Hi all,
I mentioned a few
posts back that I needed to get a more diverse range of sewingpatterns. Now, at the time, I meant that I needed to stock up on
clothing patterns like shirts, tops, jackets, and maybe leggings.
Did I also mention
that I am a pushover for soft toy patterns?
From rag dolls to teddy
bears, I have a growing collection of fluffy cuteness smiling at me from my
pattern box.
It wasn’t a shock
to me, or anyone that knows me, when these two beauties arrived in
the mail.
Well, actually it
was a bit of a surprise.
I was only really
expecting this one. It’s from 1974. McCalls UK60
The second, McCalls
4780, from 1975 was a bit out of the blue. I’m still not sure where, when or even if I ordered this one... It’s a very welcome
addition though.
The Wombles was a
British Children’s TV show based on the books by Elizabeth
Beresford. Cute little eco-warriors way ahead of their time.
Recycling rubbish left behind by humans on Wimbledon Common. The ever
resourceful Tobermory would refashion useful gadgets and gizmos for
the Womble burrow from the stuff they collected.
It’s great to be
able to compare two very similar patterns from two different years.
Both are in great condition and better still – uncut! I’m going
to guess that the reasons for the differences on near identical
patterns is down to the country they were released in.
Although it isn’t
specifically mentioned, the UK60 would have been aimed primarily at
the UK. The top left hand corner shows that it would have been UK
Price C. Unfortunately, I’ve no idea what that price would have
been. Two other bits of information from the pattern tell me this is
definitely for the UK. The instructions for fabric requirements ask
for double knitting wool for Orinoco’s scarf. Measurements are in
inches but show the metric conversion. The UK went metric in the
early 70s.
The other pattern
McCalls 4780, would have been aimed at the US and Canada markets. The
wool needed for Orinoco’s scarf is worsted weight and measurements
are only in inches. Canada went metric around 1975, the same time as
the release of this pattern. That’s probably why they got this one
instead of UK60.
Both patterns were
available in South Africa. I find this fascinating and so cool! I
never knew Wombles were a thing in the USA or Canada, never mind
South Africa. The pattern envelope is right! It really is a
“Wombleful World”.
The price for South
Africa on both patterns, even in two different years, is the same at
R1.35. From that I can assume the UK price would have been around the
same price as the US at 1.50GBP, give or take 10p here or there and
depending on what the exchange rate was back then.
I loved the Wombles
as a child and have to say, I’m tickled pink to own these two
patterns. I don't have any plans to make them... you never know though…
if I find the right fur fabric, maybe a bit of plush…
Is that eBay I can
hear calling?
Bye for now
Olly
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