A Few Threads Loose

Sunday, October 25, 2020

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!

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

A Few Pretty Pages of McCall's Catalog March 1952

So there I was, scrolling along through eBay doing some pattern research, and there it was. A nice little 1952 McCall's Catalog for a somewhat fair price. I wasn't in the market for more catalogs as I have more than enough of them (I can't believe I just wrote that...) and I didn't have the extra money to spend at the time.

But I clicked anyway to take a look and what I read in the description forced me to click "buy it now" without a second's hesitation.

"...the inside pages are in great shape and printed on fairly heavy paper. Each page is in color and suitable for framing. Framed, these would be terrific in an office, woman’s clinic, tea room, sewing room, women’s powder room, lobby of a mid-century building, etc, etc. The return on your investment could be tremendous if the book was disassembled and sold by the page. Could even be used as wallpaper. The possibilities are endless."

As I said, I didn't hesitate. The idea of someone else reading that description and deciding to take them up on any one of these heinous suggestions was just too much. I had to save her. So I sold a few patterns from my collection to recoup the cost and here we are, with my latest rescue.

I hope you enjoy taking a look.

I even had one of her patterns handy - this one is available here.

This is the earliest catalog I've found so far to feature photographs and not just illustrations.

Happy sewing!

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The Mrs. Depew Vintage Great Big Sew and Tell Contest

Let's have a contest, shall we? For the next month, Mrs. Depew Vintage will host a sew-and-tell contest. Post a picture of something you've made using any one of our reproduction patterns and get a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to MrsDepew.com!

All entries will need to be posted to the Mrs. Depew Vintage Sew and Tell Facebook Group by June 19.

If you do not use Facebook, you can send your submissions to me via email and I will post for you.

10 Finalists will be chosen from all entries and posted to both the Mrs. Depew Vintage Facebook page, as well as here on the blog where your friends and family will all be able to vote for those top ten.

Photos submitted to the top ten will be judged on fit, photo quality, and originality. Please include photos of the front, back, and side views in your submissions. Every single top ten entrant will win their choice of free pdf sewing pattern from our website. The winner of the grand prize will be the submission with the most final votes by June 27th. You can use a garment you've sewn in the past, or sew something new for the contest - the choice is yours! Photos may be taken of an actual person, or the garment on a dress form if you choose to enter lingerie.

Please note: by entering the contest, you agree that your photo submissions may be shared in our choice of promotional materials and social media by Mrs. Depew Vintage LLC.

Anyone from anywhere in the world may join but the contest is also void where prohibited by local laws. 

Please feel free to leave a comment with any questions you might have, and as usual...

Happy sewing!