pattern junkie

In Which the Pattern Junkie, Having Posted a Vitriolic Screed, Confesses Her Hypocrisy

After yesterday's post, I have to come clean.  I bought this bracelet from an etsy seller about a year and a half ago:

Ahem.

Well.  SOMEONE was going to wear it, right?  The pattern had already been destroyed, after all.  Better that someone who loves sewing buy it than -- I mean, I've always meant to do an interview with the seller for the blog, but I've been terrified to ask the "where do you get your patterns?" question, and -- my intentions were noble, really -- I was honoring my love of sewing --

I feel shame.

Pattern Junkie on the case...The Bishop Method

Today I was in the process of listing this Advance pattern in my shop when I noticed the writing on the bottom right-hand corner:

"This pattern features The Bishop Method of clothing construction."  Curious to know more about the Bishop Method, I pulled out the instructions.  No help there -- it's one of those amazingly efficient one-sheet instruction pages that you so often find in older patterns. 

A little more poking around revealed this pattern on etsy, which offered a teensy bit of info on the mysterious Method of Bishop:

The Bishop Method, apparently, features fitting with "Key Grain Lines."  Hmm.  Well, I DO agree that grain lines are important.  In fact, the first rule of sewing that my mother drilled into my head was the importance of aligning the grain before cutting out the pattern.  (The second was "Never trust Simplicity patterns," which may not be quite as universal a rule.)

Further googling revealed copies of "The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction" by Edna Bryte Bishop available on etsy and Amazon.  Never one to turn down an excuse to buy a vintage sewing book, I ordered one -- hopefully I'll be able to report back soon.  Anyone out there know more about Advance's Bishop Method?

TEACHES GIRLS TO SEW

Reader Margie sent in this fantastic sign that she found in a box of patterns (dated from the 40s to the 70s) that she was given at an auction.  (Note to self: attend more auctions!)

I have to say I nearly spit coffee through my nose when I first saw it.  I love how the VALUABLE PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION offered by Presson Patterns is much more important than any frivolous entertainment they might provide.  There will be NO GUESSWORK and NO MISTAKES!  The poor little zombie girl with the doomed expression seems to be marching off to another miserable lesson now.  She'd probably much rather be playing with the mechanical construction toys, but gender roles aren't to be defied...

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: 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.

In Defense of Vogue 1134

The new Vogues came out a few weeks ago.  For the most part, I...yawn.  Oh, what was I saying?  Yes, the new Vogues.  Ho hum for the most part, with a few standouts and and a few duds.  My favorite head-scratcher was this Chado Ralph Rucci number that one Pattern Review forum member quite accurately pegged as perfect if you needed to outfit your own personal Mini-Me:

One of my personal faves?  Vogue 1134, which got pretty roundly thumbed-downed at Gertie's awesome blog and at the Pattern Review Message Board.  Take a look at it:

Dear God.  What a disaster!  The model looks wide as a truck and rather unhappy about that fact.  The fit around her bust is baggy -- really, it makes her head look sideshow circus small.  And none of this is helped by the fact that someone in the Vogue hierarchy decreed that this dress should be made out of flowered fabric ripped off of a discarded sofa.  Those flowers, I might add, are a specific shade of mustard yellow and green that a high school friend and I termed "puner" for its nausea inducing power.  Note further that the flowers on the fabric run in a pattern as crazymaking as the yellow wallpaper in the Charlotte Perkins Gilman story. 

So how could I like this dress?  It doesn't even touch any of my usual weak spots, like big ol' floppy collars!

Well, take a look at the line drawing for starters:

It's actually pretty, with the gathers and the rounded waistline.  Sort of a 1930s feel to my non-fashion historian mind.  Imagine it cut to the knee and made in a fabric that wasn't a) puner, b) reminiscent of furniture or c) crazymaking -- perhaps an emerald green silk.  

I think this is the ugly duckling with potential -- what do you think?

Overwhelming Enthusiasm

I've been pondering over what to write about this pattern envelope for a while: Simplicity 9487 required, I felt, something involving 70s Corman movies, Charlie's Angels, pep squads and bad acid trips.  Finally I've realized this is one of those "a picture is worth a thousand words" situations: there's really no witty caption or clever story that can match the giddy excitement and studied cool of these pattern models.

For some weekend vintage pattern excitemenet of your own, be sure to hop on over to etsy and check out the Yart Sale happening now through Sunday the 14th.  To do a little shameless self-promotion, I'm offering 10% off all patterns in my shop featuring funky collars, a particular obsession of mine.  Many other pattern sellers are offering discounts, so take a look around!

The Crying of McCall's 6781

McCall's 6781, copyright 1979, has one of those pattern envelope illustrations that just puzzles me the more I look at it:

 

First of all, what's with those odd green apple appliqués?  Are they a Pynchon-inspired symbol, a la the Trystero posthorn, out to alert those in the know to this pattern's TRUE meaning?

Secondly, is this the pattern guaranteed to put your young one to sleep?  Four of those girls, with their Weasly-red hair and wide feet, are happily succumbing to dreamland.  I mean, they're positively giddy.  Do the nightgowns emit ether or something?  Poor little View B Red is the only one successfully fighting it off, and I fear what dreadful thing she's going to catch her parents doing when she sneaks down to the romper room at midnight. 

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!

A Modest Proposal for Turkey Day

Roast turkey costume
Originally uploaded by trixieskips

Out of curiosity this morning, I started searching the web for some kind of turkey dress pattern. While I didn't find the outlandish vintage dress pattern of my dreams (a 60s sheath with a skirt made of felt feathers, perhaps, or a 50s circle skirt with a turkey appliqué), scouring flickr unearthed this rather disturbing turkey costume pattern.

Is it really any surprise that you can find the instructions on Martha Stewart's website?  

Come to think of it, I may have to borrow a friend's baby next Halloween.  I'll stick the tyke in this costume and go as Jonathan Swift.