Mrs. McW's Patterns

I accompanied my husband to several estate sales yesterday. This is a bit unusual. I find estate sales depressing. They are usually held when someone has passed on, or is moving into an assisted living facility and the family needs to liquidate the estate. I find myself studying the house, furnishings, clothing, and books, and thinking about the person they belonged to. This was their home, their cherished personal possessions, and I feel uncomfortable being part of a crowd of people examining and evaluating them for purchase. I went to the sales yesterday because I was up early, with makeup on, having dropped DS #2 off at football practice (yes, on a Saturday) and completed my grocery shopping.


The first two sales didn’t have much of interest. The third sale was at a home in Westover Hills, a neighborhood of unique, but small, brick and stone homes built in the 1920-40’s. The occupants had obviously loved antiques as evidenced by the furniture, clothes, pictures, and the accumulation of antique and doll magazines. And there in the corner of the musty basement, were several boxes of sewing patterns from the late 50’s through early 70’s. My heart started pounding as I started to sort through them. I purchased 50 of the about 70 patterns, paying $.30 per pattern. At home, looking through them at a more leisurely pace, I started to form an image of the person who collected and sewed these patterns. The first patterns were from the mid 1950’s. Spadea patterns that were marketed through a syndicated newspaper column entitled "You’re Sew Right". More info. about Spadea

All the envelopes are addressed to a Mrs. C.(husband’s name) McW at the address of the sale.The earliest postmark date was 1955. Gosh, she had lived in that hours over 5o years. In 1955, I imagined she might have been in her twenties, newly married, perhaps on a budget given that the patterns she purchased were modestly priced. She had probably learned to sew in school or from a relative. The patterns were for simple shirtwaist dresses, blouses, and jackets. From the same time period the patterns were mostly inexpensive non-designers Vogue patterns, and a few Simplicity and Butterick’s. These included both casual sportswear styles and dresses. My favorites include these dress patterns.

and a 1960’swimsuit designed to be made from denim or gingham with small darts in the bottom back to mold the fabric under the curve of the butt.

Starting in 1960 and through the early 70’s, all the patterns were Vogue Paris Original's or Vogue Couturier, some still had the woven labels in the pattern envelope. Many of them were purchased at Thalhimers or Miller & Rhodes, the elegant, rival, family run department stores that existed in Richmond from the 1800’s until the early 1990’s. Some of the patterns were stamped with the store name, and date of purchase, making dating the pattern easy. Either her finances had improved or her sewing skills and confidence were now at a level she felt comfortable tackling designer patterns. I would say 70% of the patterns had been used. The pattern pieces were trimmed, the dart lines were perforated by a tracing wheel, and they were neatly refolded when put back in the envelope. There were no signs that Mrs. McW made any pattern alterations. And she appears to have maintained her Bust 36, Hip 38 figure during the years for which there was patterns.This would have made her just slightly smaller ( 1 size) than me, though in all likelyhood a bit shorter. She even switched from a size 16 to a 14, staying with the same measurements, in 1968 when Vogue did some vanity resizing of their patterns.

On the back of some of the pattern envelopes, there were penciled calculations. They looked like yardage requirements multiplied by the cost of fabric in the 7 & 8 dollar range. Is this price level indicative that her fabric purchases were of high quality fabrics? I would like to think so. Mrs. C. McW certainly had a dressy, designer wardrobe in the 60’s. Where did she wear it? Did she work outside the home or did she have an active social life. The latter I suspect, based on the norm for women at that time. What did Mr. C. McW do for a living ? A Google search of his name did not return any info. He must have been successful, given where their home was, and the type of clothes his wife wore. I wish I could have seen her finished creations, touched her fabrics, talked to her about her love of sewing. Some more favorite patterns: This lovely draped Laroche.

This Pucci with a free hanging bodice.

A Pierre Cardin bias cut dress.

A Jacques Griffe dress styled to look like a vest and skirt, and jacket.

