The Royal Pattern Company - A Bit of Sewing Pattern History

 

Happy weekend, my dears. Today I thought I would post just a short bit on sewing pattern history. As some of you know, I'm one of the founding Admins of The Vintage Sewing Pattern Nerds group on Facebook. My goal has always been to educate others on sewing pattern history and preservation. To continue that thread, I'm going to attempt to post more of the educational content I post to the group, but for your benefit here. Not all of you are on Facebook, after all (Which you should be proud of!).

Today, our topic is the Royal Pattern Company.

Magazine: Le Costume Royal, September 1915.

The Royal Pattern Company (not associated with Modes Royale) began selling sewing patterns in 1895 and printed their magazine Le Costume Royal beginning in 1896 to advertise their patterns. This was common practice for sewing pattern companies at the time (See The Delineator Magazine, McCall's Magazine, Le Bon Ton etc.).

The Royal Pattern Company merged with Vogue Pattern Company in 1924. Vogue patterns at this time began to carry the "Vogue/ Royal" label. By 1927, the "Royal" no longer appeared on Vogue patterns.

This particular issue came to me missing several pages but still includes a full-color centerfold and several numbered illustrations advertising patterns available for mail order.

Can you imagine getting such a pattern via mail order now?

Patterns from The Royal Pattern Company, Vogue Royal, and Le Costume Royal magazine/ quarterly are quite highly sought-after by collectors so if you find one, hang on to it!

Sources:

A History of the Paper Pattern Industry by Joy Emery.

My own personal collection of patterns and quarterlies.

How about you? Have you ever seen a Royal sewing pattern (not to be mistaken with Modes Royale) or a similar edition to this magazine? What is (in your opinion) that rarest pattern you've ever found. I'd love to hear from you!

The hat that made my day.

A customer recently sent me a picture that made my day. She purchased my Flight Cap pattern a while back and was kind enough to send me a note about her plans for the hat, and who was going to wear it. She promised a picture in the near future and today, I received it.

A little background on the hat: This is one of my very favorite patterns. I made it by studying my husband's Air Force flight cap and referencing it with a pattern from WWII provided, oddly enough, by 4H in a vintage magazine.

Flight Cap Digital Pattern

My gorgeous husband was kind enough to model the cap for me, all the while giving me a lengthy lecture about the history of the hat, also known as a garrison cap, and lessons on how to wear it at just the right angle to be within "regs." ( I swear he's the reason the pattern sells. This picture positively makes me drool.)

He then took pictures of me and I got lessons in making the perfect salute. A skill which I might ad, comes in very handy when mockingly used while acquiescing to the silly bossy orders of a certain military husband.
But back to the original story, the flight cap was sewn up and is to be used in the costumes of three very lovely "Andrew's Sisters" performers at a retirement village production.

I think they got the look spot on and I would give my left arm to see this performance!

For those of you who haven't seen their famous performance, or for those of you who love to watch it again and again, here are the Andrew's Sisters singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"!