Monday, August 18, 2008

Vintage Sewing Patterns






With my sister's upcoming wedding and trying to find a modest sewing pattern to fit sizes 6 to 26, I've been gathering information on sewing and patterns, and spending way too much time and money at the local JoAnn store which is holding a liquidation sale as they get ready to open their new, larger store at Sunrise & Madison. Since all of their patterns but Vogue are on sale for $1.99, I've started collecting. I've also been reading online about sewing patterns, and discovering there is a "following" for those individuals interested in vintage sewing patterns. Here is an excerpt about the history of patterns that I found on Alana's Cherised Treasures website, as well as some pictures of vintage patterns that I found while browsing online.


I have added a little bit of history to some of the more popular patterns that were well known through sewing pattern history. This is by far not all of them, but might be of interest to you. Vintage patterns were first introduced in Mme. Demorest's Mirror of Fashion magazine. Ellen Curtis Demorest created the first paper patterns which were found in their early magazines. Graded sewing patterns were introduced by a tailor named Ebeneezer Butterick in 1863. Mr. Butterick used tissue paper to sell sewing patterns in mass production. Butterick publishing company were the first to create enlarged instruction sheets called "Deltor". Four Major Pattern Companies that still exist today are Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity and Vogue.

1 comment:

MysticsKryten said...

Sewing... what a chore! lol. good luck with that! and the hollywood pattern looks like it would make a nice dress! good luck!

-Sonia