I love vintage sewing patterns. They bring back days gone by. Finding patterns is fairly easy. Many Simplicity and McCalls patterns are found at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales and swap meets. Online shopping sites like eBay and Etsy are filled with vintage patterns for sale. But, how do you find out about the patterns? How do you know if a seller is correctly representing the age and date? Unlike collectible coins, stamps, and trading cards, vintage patterns do not have a price guide.
To research a particular pattern, you need several things. First, you need the pattern number and the manufacturer. An estimated date and picture of the pattern envelope is extremely helpful. Internet access, either via a phone, tablet or computer is required.
I have two favorite research sites for vintage patterns. The first is CoPA, short for Commercial Pattern Archives. This is a huge collection of vintage patterns curated by the University of Rhode Island. Here you find dates and images of the pattern envelopes. You need a pattern company and pattern number to search. Registration is required and it is free. Email them for access. It takes about a week to process the request. A companion to this resource is the book, “A History of the Paper Pattern Industry”, by Joy Spanabel Emery. It makes a great read, if you are into non-fiction business, or a wonderful reference book.
My second favorite and free resource is the Vintage Pattern Wiki. Again, searching is possible with a pattern company name and number. It is important to note that on this website, the search engine makes a distinction between McCall’s and McCall (older patterns). Try both if you cannot find what you are looking for. The patterns on this site are uploaded by users, overall, the information is pretty accurate. Unlike CoPA, the wiki provides links to shops selling patterns and to blog posts about the patterns.
An important note: neither of these sites have actual patterns to buy or download. They are strictly reference sites and are a good starting point if you are researching a particular pattern company or pattern number.
I hope you found this post useful. If you have, please let me know in the comments.