pattern junkie

Memphis Ribs and Snug Young Pants

Ah, Memorial Day -- a time for fun, friends and BBQ.  Mr. Pattern Junkie and I are having friends over for ribs, brisket and jerk chicken (Mr. P.J. being quite the king of the smoker), and I find myself wishing for the perfect barbecue ensemble.  A quick search of the Vintage Sewing Patterns wiki provided answers beyond my wildest dreams.  (It has a knack for doing that.)

First up: this little number, Spadea 602-A:

An Emilio Pucci?!  Be still my pattern-loving heart.  I'd love to be able to pull off this fetching ensemble, but snug capris would not be flattering to me.  Cute as this illustration is, the description is even better:

This way to the beach, barbeque or buffet at home! Double tiers of shaped bands girdle the waist and garter the knees of these snug young pants. For exciting hostess fare that's spiced with Spanish flavor, make them in jewel toned velveteen and embroider the cuffs with swirls of metallic thread.

Snug young pants spiced with Spanish flavor?  Love that, although "smug young pants" would be worthy of a T-shirt.  What I wouldn't give to see these made up in jewel-toned velveteen and embroidered with metallic thread!

Next up is Simplicity 4061:

Pigs at the grill!  A classic really, though I have to admit I've never understood it.  It's a little macabre, no? 

Here's another his and hers BBQ apron ensemble, this one from the 40s.  McCall 1481:

It's another great example of how mid-century patternland men just can't stop having meetings, no matter the setting!  Sure, he's wearing an apron -- but the suit and tie are on, and he's reading either an agenda or a memo.  (Sure, it could be a recipe, but wouldn't that be in a book?)

Finally, here's the ultimate -- an actual dress designated for BBQ-wear, Hollywood 1989 :

Is it just me, or is this a horrible outfit for eating ribs?  (Then again, Scarlet didn't eat at the barbecue, did she?)

U.S. readers, may your Memorial Day be filled with friends, fun, family and food -- non-U.S. folk, may your Monday be the same way!

Clipped Wings

McCall's 3624, copyright 1956.

Jilted

Rare are the pattern illustrations that show outright heartbreak.  After all, who wants to make a dress that promises despair?  But that's what Simplicity 1620 seems to guarantee its wearer:

Poor Checks is holding two roses in her gloved hands, so I presume she made it to the dance.  What happened to her date?  Is he off flirting with someone else?  Drinking with the boys?  Green and Flowers don't have it so bad -- unfortunate, really, because Checks is wearing the cutest version of the design.

At least that pattern illustration offered some hope.  Simplicity 4440 promises no love for its wearer.  All three views are doomed:

It's a trilogy of pain!  At least Bolero in the back looks like she might give that no good man a piece of her mind, should he dare to show his face.

Feminism? What's That?

Summer's coming, girls, and you know what that means -- it's time to SHOW SOME LEG.

Recommendation number one: McCall's 2800 from 1971.  These hot pants are truly "The Hot Ones!"

Wear them to the beach or to the market.  Pair them with a nice blouse, pantyhose and jewelry and you'll make a splash at the office!  Stan in accounting is going to love these.

Next up: Simplicity 5237 from 1972:

 

Don't let "The Bikini Sizzler" put images of BBQ grills in your head -- you're the yummy treat on the table in this ensemble!  And don't forget to make up the matching panties -- the "dress" is only 29 inches long.

My Headache Diary, Vintage Pattern Edition

Hello there, and sorry for my absence last week!  I've been battling migraine headaches and had a quite a few doozies last week.  Now I'm on some new medications and (fingers and toes crossed) will not be spending as much time hiding out in dark rooms, yelling at Mr. Pattern Junkie for CHEWING TOO LOUDLY.

Anyway, I'm now keeping a headache diary, hoping to ferret out those elusive migraine triggers.  Considering the time I spend perusing vintage patterns, I'm wondering if I'm soon going to announce to my doctor, "Knickers.  Too many knickers sewing patterns are what do me in."  Really, look at what just a quick cruise through the vintage sewing wiki can come up with -- whose head wouldn't be pounding contemplating the mysteries here?

Take, for example, Butterick 7933:

They seem so happy, so joyous!  Black is even raising a highball is celebration.  But why no legs, Butterick?!

