My friends at scrapsmart.com carry lots of vintage images like the one you see here.
Have you noticed? Vintage is very much en vogue, tres chic, and making waves in the modern world of sewing! Particularly prominent lately are images, patterns, and books making headlines and taking us back in time with fashions and accessories from bygone eras. In this post I'd like to fill you in on a few blasts from the past that caught my attention recently.
Let's start with the 90th anniversary of Simplicity Pattern Company. If you visit the Simplicity site you'll see that they've been promoting a line of nostalgic images on everything from calendars, to tins, to notebooks, and more. It's fun to see these photos but it's even more fun to see some of the patterns reproduced into new patterns with modern measurements and pattern tissue complete with all the familiar markings for notches and other important information.
I picked up a few intriguing options on a recent shopping trip. Take a look at the image above and you'll see three of my favorites. First there's is a set of sleeves from the 1930's, pattern 8506. I thought it would be fun to play around with these by adding them to a simple shell style blouse.
Then a "folds flat" blouse for wovens from the 1940's caught my eye. View D of pattern 8593 looks fresh and pretty with a yoke at the waist and a ruffle at the bottom. I think I have a piece of floral rayon waiting in the wings and perfectly sized for the yardage requirements.
Then a "folds flat" blouse for wovens from the 1940's caught my eye. View D of pattern 8593 looks fresh and pretty with a yoke at the waist and a ruffle at the bottom. I think I have a piece of floral rayon waiting in the wings and perfectly sized for the yardage requirements.
Yet another blouse that goes from flat to fabulous is the 1950's pattern number 8452.
This knit blouse takes less than a yard of fabric, has an interesting tutorial for putting it on, and looks like a real winner for travel and packability. Both of the blouses look like only an afternoon's worth of sewing time. Perfect timing on all three spring sewing and a wardrobe refresh!!!
While browsing the pattern book I came across one more "have to have it" pattern. Labeled as an authentic 1960's pattern, I first have to dispute the decade displayed on the envelope. You see, I remember buying this exact pattern and sewing the big shoulder bag from the tapestry fabric you see in the photo below. The year was 1977. Ahhh yes, I remember it well!
It's quite a kick to see a favorite pattern make its way back into the pattern book. Talk about a trip down memory lane! I actually look but I didn't have the original pattern in my stash. Yes, I do still have some of my first patterns from the seventies carefully stored :-) The original pattern is not to be found but I did have that small remnant of the tapestry you see next to my new Simplicity 9553. This time around I want to make everything on the envelope, including the spats. Can you imagine the possibilities for adorning these with machine embroidery?
So how about you . . . do the nostalgic patterns hold any interest for you? Can you see yourself making any of these? I'd love to hear about your own favorite vintage patterns. Share your stories in the comments below!
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