The Great Pattern Review
Past Patterns: Vintage Revivals
(formerly Attic Copies)
#1527 - Flap Collar Dress Coat: Circa 1933-1934
Greta de Groat - Recommended
This is a pretty easy and straightforward pattern. If you are not quite the 36 bust the pattern is sized for, it may gap at the neck. If using the odd asymmetrical collar you can ease it onto the collar, otherwise you can get rid of a couple of inches by easing it onto a shortened facing. The dress is shown in cotton, and it looks better in person than in the picture. I think it would make up better in wool (unfortunately you can't see my fun cicada buttons). Joan Crawford wears a similar dress in Grand Hotel. I like the sleeves so much that I've added them to a couple of other dresses.
#1865 - Ladies' Nine-Gored Skirt: Circa 1900
Sheri Jurnecka - Not Recommended
A lot of trouble to size. There are other and better patterns available for walking skirts.
#2344 - Ladies' and Misses' Long-waisted Dress: Circa 1925
Sally Norton
I made the long-sleeved, double-breasted option. The finished dress is very attractive and flattering to any body type. It's the type of dress that can be worn to a period event and have a home in your everyday work wardrobe. There are some drawbacks to working with this pattern. There is a sheet of instructions but, it looks as thought a fragment of paper was laying on top of the sheet when the original photocopy was made. The result is that only a few random words can be seen. The instructions are mostly blank; therefore, this is a project for sewers with Intermediate experience. It's not a difficult dress but, you will need experience in how to lay out a pattern for cutting and how dresses of the mid-1920s were put together. I made one change: the pleats are only in the front of the skirt. I added them to the back. I felt the muslin looked skimpy without the pleats in back. It was a good change. Now the skirt moves nicely. This dress was made for winter in a medium weight wool. Vintage buttons were used which really finish off the garment nicely. I can't really recommend a pattern without instructions but, if you have experience using vintage patterns from this era, then you'll probably be fine. I think the result is a beautiful dress. I might make make the short-sleeve, side-button option for Spring. It would be very pretty.
#2957 - Ladies' Nine-Gored Skirt: Circa 1909
Sheri Jurnecka - Not Recommended
A lot of trouble to size. There are other and better patterns available for walking skirts.
#3139 - 1911-1913 Princess Dress
Kathleen Morris - Recommended
Very easy to put together but, I made no attempt to match the pattern (even though it was striped) in the side pleats. If I'd done that, the dress would have a more finihsed look but, I would have gone crazy. I opted to just make a nice dress. It gives a nice line and is quite slimming. I made it as a traveling gown out of heavy a striped cotton. It's very comfortable. Kathleen is wearing the dress in the photo on the right.
Sally Norton
There are four panels of pleats and it is very tricky to get them right. If they are even a little bit off, it's glaring and ruins the whole dress. I finally decided to recut the side front and side back pieces extending them to full length. From then on it was easy. The dress has few pieces and few seams; it's easy to scale. I added a demi-train; taking inspiration from a Redfern 1908 dress. I changed the sleeve slightly to copy the Redfern dress. The pattern has a long, straight sleeve; I cut it off at the elbow and added an undersleeve. The finished dress is quite elegant. Recommended for beginners with some prior experience. I would attempt the pleated version again but, next time, I'll use a non-slippery fabric.
#4051 - Women's Dressing Sacque: Circa 1907
Greta de Groat - Recommended
There are two views--i combined the large flat collar with the long sleeves (cuffs are from Past Patterns 9025, belt and tie are not included). This is advertised for a 34 bust but a narrow back. I had to add about 2 inchess to the back seam and adjust the collar. I left the front fullness but it hung down a little too low, so i had to shorten the front by about 1 1/2 inches and grade to the side. Otherwise it wasn't complicated to do. There were no real instuctions on how to fasten, so i concealed buttons under the front placket. You could wear it tucked in, or out as illustrated.
#4526 - Ladies' Party Dress: Circa 1922-1923
Bridget Conlogue
This dress was very easy to put together, and has more detailed instructions than the earlier patterns. I made this dress for a young friend for her prom, and we were somewhat disappointed with the results. The skirt is very tightly gathered, and all that fullness falls right at the hipbone, adding rather unattractive girth to a very normal figure. If I made this dress again, I would probably choose a very soft, drapey fabric for the bodice, take out a skirt panel or two, and perhaps raise the waistline about an inch. It probably didn't help matters that we chose a chiffon for the skirt, and therefore had to line it, adding bulk.