Sometimes it's the visual stimulation that's simply overwhelming.  Take the stripe matching madness of Simplicity 7966:

Ooh, excuse me while I go turn down the lights.  Now let's ponder a rare misstep by Vogue, 6157:

Check out View C on the left!  She's sporting a trashbasket with flowers on her head!  Besides the fact that it overwhelms the dress with an already huge flower on it, it leaves me pondering the physics of the situation.  How does the basket hat not cover her head completely?  Is there a structural element in there keeping it up?

I'm sorry, did someone NOT hear my request to turn the lights down?  And who out there is CHEWING SO LOUDLY, hmm?

Now let's take a look at Butterick 6499:

Tots in a wonderland of...giant alphabet and button blocks?  Because why learn to button buttons and tie laces on shirts and shoes when you can do it on a 17 inch square foam block, I suppose.  As for the number and alphabet blocks...how many would poor Mom have to make to have a complete set?  Twenty six letters and ten numbers -- six sides to a block -- six blocks at minimum, as long as you don't want to start forming sentences.  That's a lot of work and a lot of space.  Where would you store these?  And wouldn't they risk crushing your children if they started stacking them high?

Here's the real kicker.  I present to you McCall's 3100:

Adorable dress -- but what is going on with Red's face?  The pinprick eyes, the tiny snoutlike nose -- something is very very wrong here.  Why don't Pink & Flowers notice it?  And what's the red thing in her hair?  Is it a bow, or is it something sprouting from her head?  In short, I ask you --

Is she a woman or a pig demon?!

Excuse me while I retire to bed wailing, cold compress in hand.  It's the minidress and dance pants that did me in!

Fetch(ing)

Behold McCall's 2214.

I ADORE view D.  Views A and B?  No problem there.

But View C?  The button-in-back, bow-in-front version?

Two words: DOG TUXEDO.

Pattern APB!

Remember Simplicity 3528, the invisible dress?

Reader Judith is looking for it in a size 6.  If you have it, drop her a line via her etsy profile, will ya?  I think she has a little girl she wants to make disappear a charming vintage dress for.

Meanwhile, reader Judi has presented a mystery.  What are the "Maren Dress" patterns Simplicity put out in the 1990s?  Judi contacted Simplicity and -- ahem -- THEY had no clue.  Any insight, dear readers?  Of particular interest is the fact that "Maren Dress" patterns aren't necessarily dresses -- here are a few examples.  (Click on the picture to go the the seller.)

Curiouser and curiouser, as they say in Wonderland...

Web Junkie May 15, 2010

• Whoa!  Did you know that Flickr has a group devoted to trading vintage patterns?!  It looks like it's been pretty inactive for a while, but I say it's high time for us obsessives to get things going.  I've uploaded some patterns to trade (including the one above, Simplicity 9868) -- let's get the party started!  (I'm "GremlyGirl" over in Flickrland.)  There's also a fabric swapping group over there.  I'd been toying with plans to set up a stash trading blog, but it looks like this may eliminate the need!
• Over at Colette Patterns, Sarai asks about your clothing pet peeves.
  
• New patterns coming soon!  Grosgrain is planning on opening an etsy shop!
• Somehow I didn't know that Sandra Betzina had a website, Power Sewing.  Considering how much I love her books Power Sewing and Fabric Savvy -- not to mention that I've been considering writing a post called "I Love You, Sandra Betzina" just because of her awesome knit top pattern, Vogue 2980 -- I think I'll be spending some time there.

Happy weekend to you all...and happy birthday to my brother!  Little bro, I tried to find a Fonz-inspired pattern for you and couldn't -- so this is for you.  (You know what I'm referring to!)

Tots in Trouble

Sharp-eyed reader Laura sent in a photo of this great pattern, Simplicity 2558, which she has aptly captioned "See, isn't my underwear pretty?"

Laura notes that #2 is a toddler who wants out of her clothes, and I couldn't agree more.  At first I worried that she was stripping down down because her prancing sisters had persuaded her to sit down on an anthill (as my mother and uncle convinced my aunt to do when they were young hellions), but she doesn't have the necessary look of panic.  No, I think they're all stripping -- check out the red shoe in #1's hand.  "Simplicity 2558 -- underthings so pretty your child can't wait to take them off."

Then there's Vogue 2588.  Check out the poor toddler in the middle of this scenario:

The girls on either side of her may be wearing sweet dresses, but there's some cruelty going on here.  "Bathroom?  I don't know what you're talking about.  Barbara, do you know what 'pee=pee' means?"

P is for...Pain

After Pierre left, she wandered around Paris dressed head to fingers to toes in purple, listing to the right like a ship sinking into the stormy sea.