Repro Patterns and Where to Find Them

Reproduction patterns are a great way to wet your feet with vintage patterns without having to deal with all of the issues that come with actual patterns. I'm just going to give a mini review and some info about some of the repro pattern companies I've used. You can find everything from hand traced copies of original patterns to completely remastered and multisized patterns.

The Big Four

Butterick 5281

Simplicity, Butterick and Vogue do have reprints of vintage patterns. Pros: cheap, easy to find, loads of styles. Cons: They took perfectly good vintage patterns that actually fit on a person and added, oh, five or so extra inches of ease.
 
Eva Dress

Some Eva Dress pretties!

Eva Dress has a huge selection of 20s-50s patterns! Most of them are single sized but they have recently been putting out multisized patterns. The website is easy to navigate and you can search by decade or bust size. I've had great success with their patterns.

Past Patterns

A 1930s Past Pattern in my stash

Past Patterns carries repro patterns from the 20s-40s as well as a historical patterns. Most of the vintage patterns are Vintage Revivals, which are hand drawn copies of vintage patterns (one sized) with a photo copy of the original directions which may or may not be legible.  They also do have some multisized patterns as well but I've not used any of them. Their website is not the greatest and the pictures on the main page of each decade are often tiny and hard to see so you have to click on it to tell what it is. But they are great for hard to find styles like 19-teens. And they are based out of my town!

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility is a darling pattern company that does historical as well as vintage patterns. They come professionally printed and drafted and have good directions. Now, the only time I sewed one of their patterns, it came out way tiny! As in my husband had to cut me out of my first muslin. So I haven't quite figured out the ease for their patterns but lots of people have had good luck with them and I'm planning on giving them another go sometime!

Wearing History

Even more Wearing History love!

I love Wearing History! I have 9 or so patterns and have sewn them all. Some several times! This company focuses on 40s and 30s patterns but has recently been branching out into historical patterns as well. There are two pattern lines, Resto-Vival and Signature Styles. The Resto-Vival patterns come straight from vintage patterns but with modern markings. They include original directions (but not a photocopy!) and retain the original vintage fit. Some are multisized and some are not. The Signature Styles are based off of vintage patterns but with reworked step-by-step instructions and many also have been adjusted to reflect a mix of vintage and modern fit. Recently, Wearing History has been re-releasing patterns in e-pattern format for those of you who love e-patterns.

Preserving the Past through Fashion

Hannah of Just Peachy, Darling is presenting at The Saving Places Conference this week and she's asked several bloggers including yours truly to write about preserving the past and this is my contribution!

Growing up, history was always my least favorite subject. It wasn't until I got interested in vintage fashion and historical costuming. Now I have a passion for the past that I never thought I'd have.

One way that I love preserving the past is by rediscovering period methods of doing things. Period sources can only get you so far and it's not always possible to speak to someone who was alive during the time to ask. Sometimes a little experimentation is necessary.

Even as close as the 19-teens are to modern times and with the availability of photographs from this period, there are a lot of questions still left to be answered. One question I really had to investigate was the question of undergarments. Which ones did people wear and in what order?

Looking at period photographs, you'd think this was the norm:

However, personal experience tells me that wearing combinations or drawers under a long line corset means that you have to get completely undressed and take off the corset every time you have to go to the bathroom or risk a high probability of getting your, um, business all over your lacey unmentionables (even when your combinations/drawers are split!). Or hold it all day but that's not really a viable option for everyday life. So it's likely that combinations/drawers were worn over corsets and these Edwardian "pin-up" photos were not accurate to everyday life.

combinations over a corset

Another cool history experiment I did was try out an authentic 50s haircut and an authentic 40s haircut. Once I'd mastered pin curling, I wanted to see if the right haircut would take my hair styles the extra mile. It really made things a lot easier and helped me figure out what sorts of haircut features you'd need to do certain hairstyles. Just like you can't do all types of modern hairstyles with one haircut, the same was true of ladies of the past. Once I recracked the code, so to speak, I could add it to my blog posts and youtube videos to share with all of you.

unstyled middy haircut

In this way, all of us who love vintage fashion can participate in preserving history. We still have access to a lot of primary resources and people who lived through those decades we love. By educating ourselves in the historically accurate way of doing things (even if we don't choose to do them historically accurately all the time), we can preserve history for future generations especially.

So celebrate being a historian! Whether it's through loving and preserving vintage clothing, or through making up vintage patterns or through rediscovering how to do great vintage hair dos, we all play an important role in preserving history.

