Recent Vintage Pattern And Button Additions

Happy New Year lovely readers! Guess what? I have been sewing! I know, it's crazy. I have finished 3 aprons, 2 of which were Christmas presents, and have almost finished a blouse out of some gorgeous crepe back satin. I will have some finished object posts coming soon so stay tuned.

Today, however, I thought I'd share some of my recent vintage button and pattern additions. The patterns came from thrift shops, an antique store, 3 from my step-grandma, ebay and some were a Christmas present from my aunt. The majority of buttons were also a Christmas present from my aunt with a few coming from an antique store.

These two are from ebay. The blouse isn't my size, but I think I am going to try my hand at resizing and make a muslin of it.

I have wanted the Buttons and Bows apron pattern forever and finally found a copy on ebay at a reasonable price. The PJ pattern also came from ebay.

These two absolutely gorgeous patterns were a Christmas present from my aunt. I believe she found them at an estate sale. Bonus, the pattern on the left is my size!

These two were also a gift from my aunt.

I can't get this to rotate for some reason. This was also a gift.

This pattern, as well as the two in the pic below, were a gift from my Grandma Barbara.



I bought these two at an antique store in Omaha, NE for $1.50 total.

These two are from the same antique shop and cost $1 each. I have some vintage wool for the cape, but want to make a trial run first before I cut into my prized wool.

Costumes aren't normally my thing, but these were being destroyed in a bin full of rubble at a Goodwill Warehouse so they came home with me.

These also came from the thrift store. Isn't that clown costume downright creepy?

These were $1 each at an antique store in Kansas City, MO. They were a little more than I'd usually pay, but I bought these instead of any tacky souvenir type items on my trip.  

These also came from the Kansas City antique mall.

Tons of buttons from my aunt as a Christmas gift. There are lots of multiples so I will have plenty of matching buttons to use.

Where Have All The Coat Patterns Gone?

Hello lovely and fabulous readers! Yes, I am still out of town, which means no sewing for me.

So, today I want to talk about coat patterns, or more specifically my perceived lack of coat patterns available from the pattern companies. In particular, I am going to focus on Vogue patterns, since they offer more designer patterns than the other companies do. While Vogue certainly isn't devoid of coat patterns, it offers 23 selections in the coats and capes section, I feel that their designer coat patterns could use a bit of a revamp. While Vogue does offer a few more fitted, tailored styles, many of it's offerings fall under the "easy wear" category, if you will.

For example, Vogue offers this pattern by Donna Karen. While it is not my style, I could see it looking nice on someone. However, this type of shapeless coat seems to be rather prevalent.

Arguably, many of the vintage coat patterns I drool over are out of my current skill set range, but that doesn't change the fact that I like the patterns. If Vogue offered more fitted, flattering designs, being out of my skill set wouldn't deter me from buying them. I can always grow into my patterns, skill wise. I wish Vogue would commission more tailored, designer coat patterns to help suppress my seemingly insatiable pattern appetite. Lets look at a few vintage coat patterns, shall we? If only Vogue would reproduce these amazing jewels.

Look at this fabulous Nina Ricci number from the late 60s. It has a unique collar, interesting button placement,and is just fabulous all around if you ask me. I would buy this pattern in a heartbeat if a re-print were available, as I've seen originals cost a pretty penny on Ebay.

Look at this Pierre Cardin number! This is a fabulous, chic coat. I must argue that one would feel exponentially more chic wearing this number, as opposed to the modern Donna Karen pattern. Would you sew this up and proudly parade it while out on the town?

While this pattern isn't a designer offering, it is phenomenal nonetheless. Though asymmetry is generally not something I am drawn to, I seem to make a glaring exception for coats. I love off center placed buttons. I'd love to make this up in a navy colored wool and sport some red pumps while wearing it. Oh la la!

If you think I want Vogue to bring every patterns ever made out of their vaults, don't worry. There is one little number that should be locked up and the key forever lost. If you have small children in the room I advise you send them away before perching your eyes upon this horror.

What is that?? A floor length duster coat, with what appears to be the remnants of a very fluffy dog attached to the top and bottom. Sure, it's Givenchy, but is is an absolute horror to feast your eyes upon.

So, what do you think of the current coat offerings? Would you like Vogue to release some more tailored, designer coat options? I'd love to hear from you!

Desr McCalls, We Need To Chat

That's right. I have a beef with the McCalls pattern company. Actually, I suspect that many of you have the same beef with them as well. Perhaps we should all band together and picket their headquarters, or start a petition on change.org? Well, I suppose I should tell you what has me so up in arms if I expect all of you to jump on the bandwagon with me.

So, here it goes. I want McCalls to reproduce their vintage patterns like Vogue and Butterick! Are you listening McCalls? I am rather positive there is a market for this. In my opinion, McCalls had some of the best designs in the 40s and 50s with great details and awesome draping. While, as longtime readers know, I have accumulated a stockpile of patterns, I truly don't have that many 40s McCalls. I do buy up every pre-80s pattern found at estate sales that I can get my selfish little hands on, but I am limited to what I find at sales.

Furthermore, I would like to propose that in addition to simply reproducing wonderful vintage designs, that the sewing public would be allowed to vote on which designs they'd like to be able to purchase. Now, for you skeptics among us, allow me to offer you some visual evidence as to why my pleas and demands should be answered.

