Hi
all,
With
summer just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about updating my
summer wardrobe with something other than shorts.
Something
practical, stylish and summery. I’m thinking skorts. A cross
between a skirt and shorts, they’ll add variety and maybe even a
bit of chic to a warm weather ensemble.
McCall's 4388 from 2004 looks like it might fit the bill. It’s a used
pattern for two skirts and a skort.
The pattern is cut to the largest
size but a quick count confirmed all the pieces are present and
complete.
My tracing heart skipped with joy when I opened this one. The previous owner was a pattern tracer. I know this because the traced copies are still in the envelope.
Reading
the copied pieces gives me an insight into the original stitcher.
From the shape of the pieces she traced, her intended garment was also the skort. She traced the pattern around late April 2004 and, she lived in Pennsylvania. Most likely, Shamokin Pennsylvania. I also know she was making Simplicity 5767 at the same time.
It would appear that arsenic in pressure treated wood was also a concern. Particular when used in garden decking. Which is a bit random coming from a sewing pattern.
I
can understand why arsenic was such a concern though. As a highly poisonous substance, it was also a worry where I used to live in the
UK.
The county of Cornwall was heavily mined for tin. Arsenic was a
by-product of the mining. It was such a problem that miners had to be
very careful eating their lunch because their hands would be covered
with it.
To get around that, a thick edge crust was made around one side of traditional Cornish Pasties. The miners would hold the pasty by the crust, eating everything but the edge.
It’s amazing what nuggets of information you can pick up from the weirdest of places. Who would have thought a sewing pattern from Pennsylvania could lead to trivia about arsenic in Cornwall?
You may be wondering how I know so much about the history behind this particular pattern. Well, the previous owner supplied me with a reliable source.
She
used newspaper as tracing paper.
Using newspaper for the traced pattern pieces was inspirational and incredibly helpful for a pattern detective like me.
There are some things that an old newspaper from 2004 can’t help with. Which leads to an interesting question. How do I know she was also making Simplicity 5767?
Well, I have to thank the previous owner for that one too.
She
left the instructions in this envelope.
Bye for now
Olly
For more sewing tips and adventures, follow me:
Comments
Post a Comment