Updated Disney Wardrobe

Because what else do I have to think about. My original one is here.

I've got two Wearing History patterns in my "suitcase". I made the sailor playsuit last summer and have adjusted it for fit so it's ready to go. The chic ahoy! pattern is still in progress. The jacket is done and the shorts just need closures. I haven't even started on the blouse but I'm going to get cracking.

Colette Patterns are also coming along. I made a macaroon that I've had the fabric for forever. I also finished a long standing beignet UFO with pirate fabric. I had some crazy issues with bad snaps, half of which fell off and the other half wouldn't come off. Thanks to my weight loss, I just cut them off and reworked the front of the skirt from there.

I'm bringing along my polka dotted back button blouse. I'm also working on this cute 60s playsuit that the lovely Brittany of Va Voom Vintage sent me. Super cute and it's a stash busting project. Just have to get some buttons for it.

And I also have a refashion project coming along. This 30s dress from Past Patterns was just the ticket to help a 70s does 30s dress go a bit more 30s. It had some damage at the zipper because it was a jersey dress sewn with regular stitches so I needed some repairs anyways. I left the top mostly the same but changed the skirt to this one and added the belt.

Last but not least is a circle skirt because I can't not bring one of those.

Yesterday, I decided that I'd better get looking for a swimsuit if I wanted one. Now, I'm not usually a swimming kind of a gal. I don't even remember the last time I was in a pool. So my swim suits, while in good condition, are from high school. And even though I've just lost gobs of weight, I do not have that body anymore. So I did some serious etsy scouring and had no luck with vintage suits. I couldn't have one made because they wouldn't be done in time but then I stumbled upon this one:

It's from Fables by Barrie and modeled by the lovely Bernie Dexter. Super cute, retro, multi-sized and on sale. And it will be rounding out my wardrobe. Not sure why I could get by in Florida for a week without a swimsuit but now I have one.

Costume College: Friday

Phew! I made it home in one piece with all my luggage (but that's a story for another day). From your comments, it looks like you enjoyed your selection of period costume drama goodness. Hopefully, you still have enough in you for more costumes!

Alas, I didn't get any pictures on Thursday so we're starting on Friday. I'll scour the interweb for Thursday pics or take some outfit shots later, but for now on to Friday!

Friday was my Edwardian/Downton Abbey day! I wore my Edith's black floral blouse with a new skirt.

The skirt is Butterick 9682 from 1915 which is available from Past Patterns. It came with a hand drawn copy of the pattern and a photo copy of the original directions (which were pretty sketchy). I had some issues with the waist band-first off, my grading was off and it came out too big, and second, the closures were really complicated-6 hooks and eyes and two snaps in 3 separate closures.

But Edwardian closures are supposed to be complicated and it works so I'm cool with that. It's super fun to wear and has POCKETS!!

Plus the whole thing has almost 70 buttons on it but, thankfully, they are all decorative. I purchased them from Yummy Treasures on etsy.

And I wore my Astorias from American Duchess. I wore them all day and they were super comfy. I also got to meet Lauren R., American Duchess while I was wearing these!

Friday evening was the ice cream social so we all headed back to our rooms for a quick costume change.

I wore my Lady Mary's Garden Party dress with faux pearls, vintage crochet gloves and my Astorias again.

The lovely Ginger of Scene in the Past in a fabulous regency dress.

Beth of V is for Vintage in a darling Edwardian nautical ensemble.

The Edwardian gals together.

Lauren M. of Wearing History in an amazing plaid bustle dress. Check out her plaid matching skills!

Isn't she a vision?

And it wouldn't be Costume College without some silliness.

If you've ever wondered how to get your train to look great for a picture, this is how you do it.

I was bad and didn't actually take any pictures at the Ice Cream Social or the market place grand opening which was right afterwords but here's one of me I found on Flickr.

Vintage or Me-Made or Repro?

Vintage or me-made or repro? It's a question that's been bouncing around in my head lately. Deciding between these three categories (or at least two) is an issue that plagues all vintage loving gals (and guys)! In an effort to organize my thoughts, I thought I'd share them with you and see what you think. First up, vintage.

Vintage

An obvious first choice for any vintage lover is actual vintage. The pieces are historically accurate, the fabrics are period and many of them are just darling. If you are good at thrifting and digging through estate sales, you can find things for cheap. If you are not, sites like etsy and ebay are full of treasures someone else has already done the dirty work to find. And, if you are lucky, there may even be a vintage store or two in your area. (There seem to be gobs of them on the west coast.)

