Thursday, February 03, 2011

1920's Children's Patterns!

So some people think I might be a bit OCD ~ but really, this is how I deal with long, dark winters and 3 SAD's people in my home.  And I might have a touch of OCD...    ;-d
Regardless, check out what the latest venture has brought about! I decided to pick a special few of these pictures and make patterns for them.  In order to make it easy, I started with patterns that would fit 18" dolls ( Like American Girl, Daisy Kingdom Pansy Doll, etc.) ~ I will graduate these patterns to fit actual children soon.  I think I will put them up on eBay or Etsy, just to once again justify my pasttime.  Wood Genius may naysay, but in the end, hah! ~ these little pursuits do pay for themselves.  But enough of this ~ on to the fun stuff!
And by the way, the line art is my own rendition of the actual item, sooooo, the last picture on here, you can see that uh, faces aren't my strong suit ~ at all. 

This pattern is a little apron with a pleat detail, from 1927.  I do not include the embroidery design with the pattern, for several reasons ~ first, these are doll's clothes, and I have yet to see very many people put the effort into dolls' clothes; second, they look just as cute without the embroidery; and third, maybe I will when I graduate the patterns to kid-size (I probably will),  but for now, I am just too lazy.  (Plus, you can always look up Aunt Martha's or VogueArt on eBay and get some cool old designs that way, and put them wherever and whenever you want.)

Another thought on these patterns, if you are really set on embroidery, get some old doilies or dresser scarves, lay the patterns out so that the embroidery lays where you want it to, and voila! Cute dolly clothes out of nice old fabric, complete with embroidery!


This is a cute little Bubble Romper, with pockets & button tabs, & can be used for both boy or girl dolls.  These are what you see the Little Rascals wearing sometimes.

I love this little Panty Suit, circa 1928!  The original picture says that the collar & cuffs are to be blanket stitched, but bias tape, or picot edging would look just as good.


This little 1927 Dress Coat  and Hat is probably my favorite of all the patterns I made so far.  I love the period detailing and the hat!  I am making this one out of real fur and leather, as well as out of a fine wool chambray and faux fur.  Now I just have to figure out how to make those boots!  (Every 1920's Doll needs a pair of button-up leather spats!)

This pattern is somewhat simple, they used to call slips "white gertrudes" back then ~ I really don't know why ~ but aren't they so cute??

And here is a 1929 Panty Frock ~ it is suitable for both boys and girls ~ oddly enough, little boys wore dresses too, until about age 3 or so!  The original ad for this said it was made out of flannel, which I think will make an interesting look.


And this final apron is so cute, love it, but WOW ~ I hate the way I messed up the face.  How cheesy is it that I left it like that?  Would it help to know that I redid the face 4 times, and that THAT was the final awful end?
 
Next post I will show pics of the finished items. 

7 comments:

Larson said...

Funny thing that... the first thing I noticed as I was scrolling down was the face... thought 'WOW, kinda missed on that one!!!' My next thought was - 'oooh, she already made some of these... I want to see.' So, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of your next post....

redhead83402 said...

ROFLLL~I know ~ I know ~ this is the thing, though, I never was claiming artistic skills! ~ lol!!! ~

Melanie said...

I'm glad to have discovered your blog! Love what I've explored so far & love the 1920's.. did you do all the drawings yourself?

redhead83402 said...

hi! Yes, that line art is mine, but ~ it's just a rendition straight from a catalog ~ they already had the picture there, all I had to do was re-make what I saw.
:-D Tony was so excited to bump into you the other night ~ we were laughing so much about your son & his s-word & d-word & the appropriate time to say them & all!!! Kids are sooo funny! You write so well! Your blog is hilarious!

Aili said...

I'm really interested in the "panty frock" pattern. Did you ever end up making it in a human child size? I really want to make my son a shirt like the one Christopher Robin wears in the original illustrations, and that's the closest thing I've seen.

redhead83402 said...

Alisha ~ hi! Yes I did make the panty frock pattern in human child size. The original catalog sale item is made out of a quality flannel. I know that now-days that might not seem quite right, but from everything I've researched, that would be period appropriate. On the other hand, if it's for more than just pictures, a nice linen blend with high-thread count quilting cotton for contrast would also look period & probably hold up a lot better, & seem less ~pajama-y~. I believe the flannel used to be so much better than what we can get ahold of today. If you are interested in the pattern, email me @ redhed83402 @ msn dot com.

amy.halsey said...

Love your stuff! I'm looking for something a little unique. My father will turn 100 in September and we are planning a party. We have a photo of him about age 4 in what looks like a WWI uniform complete with a hat, and
a little flag in his hand. We would love to re-create the look for my grandson. Have you ever seen anything like this?