This Week's Pattern Story
Blue: My doctor gave me this brochure, girls, and guess what?
Plaid: What? What? You're killing me here.
Blue: It tells you HOW PEOPLE GET BABIES!
Red: No! Really? Really and truly?
Blue: You are SO not going to believe this.
Plaid: Look at me, I'd believe anything at this point. I'm beginning to give some credence to that "swallowed a watermelon seed" theory.
Blue: (whispers)
Red: You mean, that's it? No storks? No cabbages? I feel ... disillusioned.
Plaid: Huh. Well, I'll be damned.
Blue: That's what the preacher said. But wait until I show him THIS! It's all just science!
Red: I wonder if Jimmy knows? Won't he be surprised when I tell him!
Labels: maternity, patternstories, whatsthestory
posted by Erin @ 7:00 AM
30 Comments:
At Jun 8, 2009 7:13:00 AM,
Vegan said…
Hilarious!
If it weren't for the maternity clothes, view #3 woman looks like she's drunk and should have a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other. But back then, did they know that you shouldn't drink and smoke while pregnant?
At Jun 8, 2009 7:39:00 AM,
bani said…
Oh maternity clothes have come a long way, haven't they?
At Jun 8, 2009 7:58:00 AM,
Latter-Day Flapper said…
Man, that is a lot of fabric in that blouse. Seriously, with those pleats, this one looks like if you got caught in a stiff wind, it could blow right up over your head and expose you to the world.
At Jun 8, 2009 8:02:00 AM,
Rachel said…
I can't figure out what anyone needing a tent top would want to wear to wear a pencil-type skirt. It's cute in theory though.
At Jun 8, 2009 8:03:00 AM,
the_lazymilliner said…
Latter-Day Flapper - not necessarily. Depends on the fabric...besides don't you think these 1960s era mommies-to-be
are wearing something underneath unlike today's generation? They wouldn't walk out of the house without gloves and undergarments!
You never see pregnant women this covered up these days unlike they're movie extras.
At Jun 8, 2009 8:34:00 AM,
Rebecca Z. said…
I think my mom made this top, or one very similar to it, when she was pregnant with my youngest brother; circa 1968.
Thanks for the mammories.
At Jun 8, 2009 8:41:00 AM,
Joni said…
I actually like this one a lot and could see myself wearing something like it were I ever to get pregnant again. Also, I love the fact that you can actually TELL it's a maternity pattern - something that didn't seem to happen on pattern envelopes until about the '80s. (I have here in my hot little hands a maternity wrap dress pattern from the 1930s and I swear to you, the women are as thin as spikes. And it only mentions the word 'Maternity' on the BACK.)
At Jun 8, 2009 10:11:00 AM,
fabricgirl said…
Vegan - seems like a pregnancy meant a celebration with champagne! And baby showers were a room full of smoking women - many who were pregnant themselves! I had three kids in the seventies and amazingly even then there was no issue with smoking and drinking!
I love this top - it reminds me of tent-shaped maternity swimsuit I made in '72.
At Jun 8, 2009 11:06:00 AM,
Trudy Callan said…
I can't say that I'll be sewing vintage maternity clothes.
www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com
At Jun 8, 2009 1:34:00 PM,
Cookie said…
Rachel: It does seem like an odd combo, but the narrow, straight skirt with a tunic overblouse seems to have been THE maternity silhouette for public appearances in that era! There's this stuffy French vendous Geneviere Dariaux from the House of Nina Ricci who went on to write A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions, and she is a big fan of this look. And after reading her book, you're kind of afraid to contradict her!
I love this pic because it shows the three pattern illustration archetypes; Voracious Vixen (plaid), Happy Housewife (Blue) and Dimwit Dodo Bird (Red). Of course, I like poor little clueless Dodo Bird best...poor thing.
At Jun 8, 2009 1:42:00 PM,
Cookie said…
PS: Does Dimwit Dodo Bird have a pack of Marlboro Reds in her hand?? Hmm...still waters run deep....
