The Golden Dressmaker

It sounds like a 1950's film title.
Instead it's a 1950's text book for "cutting your own patterns which will save you pounds in cash and hours in time"...sigh, I love this! 1st you will need to work out how to use the obscure tiny ruler that is the key to drafting all the patterns in the book.  It's rare to find the book and the ruler together, yet here they are, having lived 50+ years in my MIL's bookcase.

I confess this kind of 'challenge' is the perfect rainy weekend afternoon for me. Add in a coffee & old movie in the background & it's a happy studio bunny up here in the hills!

But what to make first?  The classic mens BBQ shirts on p128, or the petticoats, which I'm sure will be useful, on page 72  or cocktail frocks p 65.

Not since plotting out 5th scales at uni have little pattern diagrams looked so strange.  While studying pattern drafting we worked our trial pattern designs to 1/5th of full scale . Mostly my fellow students disliked this immensely, it's fiddly and exacting. I found it strangely calming. I love pattern making and am possibly a bit strange this way.  Like nutting out instructions for furniture construction, or indeed, working through the occassional Ikea instruction booklet...this little ruler is perhaps the equivalent of an Ikea allen key!  and the pictures are delightful.  I cannot decide -  to keep the book (300 pages, 275 'illustrated models') or let it go to a new home.  I'm drawn to letting it live on my bookshelf for a while, it's just too much fun!

Enjoy the pics.