Customer Reviews

Garment Patterns: 1889

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Garment Patterns 1889 appears to be an unaltered reprint of the original National Garment Cutter drafting manual. It has all the virtues and drawbacks of such reprints. It's entirely original, but there is no information added to help modern dressmakers--no comments, additional instructions, glossary, bibliography, or index. The original publisher provided general drafting instructions, plus brief drafting instructions for each pattern, but no sewing instructions. If you don't already know how to assemble and trim 1880s garments, you need to research that elsewhere. This book contains 29 patterns for women's garments (including some partial outfits and stray separate pattern pieces), 35 patterns for children's, and 11 patterns for men's. Unfortunately, the printing quality is poor, with faint pattern lines and damaged illustrations. However, this book is easier and cheaper to buy than the original manual (which would probably look just as beat up). And, there are some great women's clothing patterns (my area of interest). No evening dresses or corsets are included, but there is a fair amount of street wear and lingerie, and a wrapper.

This is a book for the intermediate to advanced seamstress, Victorian enthusiast or re-enactor. It is an illustrated catalogue of original pattern diagrams that you can reproduce using a ruler on a sort of x/y axis system. Seems complicated, but it isn't. You start at a point in the corner, drawing one line out horizontally, then another down vertically so that they are perpendicular, like the corner of a square. You then mark the dots they give the measurements for.. and connect the dots to create the pattern piece.

Only problem is, the pattern diagram comes in one size. To scale it to your size, there is usually a sort of curved template piece [similar to the modern tool called a French curve] and a set of rulers [called "apportioning scales"] that are all different sizes. You choose the one that corresponds to your bust measurement, and when you use that particular ruler to redraw the pattern diagram full-size, it automatically adjusts the whole pattern to your measurement. Easy! Only trouble is, the apportioning scales are not included in this book, so you're stuck with the one size of diagram provided. Not a disaster, but requires more effort to resize and refit the pattern to you.

Still, even with that it's a great little book. The sewing directions are garbage, but that's the fault of the original magazines these pattern are reprinted from. Dresses, jackets, wraps, etc. A great resource for someone serious about Victorian costume/history with some decent sewing experience.