Just take a moment and let the sheer awesomeness of this dress sink in. The high neckline and lowered back are perfect details. Ad how I wish I could find fabric that looks like the drawing. I nominate this pattern to be the first that McCalls recreates. Source

Next up in my visual argument is McCalls 8509, a fantastic "peeling petal" dress that has quite a few requests under the wanted section on the Pattern Wiki. I am positive that sewists would buy this pattern if it were offered for sale once again. Source

Isn't this one of the most lovely dresses you've ever seen? A late 40s, floor length, sweetheart neckline gown makes my heart beat a little bit faster. I would sew this up even if I had no where else to wear it but Wal-Mart. Source

How perfect would this cute little swimsuit be for summer? As someone who is a truly whiter shade of pale, a bathing suit that provides a bit more coverage for my pasty white skin is perfect. This suit would look cute and covers, without looking as if I shopped i the Alfred Dunner section. Please re-release this McCalls. Pretty please? Source

Now, how about this number? I could see this made up in a dressier fabric for night time, or a lighter fabric for an elegant sundress. And that sweet little bow is the icing on the cake. Source

This pattern would designed by the talented Pauline Trigere. Since I am not a lawyer I don't know what legalities would be involved in reproducing a "designer" pattern, but how I wish they would remake this one. Take a closer look at the drawing of the dress in white on the envelope, as it depicts the deep V shape of the back bodice. Source

Lastly, we have pictorial evidence that McCalls had some of the most interesting draping of all the pattern companies. While this pattern would surely be out of my current skill range, I'd buy a copy just to swoon at those envelope illustrations. Wouldn't you? Source

Truthfully, I could spend all day surfing the Pattern Wiki and finding patterns I'd love to be reproduced. To be quite honest, given the current vintage craze and Mad Men phenomena, I don't understand why McCalls hasn't started a vintage repro line.

So, readers, would you buy McCalls pattern is they released some vintage designs? Do you have pattern in particular you'd like to see reproduced? Tall me all about it!

Are Kwik Sew Patterns Worth the Price?

Wow! Two posts in two days has not happened for quite some time on my blog. Since I still haven't decided on a new definitive laundry plan, per yesterday's post, I thought that today we'd talk about patterns. Specifically, I want to talk about Kwik Sew patterns. In general, as you can see from reading this blog, I'm a big four girl. While men might have their sports leagues with "the big ten" or "the big twelve", sewing women get " the big four". The big two is actually a more accurate representation of the pattern companies though, as Butterick, McCalls, and Vogue are all owned by the same parent company.

It seems as of late, another business merger in the pattern world has happened. Kwik Sew now seems to be owned by the corporation that owns Butterick, McCalls, and Vogue. Apparently, the switch of Kwik Sew from white card stock paper to regular tissue paper coincided with this merger. There also happens to be a rather lengthy thread about the subject on Pattern Review, which can be found here.

Personally, I have never purchases a Kwik Sew for three and a half reasons. First is simply a matter of geographic location. There simply aren't any stores in a reasonable vicinity that sell the patterns. The second reason is the price. Kwik Sews are a bit pricey when you are used to buying at one and two dollar pattern sales. Thirdly, I don't trace patterns and the thick card stock would have been a pain in the you know what if I tired to pin it to fabric. The last reason, which is a half reason if you will, is that while there were a handful of cute designs, I found most to be uninspiring and dated. Despite those reasons, the transition to the BMV family has made we wonder if I should reconsider Kwik Sew?

While there are a number of dated patterns that seem to remain in the line, Kwik Sew also seems to have some fresher styles coming out as well. Secondly, if one is a member of BMV, they are now having Kwik Sew sales where the price is around $6. Now, $6 for a pattern isn't cheap in my opinion, but it's not outrageous either. The downfall is that one must be a member of BMV, which I believe runs about $15 or $20 a year.

Looking at the website, it seems that Kwik Sew trumps the other companies when it comes to their selection of swimwear and lingerie patterns. There are also an adorable shorts patterns, and some cute dresses as well. So, readers, do yous sew with Kwik Sew? If you do sew with them, what makes you like them?  Are you a member of Club BMV? I'd love to hear from you!

Are You There, Hoarders? It's Me, Rebecca.

I think the title of this post may say it all readers. So, let's cut to the chase, shall we? More sewing stuff hitchhiked it's way home with me today. 40 patterns, books of needles, 40s sewing books, and more fabric. I am on the fast track to being a hoarder. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I intend to die in 80 years or so, from injuries sustained from being buried in sewing supplies. I think I now hove somewhere in the range of 600-800 patterns,, including my modern ones. Should I count? Would anyone care to see the massive stash one day?

This is about half the pattern haul, plus the needles, and sewing books. I will post the rest in another post. The cost for all the sewing goodies and fabric combined? $14!

There were doubles of some patterns.

Those slippers are just too neat!

Score! My first couturier pattern and it's uncut!

Need Needles?

Copyright 1949

Copyright 1948

Antique and Vintage Pattern Haul

I bought more patterns dear readers! It seems I have had good luck lately finding sewing patterns. I hope by writing that I don't curse my luck. This is a pretty small pattern haul, compared to my usual ones, but it does include the first antique patterns I have ever found, dating to around the turn of the century. It also happens to be my most expensive pattern haul to date, at a pricey $23, well pricey to me anyways.

I also came home with about 40 yards of fabric, some vintage, which I will have posted in the coming days. I also have a question for you, readers, I am considering selling the antique patterns. If you were in possession of them, would you sell them? Don't get me wrong, they're really neat, but I feel there may be others that can appreciate them more than myself. I love vintage patterns, but I don't feel the antique ones are very usable, and would most likely end up shoved down in a tupperware tub in my closet. That seems like a sad life for something so old.