notches, grain, or darts on the pattern pieces - no indication of what piece it was.  There were just different sizes of round holes in different areas.  At first I thought all the markings had faded off and the pieces were useless.  Then after reading the instructions, realized that was how they were marked back then.

Just think of the skill it would take to sew like this.  




While all the pieces were cut, they were all there and after really examining the pieces, I could see the perforated numbers on each piece.  There was only 1 piece that was torn in 2 pieces, but could easily be fixed. 

























Here are pictures of the different pieces included in this pattern and the pattern perforations instructions.   Also a picture of the sleeve piece showing that it is #11.  It will be interesting to look at these old patterns.   

I will be putting most of my vintage sewing patterns up for sale on my eCrater store @ CAROLINABLUELADY Vintage Collectibles  

I also discovered a wonderful site called Vintage Sewing Patterns.  It is a site where vintage sewing patterns (over 25 years old) can be documented and if available for purchase, it will show you the vendor(s) that you can click on to go and purchase.  Not only can you search by various means like garment type, decade, pattern company, etc, but there are also videos and copies of pattern books to view.  

If you are interested in vintage patterns, I hope you will visit this wonderful site.