Sunday, January 16, 2011

vintage pattern catalog: Lily 1940

I'm almost embarrassed to admit I don't remember buying this. :) It's possible the sweet seller that sent it with a recent order threw it in for free?  But I don't think so, because it's a real gem!  I just probably loved it on sight and ordered it (promptly forgetting.  Oops.)

 The original booklet is printed in a lime green color.  I converted to black and white because the lime green didn't scan very well.   Here's the cover:


I scanned the pages (only 6 pages long plus a back cover) to share with my vintage lovin friends, because the styles are so sweet, and of course, from my favorite era!  I've never seen a Lily pattern in person, Lily Mills Co. was located in Shelby, NC and manufactured threads, yarns, crochet cotton, and embroidery floss.  I wonder what happened to them?  A quick google search yielded lots of auctions and very little info.

The inside pages are below (although not in order, I think).

Love the little bolero in the top left:



 Pretty dresses for "town":


Oh gosh, you know 1940s blouses and tops are my weakness!!



  More lovely tops and suits:


Summery housedresses and an interesting apron/pinafore.  For as little as I like to clean house, I find it curious that vintage housedresses are my favorite style!


Some darling little girls' dresses:


 I didn't get the back cover scanned.  It doesn't have any clothing patterns on it though, just threads and the order form. 

In that same vintage pattern/book order, I got three GORGEOUS 1930s Ladies Home Journal magazines.  I would love to scan and share some of the beautiful pages with you, but it will take some finagling.  They are very large!  About the same height and width of a modern-day pattern catalog at Joanns, to give you an idea (not that thick of course!)  I'll try to get my favorite images scanned throughout the week. 

Off to work on my pants muslin!

6 comments:

  1. Sometimes those little house dresses are so cute, remind me of old photos of my grandmothers. Those are considered dressy in today's standards.

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  2. ummm - honey. You do know that just because you make and wear a housedress you are allowed to leave the house and not do any housework, right? g

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  3. Just found your blog! LOve IT! Hopefully it will inspire me to drag out my machine and make something.

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  4. Lovely catalog, the illustrations are beautiful and very inspirational!

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  5. Oh man, things like me make me wish that I wore cute dresses to "town" and hung around here in a house dress. Actually, I have often threatened to sew house dresses and wear them; maybe I should make good on that threat.

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  6. What a terrific vintage catalog to look at and be inspired by. Thank you for sharing!

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