Ageless patterns – This site provides costume designers with
an array of beautiful patterns specializing in the late Victorian era; however, ALL of these patterns are extremely difficult and come with little or no instructions. People attempting to make any of these garments should be well versed in an array of sewing techniques and should first make all appropriate undergarments for each dress in order to give the finished product the proper look. These outfits are reconstructions of actual Victorian clothes and will not fit or drape well unless supported by corsets, bustles, petticoats, etc.
http://agelesspatterns.com/
Folk Wear- This is a great pattern company for novice to intermediate sewers. It provides the seamstress with a wide selection of different looks for not only different eras but also for different ethnicities. There’s even an entire section dedicated to early European garb! These garments also mesh well with the styles of today’s fashion and can be altered to be either a historically appropriate costume or a valuable garment in your wardrobe; however, they were not meant to be placed over period undergarments. Be aware that while you may get a relatively accurate historical look, it won’t be dead on.
http://folkwear.com/
Truly Victorian- This pattern company specializes in the Victorian era and has an array of easy to make, historically accurate clothes. They also supply costume designers with patterns for corsets, draws, chemises, petticoats, bustles, and corset covers! Easy to follow directions and good results!
http://trulyvictorian.com/
Past Patterns – ONE OF MY FAVORITE SITES! This company has a huge selection of patterns from a variety of different eras and comes complete with easy to follow, step-by-step directions!
http://pastpatterns.com/
Simplicity and McCall patterns-BE CAREFUL! For the most part, these companies produce inexpensive, easy to make garments but they aren’t always historically appropriate and can sometimes end-up looking like a costume instead of an article of clothing. Remember, the goal of costume designing is to make your costumes look like actual articles of clothing, not like things purchased in a Halloween costume store.
Posts
Of your choices, Past Patterns are my favorites - and I have made ALL of them at least once. They are historically accurate and reasonably easy to construct. BUT - they actually DON'T have a huge line (Truly Victorian is bigger.) But they started offering patterns from a company that used to be called "Attic Copies" that, like Ageless Patterns, have the original, MINIMAL instructions. These are the patterns that are repros of old Simplicity, Butterick, and McCalls patterns. They are MUCH harder to deal with and I haven't liked the results of some of them, frankly. These are all the teens, '20's, '30's, '40's patterns they have on their site that are obviously "different".
ReplyDeleteFor 20th century costume patterns, I would recommend actual vintage patterns you can get on the web or repros from Eva Dress or the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. Caution: instructions have't been "dumbed down".