pattern junkie

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE NIPON WOMEN

The first rule of Fight Club is...YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE NIPON WOMEN.

The second rule of Fight Club is...YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE NIPON WOMEN.

Behold Vogue 2640 by Albert Nipon:

 

These two are late 80s "XRay Women" straight out of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities, don't you think?  But don't let the refined setting (a tony luncheon club on the Upper West Side, perhaps?) fool you.  Arms akimbo, they stand ready to drive a bony elbow into your side...or, if things get really serious, to do some damage with those pointy stiletto heels.

Waif-thin or not, don't underestimate these women.  They're tough.  Sure, their Master of the Universe husbands may trade millions daily on the stock market, but these Nipon women know that's nothing.  After all, this is a pattern that calls for seven rows of topstitching!  SEVEN ROWS.  If that doesn't take nerves of steel, I don't know what does.

Hey, Wiki, You're So Fine! You're So Fine You Blow My Mind! HEY WIKI!

Say it again: HEY, WIKI!

My apologies for getting that bit of the '80s reverberating through your noggin, but it'll be worth it if you don't already know about one of the best vintage sewing pattern resources available on the Web: the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki.

That's right: it's all vintage sewing patterns (pre 1990s), all the time.  You can search by pattern number -- browse your favorite era -- browse your favorite styles.  For fun, hit the "Random Page" button.  When I did it today I was rewarded with this lovely pattern:

Since it's a wiki, you can add your own entries and edit others.  Share your collection and make me drool!  Looking for a certain pattern?  Check the "Source/Vendors" link for on-line shops carrying it.  Still can't find it?  Stick a "wanted" notice on a sewing pattern entry to let the world know your desire.

Vintage ephemera like sewing patterns are, well, ephemeral -- and what I adore about the wiki is that it gives us all a place to preserve and share these bits of history.  Check it out!

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!