More Vintage Patterns

Once again I've succumbed to the lure of vintage patterns. I've bought not one, but two of them -- which just goes to show that a woman with a credit card should not be browsing the Internet late at night.

The first is Advance 4158 from the 1940s. I fell in love with it after seeing View 1 on Vintage Girl's blog. I love the details on this pattern, those little slits on the top of the sleeve, those cute buttoned pockets, the bound button holes. (Vintage Girl added piping to her version which looks darling.) The dress has a side zipper, but I wonder if you could do without it since there are also buttons down the front.

This is an unprinted pattern, something I've never worked with before. Unlike modern patterns, the unprinted ones came precut. And they had perforations to mark the darts, seam allowances, etc. rather than printed lines and dots.

The second pattern is Simplicity 1668 from 1946. The scallops in View 1 captured my heart.

This pattern seems to be a hybrid. It's printed, but like its unprinted brethren from this period, has perforations to mark construction details.

I read the pattern sheet today and discovered that it's supposed to have triangular shoulder pads. (Boo!) But at least it also includes rudimentary instructions on how to construct them. However, I think I'll wait to see how the dress looks without them. View 1 has a side zipper, something I've never attempted. View 2 has a back zipper which should be relatively easy to insert.

Both of these will need size adjustments which will be another new challenge. In the meantime, off they go to my pattern drawer to until I've finished my current projects. If only I didn't have to work! Think how much more time I'd have for sewing. But then, how little money I'd have for supplies. Oh, well.