ONE WEEK ONLY

For ONE WEEK ONLY the Commercial Pattern Archive at the University of Rhode Island is offering free online access! Login with the username "guest" and the password "pattern".

COPA has about 48,000 vintage patterns (including the small scale pattern piece images!) dating from 1868—2000. Believe me when I say you can be there ALL DAY. (Instructions for searching their archive are here.)

The cost for a full subscription, for individuals, is $120/year -- a bit pricey. But think of what you can find out in a week!

Comments

[Garnet]

Oooh! Thank you for letting us know! Ill be wasting a lot of time this week, it seems!

[Sarah]

Wow! Thank you so much for the tip. A busy week looms.....

[Packrat]

Thank you. Oh my, I had other things planned for this week. LOL

[Charles]

I see that they also have 3-month and 6-month subscriptions available, for a proportionately smaller cost. Also one can get the collection on four CDs for $360. Maybe not an option for many individuals, but if your local sewing guild has a library and everyone could pitch in $20 ...

[Erin]

The only problem with the CDs is that they dont work on Macs. :-(

[Sara]

Excellent! Thanks!

[Lisette]

The other problem with the CDs is that they have a less than half the images the online database gives you.I know lots of sewing groups are splitting the costs up between themselves.

[Miss Amelina]

I have died and gone to heaven....for a week, at least.

[Kate in England]

Wow, that is an INCREDIBLE resource - thank you so much for posting the link.

[Mary]

Am I missing something here? I can see pictures of the dresses, but what I really want is instructions on how to put the pieces together....

[bethany]

Thats what I am wondering too-are these just for looking at or can I actually use these patterns? And how?Thanks!

[harthad]

The FAQs indicate that you can enlarge the images of the pattern pieces and drape them yourself to recreate the garment. So it would appear that no instructions are available online. Still fun to look at them all, though.

[Kelli]

Thank you! Ive managed to waste several hours today already. :)I doubt these had instructions to begin with (or only very rudimentary ones). I have some German sewing magazines that come with the patterns stapled into the middle, and they have thorough directions like:attach sleeves and construct bodice I guess they expect a lot of knowledge (and luck!) :)

[Cookie]

I think I read at some pattern history site that maybe until the 1940s, many patterns didnt have instructions, or even markings on the patterns for darts or seam allowances...or anything! It was just a society where women sewed for themselves all the time (especially during the Depression), and it was just assumed the customer knew how to put in hems, finish seams, create gathers, place button holes, etc. etc. Women were taught how to sew by their moms and grandmas, and in junior and senior high school. And many went to 2-year finishing schools instead of college, all but the most ritzy of which were geared toward turning out a charming, gracious, somewhat-cultured, and CAPABLE homemaker who could at the least run up her own curtains and dresses...and maybe slipcovers for extra credit. Knowing sewing and cooking and housekeeping was these ladies JOB!

[Anonymous]

What pattern # is that on the link picture? That is perfect for some fabric I have. :)

[Ivalyn "Tee" Jones-Actie]

oh my, I saw so many patterns from when I was in Jr.High...I even saw my 1979 sr prom gown...brought tears to my eyes!!!!!!!

[Oldpatterns]

I was able to visit there a few years ago. Joy Emery is very nice! Ive worked with her on a few research projects.

[Erin]

That pattern is Advance 7827 ...

[Grateful Gramma]

I was wondering about instructions also. I am a VERY novice sewer (sew-er? seamstress??) but would love to be able to make some of these for my granddaughter. Not at all sure my skills are enough to drape the patterns though, whatever that means. Any suggestions from anyone? I thought about trying to enlarge the pieces but not even sure how to go about that to get them the right size.LOVE the pictures on the site so any help would be greatly appreciated!

[harthad]

Grateful Gramma--If youre a novice, just go to one of the many great vintage pattern dealers listed here on Erins site, or to ebay, and buy a pattern with real pieces and real instructions! Seriously, attempting to recreate any of these a teeny-tiny picture will only lead to tears. Draping is what fashion designers when they are creating a clothing design from scratch--working with muslin pieces draped on a dress form to determine the right shape and size. I consider my sewing skill level to be moderate, and I dont remotely have the chops to do it. Once you hit the 1940s-50s, youll find that most patterns have decent instructions. Or, try one of the reissued vintage patterns from one of the big pattern companies; theyre often re-tooled for modern fit and techniques.

[hathad]

bleh, should have said, attempting to recreate any of these FROM a teeny-tiny picture... Sorry.

[Grateful Gramma]

Thanks, hathad. Thats what I feared.... :-( It did seem too good to be true. But still lots of pretty pictures to look at, I guess.

[sarah]

Kathleen at Fashion Incubator has brought up a group subscription idea...looks like if she got 30 people it would be something like $8 a year, with 100 it would be less than $4! Surely we could get at least 30 people to do this...I need way more than a week!!

[Cookie]

Is it asking Erin too much to compile a list of willing group members, if we email her individually? This is, of course, the rebirth of the International Sewing Conspiracy. (We might need a link to the Conspiracys murky and shrouded history somewhere here, for readers who werent here when the shocking allegations rained down. Maybe we can build a profile entry at an indexed conspiracy research site?)

[Erin]

I have to admit I was treating COPA as a giant shopping list, more than as a source for actual patterns to sew with. :-)If folks want to do a group rate, Im up for it. Ive set up a google group, click on the link to ask to join. http://groups.google.com/group/copa_coop?pli=1