But vintage pieces may come damaged or be in delicate condition. They also come in one size so even if you fall in love with a piece, you may have to pass it up. Things can be altered a bit, especially since vintage garments tend to have longer hems than modern garments, but again, they are often in delicate condition so you don't want to have to take them apart and put them together a lot. Plus, professional alterations add to the cost. And, speaking of cost, really fabulous pieces can grow into the hundreds of dollars in cost. They also tend to be rather tiny!

When I opt to add a vintage piece to my collection I consider a couple of things before purchase.

1) It absolutely must fit or be able to be altered to fit. I have made that mistake in the past and it's so sad to have something arrive in the mail and realize that it doesn't fit! Make sure you get measurements of the garment before purchase and don't forget your measurements need to be smaller than the garment! Modern garments tend to have more stretch in them than vintage ones so take that into account.

2) It needs to be in good condition. Look closely at the garment and inspect it for holes, tears and damaged seams. I never buy things I can't fix myself. Missing a button? That's pretty easy to replace with new ones. Giant 4" tear some place prominent? I'll probably pass, even if it's priced appropriately.

3) It has to look cute! This may seem silly, but don't buy something just because it's vintage. It needs to appeal to you aesthetically and look good on you. This is why brick and mortar shops are nice since you can try things on. If it looks bad on you, you won't wear it and if you do, you'll look silly, not fabulous.

I love this vintage dress from Bad Girl Vintage.

Somethings I like to buy vintage: things with unique prints, things that would be difficult to recreate myself (for technical or fabric difficulties), hats, scarves, bags and things that are just really special.

Me-Made

I sew, as you all know, so this category opens up a new world of vintage style for me. Vintage patterns can be found while thrifting and abound on etsy. Plus, there are a growing number of small pattern companies offering multisized reprints of vintage patterns and there are even some offered by the Big 4 pattern companies (though I've heard tales of mixed success with these). Circle skirts are a great beginner project. You can do some really fun stuff with them for much cheaper (and in larger sizes!!) than you'd pay for authentic vintage circle skirts with unique designs. You can make something that isn't nearly as delicate as a vintage piece.

You do have to be able to sew. Some things are just to difficult for me to make. Vintage patterns do have some of the same difficulties as vintage clothing does. Namely, small sizes, can be pricey and may be in delicate condition. They are also one size rather than multisize. Directions can be brief and some patterns are unprinted. It can also be difficult to find appropriate fabrics (especially prints).

Perhaps my favorite Wearing History Pattern!

Some things I like to make are: things that I have difficulty finding premade that fit me well (pants, button front blouses and anything "wiggle" shaped), circle skirts. I find myself mainly limited by finding a good pattern in my size (I hate grading!) and by my skills. I'm not up for winter jackets, jeans and knits.

Reproduction

Many non-sewing vintage enthusiasts flock to reproduction pieces. They offer many of the advantages of me-made garments including durability and are generally available in several sizes and some companies will even make them to your measure. You can find pieces that range from rockabilly and pinup to the more conservative and classic styles.

My biggest problem with reproduction is the sizing. While repro sizing tends to run curvier than modern sizing, it's still often not curvy enough for me. And it can be pricey! There are several really nice repro companies out of the UK but with the difference in currencies and shipping to the US, I don't end up purchasing from them as much as I'd like. Repro items also have a tendency to look more modern than actual vintage. Some companies do better than others on this front.

I have a lovely reproduction of this dress (available here) and so does Mrs. Amber Apple.

Things I like to buy repro: pieces I can't make myself or a particular design I just have to have. As a sewer, I kind of feel guilty about buying repro, but considering how much I wear my one repro dress and how much I already love my Freddies of Pinewood jeans, I'd say the purchases I've made are smart ones.

So which of these categories make up the most of your wardrobe? Is there one you prefer over the others? Is there a particular type of clothing you tend to buy from each category?

HSF: Inspiration #15 White

Yay for another Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge complete! This challenge was the color white. Today, I'm just going to talk about the inspiration/process for this dress and then we'll get to the actual dress later this week!

Now I started muslining this dress way back in January and was planning on doing it for the Embellish challenge due at the end of February so not all of these inspirations are going to read "white" but I thought this would be a great time to finish off this UFO since it happened to be mostly white!

I kind of started this process backwards and picked my pattern first. I bought several 19-teens patterns over last Christmas break when I knew I would be going to Costume College. My draping/drafting skills are not super awesome so I really wanted to buy a pattern rather than start from scratch. I choose Pattern #8480: Ladies' Dress: Circa 1914-1915 from Past Patterns. The pattern also had options for less ruffles and simpler sleeves.