At Jun 8, 2009 2:10:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
This is what pregnant women (it was called "expecting" then)wore in the '50s in my childhood. The slim skirt had a cut-out hole in the front with a verticle tape and a draw string to hold it together. Later, in the 60s, there were "maternity panels" that could be purchased at the fabric store to sew into the front of the skirt. Then the full and fancy top covered up the business part of the skirt. I know this because the Kansas wind did blow things askew sometimes.
At Jun 8, 2009 2:35:00 PM,
Melissa said…
The blonde in plaid makes me think of Peaches Geldof.
At Jun 8, 2009 2:42:00 PM,
meredithp said…
As usual, your "story" is a scream.
At Jun 8, 2009 3:52:00 PM,
Miss Rayne said…
Mrs (presumably) Blue: Well I'm glad I got this leaflet, I was just about to strat knitting one.
At Jun 8, 2009 4:08:00 PM,
anthrokeight said…
I kind of love how it's implied the preacher is kind of a moron "Poor guy, worrying about damnation! He doesn't need to be so fraught!"
And "it's just science!" Like "well, science you can wrap your head around. It's those insane stories about storks..."
This is why, in The Handmaid's Tale, women aren't allowed to read.
At Jun 8, 2009 9:19:00 PM,
theresa said…
My mom hated the maternity clothes in 61 when she was expecting my sister, so my dad (who is the master of all things) made my mom maternity clothes by adapting regular patterns.
At Jun 8, 2009 9:54:00 PM,
Elissa said…
I like how even though they're fairly obviously maternity clothes, both Blue and Red look much bigger in the back than the front. Did baby bumps come out the back in the old days?
At Jun 9, 2009 9:41:00 AM,
Melissa said…
@Elissa - maybe they were just aiming for some sort of symmetry!
At Jun 9, 2009 12:26:00 PM,
Cookie said…
<< My mom hated the maternity clothes in 61...so my dad made my mom maternity clothes by adapting regular patterns. >>
Wow. A God!
At Jun 9, 2009 1:38:00 PM,
AngelaBeth said…
You have GOT to see this dress.. I neeeed a pattern for this. Two pockets that actually double as FOUR. AMAZING.
http://store.makoollovesyou.com/shop/products/73-cimarosa
At Jun 9, 2009 9:02:00 PM,
Summer said…
Maternity dress..Cute! Love the thid dress, it kinda remind me of my moms maternity dress, when she is pregnant with my younger sister.=)Hope to see more from you, have a nice day.=)
A Writers Den
The Brown Mestizo
At Jun 9, 2009 9:30:00 PM,
A.D. said…
The weirdest thing about this pattern is in the top left corner. It says (as best I can tell), "size 11" and under that, "bust 29". WHO would have a 29 inch bust, but a child? I know people were smaller decades ago, but that is absurd!
At Jun 10, 2009 12:11:00 AM,
Kristin Meyer said…
I love, love, love this top.
At Jun 10, 2009 7:52:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
I want this look revived.
At Jun 11, 2009 11:13:00 AM,
phyllis said…
I'll take these any old day over the current
"let it all hang out during pregnancy" trend. I've seen WAY more boob and belly than I need to see! TMI TMI TMI ...
At Jun 11, 2009 8:53:00 PM,
Theresa said…
Thanks Cookie...all us girls pretty much think Dad is some kind of god...well superhero.
At Jun 13, 2009 11:08:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
Too cute...your commentary that is. I love it!
At Jun 15, 2009 9:16:00 PM,
goldilocks said…
I'm pregnant, and I'd wear that.
It is a lot less ugly than some of the maternity wear I see around here-- a sheer formfitting jersey T on a pregnant woman is, unless you are Gwyneth Paltrow, not at all lovely.
At Jun 18, 2009 7:05:00 AM,
Kristina said…
Even on Gwyneth Paltrow, it's not lovely. Modesty can be stylish too!
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