Saturday, November 1, 2014

Vintage Sewing Patterns!

I don't often share thrift store hauls here on the blog, but I am doing the happy dance right now about my latest big find!  I have always loved vintage sewing patterns and pick them up whenever I find them cheap, so I was tickled to find several dozen patterns at the Goodwill recently. Most of them were ninety-nine cents for a two-pack, then another 50% off, so I got most of them for a quarter each!


I'm pretty excited about using these in mixed-media art and in craft projects, as well.  Seriously, though, the fashion illustrations are just so gorgeous, I think vintage patterns are just perfect just as they are!


Have you ever crafted with vintage patterns? What did you make?


I am busily looking up copyright information on my patterns. Some of the envelopes or illustrations seem to be under copyright, but others have fallen out of copyright. Copyrights are not usually a problem for crafting using an original pattern or envelope, but can be an issue if you are planning to make copies of the copyrighted portions of the pattern. For more information about copyright for crafters, click here.


I am loving the white boots this gal is sporting with her "above the knee" skirt!  Looking at the culottes makes me want a pair. We had to wear culottes in gym at my parochial school in the eighties, and even though I pretended to hate them, they were actually super comfy -- and since they had to hit right at the knee, nobody ever worried whether their thighs looked fat. They were wide enough at the bottom to catch a cooling breeze, too! This was kind of a big deal in Arizona where I went to school. Of course, our culottes had modesty flaps, front an back, but those flaps worked great for fanning ourselves after a run. Who knew a sewing pattern from the sixties could make me nostalgic for the eighties?


I am itching to do something with all these patterns!  What would you make?  Would you keep them as they are and use them to sew vintage style clothing?


Would you cut the patterns up and use them for a home decor project or a mixed media project? Let me know in the comments!