#4560 - Ladies' and Misses' Slip-on Dress: Circa 1926-1928
Kalyn Shubnell - Highly Recommended
It's an easy pattern. It's versatile in the pattern choices and ideas. The instructions were easy to follow, although the print could have been better. The pictures of the zipper were a little difficult to read. I liked the suggested design ideas the the "follow the number" picture. It's a good dress for a novice. I recommend it. Kalyn is wearing the dress in the photo on the right.
#4795 - Ladies' Five-Gored Skirt: Circa 1911-1912
Bridget Conlogue
The finished article looks great, but I don't recommend this pattern for the inexperienced seamstress or one without a dress form. I made it up in navy blue wool gabardine. There are double pleats in the back that are to be stitched down past the hips; if they are not set correctly the side gores buckle and sag. I tried to follow the pattern markings for these pleats, but wound up using them only as a guide, and pinned and re-pinned on my dress form until the skirt lay smoothly over the hips. The pleated godet at the left side front is a bit tricky because the instructions are minimal. I assumed that the closure was supposed to be at the left front, and I improvised a bit here because I don't have a 22" waist, even with a corset. As usual, I made a muslin mock up before cutting into the wool. All the pleating gives plenty of room for walking. The skirt is not as narrow as it looks in the drawing.
#4998 - Party Frock and Jacket: 1929
Autumn Carey-Adamme - Highly Recommended
It's a simple pattern and very easy to alter. I changed the shoulder straps. The finished garment is a pretty dress and comfortable to wear. Autumn is on the left.
Anita Klein - Highly Recommended
Very easy. Great for a beginner. With the addition of sparkly trim at the neck and waistband, it's a wonderful dress for evening. The only problem I had was the fabric (satin); it was my first time working with slippery fabric and it was tricky. Anita is on the right.
Chantel Tracy - Highly Recommended
Not difficult to construct. I made it out of muslin first and shortened the back of the bodice, which then, of course altered the curve of the skirt attached, so that was a challenge. My advice is get a friend to help you with your muslin and then make it out of a lovely fabric. I'd make it again; it is my sweetheart's favorite dress.
#5328 - Skirts: 1910 - 1915
Margaret DeLap - Recommended only for intermediate sewers.
Like many of the Attic Copies patterns, there are no instructions for fastenings, and yardages are partially given for odd fabric widths. There is a facing with darts for the high waistline, but no piece is given for the sash illustrated. The skirt is simply shaped and people with drafting ability could feasibly save themselves the cost of the pattern (although the circular flounces are convenient). Otherwise, it's in proportion for its time and will most likely need alteration.
#6129: Ladies' and Misses' One-piece Wrap-around Negligee: Circa 1929-1930
Gladys Campbell - Recommended
For experienced sewers. It's not a difficult pattern but, the information is limited so you'll need to have knowledge of fabric grain and how pattern pieces fit on the body so you can lay out the pattern pieces. Their are no instructions for grain line or cutting. The pieces are correct and do fit properly. Even though this is a loose-fitting dress, you should make a muslin first. I made some additions to the pattern you may want to consider. I cut the left front side wider so I could attach it in the right side seam. This way the wrap front does not gap, flap or sag. I added buttons all the way down the front and loop closure. It adds a more finished, tailored look. The trimming is cut out of a second piece of fabric; I hand-finished all the edges and attached the trim by hand. The finished dress suggests the designs of Erte and really does look like an original garment from the twenties.
#7122 - Ladies' & Misses' Day Dress: 1932
Sally Norton - Highly Recommended
I made the version with the short, full sleeves in a light silk for summer. The actual sewing of this dress is easy. It goes together beautifully and the result is wonderful. However, getting to the point where you will sew all the pieces together takes considerable time. You must make a muslin. All the pieces are different diagonal shapes. You cannot make any guesses on fitting. You have to make a muslin and then start making adjustments. I added ties inside at the waist on the right side and I added snaps to the wrap cross-over front. I also attached the wrap waistband to the side with a snap and added a satin rosette on top. The dress is so beautiful I'm now curious to see how the long-sleeve version would make up in a light wool for fall.
#8159 - Ladies' Dress with Two-Piece Skirt: Circa 1917-1919
Loren Dearborn
Confusing directions. Some of the steps were left out. The pattern pieces are confusing to someone used to modern patterns. Not difficult. I chose the side openings so the dress just pulls on overhead. Appropriate for intermediate skills.
