McCall's Fashion Digest - July 1960 - $5 or Under Fashions

McCall's Fashion Digest - July 1960

$5 Fashions

Today we'll take a look at McCall's Fashion Digest from July 1960.  This pamphlet featured patterns that could be made for $5 or less.  Wow!  Let's look inside.

The cover's pretty boring.

Here we have McCall's 5471... can you believe you could make this for only $4.50?

Here are some similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team Members:

1.)  Grey Dog Vintage - Simplicity 3796

2.)  Vogue Vixens - McCall's 6225

3.)  Pretty Pattern Shop - Simplicity 2627

Here is McCall's 5470, a slim shirtwaist you could make for only $3.25!

Here are some similar patterns from the Pattern Patter Team!
1.)  Crafty Paneen - Butterick 9971
2.)  Sandritocat - Simplicity 5037
3.)  Grandma Made With Love - Simplicity 3554

How about this nice blouson dress that could be made for $3.50 in 3 hours?   VERY EASY.  Of course, fabric used to be 96 cents a yard...

Here are similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team Members.

1.)  Erika With A K Vintage - Vogue 9584

2.)  Fragolina - Advance 8895

3.)  Vintage Needle Finds - Butterick 3066

A simple sheath was even cheaper to make at only $2.70 when made out of 89 cents a yard fabric!

Here are some similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team members:

1.)  Pattern Shop - Simplicity 7010

2.)  Bluetree Sewing Studio - Simplicity 4518

3.)  Redcurlz's Patterns - Butterick 8213

These economical sheaths are super stylish!  You could still wear these today and knock 'em dead.

Laguna Lane has McCall's 5468 in stock!

5490 has a contrast waist band that helps the waist look smaller.  5465 has sleeve interest.

More similar patterns from team members:

1.) Rose Corners - Butterick 2137
2.)  Clutterina's Shop - Simplicity 4804
3.)  Frisky Scissors - Simplicity 1993

I love love LOVE 5431.. what a beautiful sundress!  If you love it too, team member Violet Crown Emporium has it in stock.

Some more similar shirtwaists from Pattern Patter Team Members:

1.)  Laguna Lane - McCall's 6262
2.)  Sydcam123 - Simplicity 4182
3.)  Pattern Matters - Simplicity 1683

The drop-waistline seen in 5445 was really popular in 1960.  All the pattern companies had it prominently featured.  It didn't last very long though!

Some similar patterns featuring the low waistline / skirt yoke:

1.)  Frisky Scissors - Vogue 8489

2.)   Keepsakes Studio - Simplicity 1086

The last page features even more dressy looks that cost less than $3 bucks in 1960 money!

The back cover features McCall's 5486.

I hope you enjoyed this look at McCall's July 1960!  Please comment about which one you like best!

And visit all the shops of the Pattern Patter Team!

Vintage Summer Swimwear from the Pattern Patter Team

It's not too late to make a swimsuit for summer fun!  How about a quick look at some swimwear patterns from the Pattern Patter Team?  Better pick them up quick... Summer's over before you know it, and swimsuit patterns sell in a flash!

Row 1:  Simplicity 9321 @ Atomic Regeneration; Butterick 3179 @ DejaVu Patterns; Butterick 3078 @ Fancywork

Row 2:  McCall's 4063 @ Frisky Scissors; Vogue 8864 @ Sydcam 123; Simplicity 8804 @ Sew Betty and Dot

Row 3:  Simplicity 3234 @ Grey Dog Vintage; New York 1617 @ Sew Vintage; Vogue 6175 @ Selvedge Shop

Row 1:  Simplicity 8199 @ Redcurlz Patterns; McCall's 6370 @ Fragolina; Advance 3904 @ Sandritocat
Row 2:  McCall's 6860 @ Roma's Maison; Simplicity 8795 @ Clutterina's Shop; Advance 5099 @ Sew Betty and Dot
Row 3:  Simplicity 1607 @ Sydcam 123; Style 4633 @ Sew As It Was Patterns; Simplicity 1302 @ Vintage Needle Finds

Row 1: Simplicity 4624 @ Bluetree Sewing Studio; Butterick 4868 @ Lady Diamond; Kwik Sew 173 @ Patterns New 2 U

Row 2:  McCall's 6372 @ Sydcam 123; McCall's 6541 @ Clutterina's Shop; Simplicity 8028 @ Vogues Vixens

Row 3:  Kwik Sew 652 @ Sew Betty and Dot; Vogue 9484 So Vintage; McCall's 9295 @ Sew Vintage

Later we'll do a quick focus on kids' swimwear!

Which one is your favorite?  Let us know in the comments.

That's all for now as summer chores are calling my name!

Alice 150 - Alice in Wonderland Costumes

Maybe you didn't know, but July 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  In celebration, Alice fans all over the globe are participating in tea parties, museum exhibits, lectures, book readings and many more fun events!

I am a member of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA) and a really big Alice fan!

I thought it would be fun and super-interesting to look at all the Alice in Wonderland-related sewing patterns that have been produced over the years.  There's many more than you would think!

Won't you follow me down the rabbit hole to Wonderland?

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat..."

