pattern junkie

363 Days Until Next Halloween!

Another Halloween.  We've almost finished off the candy 'round these parts, though I'm still trying to figure out how to get the fake bloodstains off of my arms and legs.  Don't mind me while I scrub...just take a look at these truly beautiful and cool costume patterns I found while gathering examples for Costume Countdown week.  After all, it's never too early to start thinking about next Halloween:

Remember when I claimed all clown costumes were scary?  DuBarry 1040B proves me wrong.  If I could look this smashing, I'd dress in a clown costume every day.

There's a Spanish dancer/Carmen Miranda hidden in me somewhere, because I love this pattern in Hey Chica's etsy shop.  It's sized for girls, sadly -- but oh, those ruffles!  I love how the tiny bolero balances out the full skirt.  The triple bow action -- one for the waist, one for the bust, one for the head -- is fun, too.

See?  My Spanish dancer fantasy continues with Hollywood 1426.  I adore the red skirt with the asymmetrical hem.  Of course, the hat with veil, fan and rose in mouth just drive it home.

I think the illustration for Butterick 4695 from Selvedge Shop is absolutely amazing!  It's child's play to make a man in a devil's costume look suave, but to pull if off for a guy in a footed penguin suit complete with bill visor and literal "wingtips" that restrict all hand movement?  Genius!  In fact, I suspect that this is an early pattern for an international superspy -- after all, one never knows when espionage might be interrupted by a Halloween night out with the kids!

Last but not least, SImplicity 8330, from runningalarm:

A spider on the head with attached web?  Simply brilliant!  It's a sad commentary on me that if it came down to choosing between being a Spanish dancer or Spider Webhead here, I'd probably go with the latter...

Costume Countdown: I Hear The Mermaids Singing

Today's costume countdown: questionable children's costume patterns! 

First up: Butterick 5597, issued 1991, photo courtesy Spessarite Sole:

Right.  Creating shell-shaped breast pieces for a prepubescent girl?  Nah, that wouldn't make parent OR child uncomfortable. 

Next up? McCall's 2205 from 1985, again from Spessarite Sole's etsy shop:

I suppose sticking them in the flower pots is the only way to keep them on the ground when the wind picks up.

Last but certainly not least, behold Simplicity 8221 from runningalarm:

Imagine opening the door on this group on Halloween night.

MOM AT DOOR:  Look at all you kids!  Jenny, you're such a cute little elf.  I'd better hide the cheese from that mouse --

MOUSE: Squeak!  Squeak!

MOM AT DOOR:  And the pirate and Indian, you're both so scary!  And Timmy...well, uh...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!

MOM AT DOOR:  You're the what?  I'm sorry, I don't think there is a spirit of --

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!  I HAVE LEAVES ALL OVER MY JUMPSUIT!

PIRATE: Let me put the jack o' lantern over his head.  That helps a little.

MOM AT DOOR: Yes, actually it -- wait a minute.  Timmy, where's your treat bag?  Are those dried leaves in your hands?

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!  MOM SAYS AUTUMN IS WHEN ALL GOOD THINGS DIE AND THAT IF I WANT CANDY I CAN GO STAY WITH MY DAD AND HIS TARTED-UP HARLOT!

MOM AT DOOR:   ...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!!

Costume Countdown: Tears of a Clown

I made a promise to myself when I embarked upon costume countdown week to limit my use of clowns -- believe me, I could feature vintage clown patterns all week.  Each one has a little something special to make it just not right in that way clowns are.  Take, for example, Butterick 3169, a 1964 pattern I found in Midvale Cottage's etsy shop:

Oh, you may think this is just a tableau of frolicking kids -- but take a closer look at the one in the upper right hand corner.  WHY IS THE APPLE FLOATING?!

My personal fave, though, is Advance 701, which appears to be either from the 1940s or early 1950s.  Interestingly, it seems to have been issued with two different illustrations -- perhaps one version one year and one the next?  The illustration style and price suggest too close a date for this to be a case of pattern re-numbering.

Here's illustration one, from the pattern's page on the Vintage Sewing Wiki.  Our happy Halloween couple traises down the block for a Halloween party:

Next, look at the pattern listing over at Spessarite Sole.  I think someone spiked the Pink Zombie Punch with truth serum, because a scene of Who's Afraid of VIrginia Woolf? proportions took place between this illustration and the last one:

Advance consistently had such gorgeous illustrations, and these are both worth framing -- although I think you'd have to give it a title like "From Revelry to the Death of Love." 

Costume Countdown: Strange Bedfellows

I was poking around the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki today and ran across some truly puzzling costume bedfellows -- or, more accurately, pattern envelope-fellows.  Take, for Exhibit A, McCall's 1890 from 1954:

I can sort of get my head around it: Dad dresses Chinese for Halloween, then gets gussied up as Santa for Christmas.  Or maybe he's Santa for Christmas, and this is an exotic and adventurous family that thrills the block with sweet-and-sour pork for Chinese New Year's.

But then there's Butterick 6343, which, as far as I can tell, contains costumes with no logical connections to one another:

A geisha, a sheik and their little witch offspring?  This, I think, was for the 1950s family that just wanted to be confusing.

Costume Countdown: Pirate Showdown

One of the things I love about collecting vintage patterns is seeing how fashions change.  Take, for example, the pirate costume.  Here's Butterick 6731, copyright 1988, again from etsy seller patternmania.   

Next up is McCall's 4952, from their current collection:

If I had to sum up pirate fashion now vs. then?  Less "Margaritaville", more "faux sinister Johnny Depp."  I know the 80s couple is trying to look sinister, but your average "Pirates of the Caribbean" extra could wipe the floor with them.  Hey, even the little girl in the McCall's photo looks like she's ready to take them on.  So, for those considering the pirate look this Halloween, Pattern Junkie HQ presents:

UPDATING YOUR PIRATE LOOK -- DOS & DON'TS

DO utilize kerchiefs and striped bloomers -- the classics are always on-trend!

DO keep hair slicked back and out of the way.  Unruly locks are easy for swashbucklers to grab!

DON'T veer too far from your basic colors of red, white and black.  You're a pirate, not a fruit stand.

DON'T wear a headband.  'Nuff said!

DO wear a skull and crossbones hat!

DON'T be afraid to show off your waist.  Corset it, ladies! 

DON'T use polka dots bigger than a dime.  You're raiding the high seas, not auditioning for the Mouseketeers.

DO lose the parrot.  No one fears a man with a bird on his shoulder.

Perhaps the Greatest Pattern Notation Ever

I LOVE this little note written on the instructions for Butterick 6956:

 

"Goofy great" just might describe all of my favorite clothes!

War of the Super Shirts

1970s culture wars, pattern style.

Super Shirts (Butterick 4337) vs. Embroidery Design (Simplicity 6380):


 

Organic gardening vs. mind altering experiences

Mother Jones vs. Rolling Stone

The Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" vs. The Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane"

Sorry, Super Shirts.  Ms. Embroidery Design is going to kick both your asses.