So when I was at my Grandma’s at the weekend, it occurred to me that she used to do lots of sewing – there’s a very glamorous shot of her in a 50’s style halter dress (like Marilyn Monroe on The Seven Year Itch) and she made the dress herself…….without a pattern! So I asked he if she had any patterns left from her sewing days and I was in luck! I picked only the ones I though I might be likely to make (so left behind all the 70s and kids’ ones). Because my Grandma was born in 1930, the 50s and 60s seem to be the eras when she was sewing the most clothes – especially the 60s, which is lucky for me as I’ve just become obsessed with Mad Men (I know, only like 6 years behind everyone else!)!
I got this one as The Boyfriend has been saying he wants a night-shirt for a littleΒ while now – so now I’ve found a pattern, I’ve got no excuse.
Another one for The Boyfriend – see how selfless I am?! I love the fact that the guy in the jacket is smoking in the picture!
I love, love, love these 60s blouses – and I love the fact that the brand of pattern is called ‘Housewife Special’!
The rest are mostly dress patterns….
I’m not sure about this one – but I might just be being put off by the orange!
I think this one is more 70s as it was a dress my Grandma made for my Mum’s school uniform. You can’t go wrong with a shirt dress!
Simple shift dresses.
Simple skirt, top and jacket pattern.
I really love this one, even if the cover is quite damaged – and you can see it’s been drawn on by a small child at some point!
I think this one might be a my favourite – look at those coats!
It remains to be seen if I ever get around to making any of these – I would have to grade them all as they seem to be mostly in size 14 (whereas I’m a size 8). Maybe one day, when I’ve sewn a few more modern patterns……
Those are lovely vintage sewing patterns. Looking forward for your sewing project. π
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Thanks for commenting π hopefully I’ll make at least one if these one day!
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Ye Olde size 14 is a lot smaller than the modern one – the bust is 34 inches on the last pattern which puts it between an 8 and a 10 today π (http://www.wallis.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogNavigationSearchResultCmd?catalogId=33058&storeId=12557&langId=-1&viewAllFlag=false&categoryId=281011&interstitial=true&geoip=noredirect size chart)
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Excellent! I might get round to sewing them a but quicker then π
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Yeeee! Vintage patterns are so adorable! Lucky! I can’t figure out what the man in the vest is holding…it looks like an old timey pooper scooper. π
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Thanks for stopping by ky blog! It does look like a weird pooper scooper! I also love how they seem to be gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. π
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I was going to say about the sizes being smaller than you might think, but Fran beat me to it! π
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Love the orange one the best!
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I can vouch personally for the nightshirt pattern, its great! Grandma made me two bright red flannel nightshirts from it, and I wore them all through university and was as warm as toast, and very comfy! Also, don’t knock the orange one, that was one of my fave dresses of all time! Can’t wait to see what you make up from them all! xxx
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