I was visiting my parents recently and they had just cleared out the attic. Of course that meant a big bin of things for me to look through—old school work mostly. They had set aside a yellow file folder with something that might be of interest to me and I was intrigued. What was inside that yellow file folder? . . . I’ll show you!
When I was in home-ec class we did some projects where we made our own patterns. This involved some basic drafting, writing instructions, and creating the pattern envelopes. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about making these patterns. When I opened this folder It brought back so many memories and I had a moment where I was a bit stunned. I made these? I made patterns before I ever made patterns?
One of the patterns in particular I do remember sewing. This flared skirt out of a light blue wool poly blend. When I opened the pattern, there was even a photo of me wearing the skirt! Paired with a 2000’s classic—a Paul Frank tee. I haven’t changed a bit!
In another envelope I found some written pattern instructions on lined paper and a sketch of a cutting diagram. Again, it feels surreal to know that I had done this previously. Like a seed was planted in the back of my mind.
I love the cover art in particular on these patterns. I was a big Archie Comics fan as a kid and I would always draw my figures to look like Veronica or Betty. I also love the pattern company names and I feel like I may have missed an opportunity here. Should I start a spin-off pattern company? Red Lipped? Winkz? Let me know in the comments!
Shout out to my home-ec teacher Ms. Orchard for assigning this cool project! In case you missed it, our free Orchard Dress is named after her! You can read more about that here.