#8211 - Ladies' 1913 Day Dress
Trystan L. Bass
For the GBACG's Edward Gorey Dinner in 1998, I wanted to create an outfit that looked like I could have stepped out of one of Gorey's elegant, sparse, black and white drawings. There wasn't a specific character I wanted to recreate (as some others did tho'). So I emulated the lack of color and the gothic, vaguely historical elements found in Gorey's illustrations. I chose a vintage Attic Copies pattern for a 1913 day dress and used black and grey materials. The pattern had no instructions, so I floundered about a bit trying to piece together the parts. My interpretation wasn't totally historically accurate, but then, neither were Gorey's drawings. The dress consists of three parts -- a long, straight, black skirt with two pleats in the front (one of which conceals the skirt closure); an overskirt that is short in the front and falls in two pleated tails in the back, which I made of silver-grey lace on a black band; and a loose, surplice-style blouse with a deep V neck and long sleeves, all made in black and accented with ruffles of the silver-grey lace at the neck and wrists. I pinned a black and silver brooch at the neck (as much for decoration as to keep the blouse securely fastened) and sewed vintage black cord-and-jet trim at the neck and wrists.
#8714 - Ladies' Dress: Circa 1916-1918
Bridget Conlogue
I used a black and white wool houndstooth and mad the collar and sash from black faille. I didn't make the over-blouse. The pattern pieces go together very easily. There are virtually no instructions; yet, it is not too difficult to figure out. The tricky part (if one is unfamiliar with how teens dresses were put together) is how to join the skirt and bodice. It doesn't clearly explain that the bodice closes at the center front and the skirt closes at the left side. To join these pieces, you must attach the the bodice and skirt to an inner stay-belt. The sash (you must make your own pattern for this piece) covers the raw edges of the join. I've had enough experience with teens dresses to do this with ease but, I think a person without familiarity with this type of construction would be completely lost, especially since there is no reference to a stay-belt. The instructions give a very brief explanation of using a casing with elastic at the waist but, I believe this is to make the dress suitable for maternity wear as it says on the pattern cover. Bridget is wearing the dress in the photo on the right.
#9003 - Ladies' Six-Gored Skirt: Circa 1915
Greta de Groat - Recommended
This is supposedly sized for a 28 inch waist and 42 inch hips, so I expected to have the waist fit but the hips be too big. I was surprised to find it too big all over, but you can easily plan to adjust it at the sides before you add the pockets. Except for the pleats, the rest of the markings are only so-so, but you can figure them out. No fastening instructions (The buttons are decorative only), but the pocket sort of makes a self-placket if you leave one partially open and hook the skirt waistband over it. Since I made it of heavy denim, a tight inside belt was essential, since I chose the high-waist variant. I think this would be pretty in wool. I was surprised at its slimming effect. See Greta's skirt pictured below with her #9025 Ladies' Waist: Circa 1915 review.
#9025 - Ladies' Waist: Circa 1915
Greta de Groat - Recommended with reservations.
This had no usable markings at all--those that were there were not accurate. You can't tell from the pattern illustration, but it is intended to be full in front and gathered on a waist-stay. Unfortuantely, I wanted a standard blouse, so I lengthened it by several inches (then had to shorten in front because the fullness made it hang too low--I never did get it even.) The cuffs are way to large for my wrists and i had to reduce them (the turnback cuff variant can be seen is on the photo of Past Patterns 4051). I couldn't figure out where to put the collar, so I used a strip of selvage to finish the neck, completely finished to collar, and then sewed them together by hand after I had it all buttoned. Surprisingly, it came out just about how I wanted it. I'm glad I made it in droopy fabric (silk matelasse) because in cotton the fullness would have made it too poofy.
#9225 - Ladies' Dress: Circa 1917-1918
Bridget Conlogue
The pattern pieces fit together very well, but of course you are on your own as far as how it closes. The collar was confusing in how to attach it. I finally left it off, and just have the yoke. The pattern is very narrow in the back shoulders - good thing I made a muslin first and added width. I closed the bodice on the left side. I didn't add a placket to the skirt as it is loose fitting without the sash; it can be easily slipped over the head. I made the dress in yellow and white voile, with the "vest" and yoke of embroidered net. The finished dress is really lovely, and well worth the initial detective work. Ann O'Neil is wearing the dress made by Bridget in the photo on the right.
#9467 - Ladies' and Misses' Empire Coat: 1916 - 1920
Kathleen Crowley - Not Recommended
This is a difficult pattern. I used velvet which only added to the difficulty. This pattern is for people with advanced skills. The pattern runs large so you will probably have to cut it down.