Image via Vintage Pattern Wiki

What have we here?  McCall's 1643 from 1951, celebrating the release of Disney's version of the story.  These adorable March Hare and Mad Hatter costumes are suitable for any mad tea party and just plain really cute.  RARE RARE RARE too.. if you have one of these, treasure it!!  Note that it is copyrighted by Disney, as is the below Alice pattern.

Image courtesy of Pink Blackbird

McCall's 8626, seen here, actually is labeled "Alice in Wonderland."  To be used as a costume or as every day wear, I especially adore the little bunny jacket!  This is a very rare pattern.  It was also featured with the March Hare and Hatter costume in McCall's own advertising.

Image via Vintage Pattern Wiki

This beautiful pattern, Simplicity 2240, features an Alice doll and her clothes.  I think this pattern was produced for several years but it's really hard to find!  A lot of reproduction and PDF copies are out there drifting around, but finding an original that's also in good shape is easier said than done.  Still, a must for any Alice collector and I wish I had one!

(Team member Rose Corners has one in stock, though!)

Picture via Vintage Pattern Wiki

While I think it's not specifically branded as an Alice costume, I think it's pretty safe to say that's what inspired Simplicity 3701 from 1951!  (McCall's apparently got the rights from Disney while Simplicity did not.)

Pattern picture courtesy of Historically Patterns

Here is 3702, which is I think is the number for only the toddler sized version of 3701.

Picture from Vintage Pattern Wiki

Vogue 2454 definitely is also Alice-influenced.  The blue dress is a dead give away! Realllllly cute!  The "Alice band" in the hair is another hint.  A type of headwear so firmly connected to Alice that it's named after her!  I also assume this came out about the same time as the Disney movie.

Picture via Vintage Pattern Wiki

In case you weren't sure if this 1970s dress and pinafore were supposed to be Alice themed, the illustrator has helpfully added a tiny white rabbit to the drawing.

Image via All's Fairy Vintage

From team member All's Fairy Vintage's shop comes this 1960s Woman's Day.  It featured cute Alice-themed toys!

Image via Ebay via Pattern-Vault, in a wonderful article about Alice sewing!

This INCREDIBLY RARE circa 1930s/40s Alice pattern featured a flamingo as well!  I have only seen one... maybe two of these for sale in my lifetime.  Does anyone else out there have one?  Do you want to sell it? :)

Images via The Sunny Stitcher

These rare-as-hen's teeth Alice patterns from Weldon's (a British pattern company) were found in a catalog, I've only ever seen the Alice one for sale.  Circa early 1930s and very rare!

Image courtesy of Marcialois.

Here is a picture of the actual pattern.  Like I said, I have only ever seen the Alice pattern for sale.  If anyone else out there has seen the Hatter or Hare for sale (or in a personal collection) I would be very interested in seeing the pattern.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so that's a look at Alice patterns from the past!  If anyone knows of any others... please let me know!  I want to have the most comprehensive list of them possible.

Let's look at some newer ones now, shall we? :)

Images via Amazon.com

There are really way too many for me to do a feature on each of them individually!  If you want to be an Alice character these days, you have plenty of patterns to chose from. :)

Image via Simplicity.com

These costumes based on the Tim Burton Alice movie are reallly nice.  When they came out, I bought them right away for my collection.  Good luck finding the Alice-print fabric shown in the picture though... I couldn't find it anywhere.

Images from Amazon.com

Still more mostly-recent patterns.

Simplicity 9947, image via Ebay.

Images via Amazon.com and Simplicity.com

OH WOW, there are so many.  I'm exhausted just looking for them all.  And I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface of what's out there.  As you can see, Alice is very popular!  I'm sure there are many more patterns that are Alice-themed and I would love if you would share if you know of more. :)

But, you can make an Alice costume without an "ALICE" pattern.  Almost any dress with a pinafore apron can be an Alice costume!  Any snazzy suit in a loud checker print can be a Mad Hatter.  How about these ideas from the Pattern Patter Team?

Images courtesy of the Pattern Patter Team

Any of these patterns would make a very cute Alice costume!

Row 1: Vienna's Grace; Lonestar Blondie; She Finds Vintage

Row 2: Wits End Design; Roma's Maison; Rose's Pattern Treasury

Row 3: Lady Diamond's Emporium; Keepsake Studio; Vintage Needle Finds

Images courtesy of the Pattern Patter Team

Or how about these wonderful patterns for your Alice costume?

Row 1: All's Fairy Vintage; Clutterina's Shop; Erika With A K Vintage

Row 2: Keepsakes Studio; Patterns Plus Notions; Maison Mignon

Row 3: J Ferrari Designs; Stitching By Numbers; Jersey Girl Patterns

Images courtesy of the Pattern Patter Team

Still more patterns that could easily be adapted to make a pretty Alice costume!

Row 1: Em Sew Crazy; Vintage Sewing Shoppe; Pitter Pattern Place

Row 2: Pitter Pattern Place; Find Crafty Patterns; Kinsey Sue

Row 3: Redcurlz's Patterns; Vienna's Grace; Cloe's Closet

WOW!

Don't you think you could make a cute costume?

I hope you enjoyed this look at Alice costumes.  If you know of any more, please let me know in the comments!  Do you have any tales of Alice that you would like to share? :)

Also, please be sure to visit all the great shops of the Pattern Patter Team!