I loved this cute blue dress from 1912! It also has cute little bows! :D

Lingerie dresses were super popular during the Edwardian period. Lace is super fun.

This dress looks so much like the simpler versions of my pattern. I love the striped accents.

 This dress ended up being my biggest inspiration! I love the pretty embroidery and I found this great embroidered fabric.

Scallops and embroidery! :D

HSF #15: White

This is my last Historical Sew Fortnightly project before Costume College! The challenge is White. "White has carried many connotations as a colour, from defining culture and social boundaries, to denoting status, to implying purity, or simply cleanliness.  For this challenge ‘white’ is defined as anything in the white family – from brightest white, through to ivory and cream and all the shades between. Whether you make a simple chemise or an elaborate ballgown, your item should be predominantly white, though it may have touches of other colours."

Tada! This is my 1914-1915 day dress. If you missed the inspiration post, check it out here.



The Challenge: White
Fabric: 4 yds embroidered cotton ($7/yd), 2 yds white broadcloth ($3.50/yd), 2.5 yds yellow broadcloth ($3.50/yd)

Pattern: Past Patterns #8480

Year: 1914-1915

Notions: snaps and hooks and eyes ($3)
How historically accurate is it? Pretty, I think. I used a period pattern and it's all cotton! I used loads of french seams but did end up zig zaging some of them. Not sure if the construction is 100% period but the directions weren't exactly much to go on.

Hours to complete: Started in January but didn't get finished till July! Lots of time spent figuring out how to put the pieces together.
First worn: July '13
Total cost: ~$40

I got a hair piece and this was my first time playing around with it. I'm a bit urked as I ordered the dark brown color but it's chock full of coppery highlights! Thus most of it is not actually brown at all... Oh, well. I used American Duchess' 1912 hair tutorial. 

 Love this dress and can't wait to wear it to Costume College! :D And if you'd like to see more photos, there's a ton more over on my Flickr.

(Update: Also check out my construction details post)

Historical Sew Fortnightly: #1 Centennial

This year I'm participating in Historical Sew Fortnightly, a historical sewing challenge with a new theme every two weeks. The first challenge is to sew something Bi/Tri/Quadri/Quin/Sex/Septi/Octo/Nona/Centennial (i.e. something from a year __13). My project is from 1913.

The Challenge: Centennial

Fabric: cotton striped sheet (free)

Pattern: Past Patterns Pattern #4574: Ladies' Three-Piece Princess Combination Suit: Circa 1913 
I did change the top to have ribbon straps so it's evening gown friendly.


Year: 1913

Notions: 4 yds wide cotton lace ($12), 5 yds narrow cotton lace with ribbon ($15), buttons ($1), polyester ribbon (from stash)

How historically accurate is it? I'd say it's fairly historically accurate. I did use a reprint of a period pattern, but the directions were minimal so I had to guess at a lot of things. I've never seen striped Edwardian underthings and my fabric is heavier than I would have liked but I wanted to use what I had on hand. Overall, I'm happy with the historical accuracy of it. Now if I only knew what order to put on my Edwardian underthings, I'd be good to go. lol.

Hours to complete: Oh, I never really pay much attention to this part but probably 5-6 hours.

First worn: Not yet! I still have to finish my other underthings and then make an outer garment.

Total cost: $28

I had planned on making a 1910s brassier for the bonus challenge but I didn't get it done in time. It's almost finished except for a few more hooks and eyes but I'm out so I'll go ahead and share with you!

The Challenge: Something Simple

Fabric: cotton sheet (free)

Pattern: Historically Dressed free pattern with modifications

Year: 19-teens

Notions: 3yd narrow cotton lace ($10), 1.5 yds wide cotton lace ($4), hooks and eyes ($1.50)

How historically accurate is it? I used a pattern made from an extant garment. I modified for fit and also lowered the back neckline based on a different extant brassier. I'm not entirely sure how they are supposed to fit but I was pretty happy with the support I was getting from the toile.

Hours to complete: 2 hours

First worn: not yet

Total cost: ~$15

So far, I've learned that I love lacy, frilly underwear and that I hate sewing on hooks and eyes. Mine never look pretty! The next challenge is UFO which I'll probably skip because I really don't have any historical UFOs. Not been costuming long enough I guess! But challenge #3 is the undergarment challenge so I'll be working on my 19-teens corset until then!