This Patou dress with matching cape.

Mrs. C. McW was obviously married and living in the house in 1955, based on the Spadea envelope labels. So the fantastic 1960’s ermine trimmed wedding dress pattern must have been purchased to make the dress for a non wedding event.

Were there any children? One, perhaps a girl for which she made this charming smocked dress in 1966. It was the only child’s pattern.

The last designer pattern was from 1973. After that the patterns were for Home Dec. items, Christmas ornaments, etc.. I didn’t buy them. If Mrs. C. McW was in her 20’s in the 50’s, she sewed gorgeous clothes through her 30’s and tapered off in her 40’s. There was no sewing machine or fabric included in the estate sale, supporting my hypothesis that she had not sewn for quite some time. I wonder why she stopped sewing? Did her lifestyle or body change? It happens. To see all of Mrs. McW's Patterns
My other purchase at the sale was this velvet, beaded, Victorian pincushion. It was so horribly over the top, and much too big (12" diameter) for my crowded sewing table. But it was red, my favorite color, and one of the beaded monograms is an "A". How could I resist?

Potting Sewl

I finished sewing another vintage dress. The pattern is the type that was ordered through a newspaper. I remember seeing the pictures of dress and craft patterns in the classified section of my childhood paper, The Pittsburgh Press. And I remember thinking the dress styles were years out of date and the crafts were old style embroidery. I believe these patterns are no longer offered in newspapers. The general consensus of the posters on http://www.patternreview.com/ Vintage Sewing contest discussion board is the pattern style is from the 1950’s or 60’s. One poster thought the short haircut on the model was similar to Audrey Hepburn’s when she was a popular movie star. I didn’t notice it until I read her comment and then I had to smile. Guess what actress I was named for? My mother was a big Audrey H. fan. I thought this dress looked like a summer sun dress and envisioned it in a small all over print. The brown cotton/linen, embroidered in pink flowers was on sale at JoAnne’s. As I was standing in the checkout line reviewing the paper that listed all my cut fabric, making sure I had gotten the sales price, I saw the words "Potting Soil" "What in the world?" I thought. Then I realized that the words were the fabric description, and it was for the brown embroidered fabric I was about to purchase. Normally fabric descriptions are short descriptive terms like fabric type, weave, or the manufacturers name. But "Potting Soil"?? Visions of a bored/mischievous inventory data entry person sprang to mind. One who did not like the color brown. I couldn’t resist changing soil to "sewl". That is the reason for the goofy post title.

I liked the style of the dress. The wide neckline, the bodice extending into the shoulder area, and the fitted silhouette with flared back skirt. The listed pattern measurements were all 4" smaller than mine. I pin fitted the pattern pieces on my dress form double, lining up center front and back. There must have been a lot of ease built into this pattern. I only added 1 in. to the bust and 2 in. to the waist, all in the front. The back width was fine. I did a SBA (small bust adjustment) at the princess seam. I inserted pink bias tape in the princess seams, neckline edge, and belt piece to emphasize them. The bias tape was a 1.5 inch wide, folded in half to ¾ inch. The raw edge of the tape was matched to the cut edge of the fabric so when the seam was sewn the folded edge extended an eighth of an inch beyond the seam line. I find this is less work than making and inserting piping, but it has a similar look.

I found some cute pink flower shaped buttons to use on the shoulders and back waist tab. I discovered that bodices extending into the shoulder areas do not work well on my sloping shoulders, when they have been cut for a square shoulder. I actually made small shoulder pads to hold the shoulder/button area more horizontal. I enjoyed sewing this dress. The combo of pattern and fabric really excited me and I look forward to my sewing time. By pushing myself to use patterns that are not in my size, I am learning so much about resizing patterns and fitting.

I am in a state of indecision about my next sewing project. I am conflicted between adding a couple of transitional pieces to my summer swap to make it wearable for warm fall weather or starting on some of the new fall patterns and winter fabrics. Or I could tackle another vintage pattern before the contest ends later this month.

Switching Years

I finished making a couple of T- shirts for myself with lovely rayon/lycra knit fabrics from http://www.fashionistafabrics.com/.
And started work on a Vintage pattern.

I decided to sew the 60's Pierre Balmain dress. It is fairly simple and I might actually wear it. There was a similar dress in the Versace ad on page 63 in this month's Vogue Magazine. It is accessorized very differently than the 60's version. Interesting, but not a look I can carry off. The measurements of the pattern are very close to mine with the exception of the waist. I thought the easiest way to check the fit would be to pin the pattern to my packing tape dressform double, who I affectionately call Verite (French for truth). I made her last year in an all day session with Jan Bones http://www.sewlingere.com/ at the Sewing Expo in Chantilly VA. Verite is a very accurate double of my unique body shape.

I found the pattern at a Goodwill store, and it has obviously been used. I could tell by the tucks and pleats still taped in place, that the person was short waisted, had narrow shoulders and needed an extra inch or two in the hips. The adhesive on the tape was still very sticky and I was able to peel it away without damaging the pattern. The pattern fit Verite very well when I pinnedit on her. The center front needs to be shortened a bit and the arm hole may have to be cut lower. Both of these can be adjusted after initial construction. The pattern is well designed. It has match points every 4 " along any seam line. It includes 3/4 " seam allowances on seams that are to be topstitched. The armhole is cut higher for the sleeveless version, something I haven't seen frequently in patterns today, The pattern fabric recommendation includes double knit. I am using a med. weight, firm, 70/30 poly cotton double knit. The instructions recommend underlining all the garment pieces. I will try it on a couple to see how it changes the feel of the fabric. I am not sure the knit needs additional body, which is one purpose of underlining. But the instructions also say to catchstitch the armhole facings and hem to the underlining, and that will definitely give a more professional look. I remember my mother poring over the instructions for Vogue Paris Original patterns in the 70's and commenting on the advanced techniques used to construct the garments. I am going to try and use as many of them as possible just for the experience.

Another Sewing Contest

For my birthday last month, my good friend Ursula gave me a vintage pattern. There was no date printed on it, but the general consensus was that it was from the 1950’s. My mother remembers sewing a similar housecoat for her sister around that time and a check of pattern dating sites listed 1950 too. Which means the pattern is as old as I am. The outside envelope was starting to deteriorate but the inside pattern pieces were as good as new. Sort of like me, I hope. The present motivated me to search out all my vintage patterns. They were all over, in the attic and the basement. I know, I know, not great environmental conditions for archiving printed paper. Then I saw that there was a Vintage sewing contest over at http://www.patternreview.com/. To be eligible for the prizes, you must sew one garment from a vintage pattern or reprint of vintage pattern from 1920 to 1982. Yes, I signed up for the contest. It is just one garment, not a whole SWAP. But can I pick just one pattern? It is really tough. The time frame meant that the patterns I sewed in high school, in the early 70’s, are eligible. I still have them. Hipster elephant bell bottom pants, smocky tops by Kenzo and Ann Tice. I am tempted to make the bell-bottoms to give my kids a laugh. I will need platform shoes to complete the look. But from what I see in the magazine, platform shoes are coming back. Seriously, the patterns on my short list are....

One 1960 style dress. I have the perfect poly blend double-knit from a www.fabricmartfabrics.com free bundle. (I retrieved it from the give away pile). A 1940’s Vogue evening dress reprint from Eva Dress in olive lace and matching solid. A pattern, no name or date, of the type purchased through newspaper. And a 1920’s McCall’s pattern for a flapper type dress. Decisions, Decision. Oh yeah, and I order a bunch more vintage patterns from Etsy, which seems to have the best prices. This contest will be a learning experience in altering/resizing a pattern to fit me. None of these patterns match my measurements.