Restoring and preserving vintage sewing patterns

Tributes

  Long after the items sewn are outgrown or worn out, we retain special memories of the people and moments that made sewing an important part of our lives. Perhaps it was a breathtaking dress or an afternoon spent planning together. Or remembering a moment that was happy at the time -- and now being old and wise enough to appreciate its true value. Or simply years of moments woven together into the fabric of our lives.

We've been privileged to hear many such stories over the past year -- and truly honored to have so many families entrust entire pattern collections to us. This page shares those stories with you. Yes, some of the people we pay tribute to here are gone and sorely missed, or elderly and frail. But it's a tribute in and of itself that these stories are so full of laughter and love.

  We'd like to thank Gail K., without whom this page -- and perhaps the entire Trade area of Pattern Rescue -- would not exist. We hope to share her mother's story with you soon.

Editor's Note: You know someone truly has the sewing "bug" when they can not only identify the occasion of old family snapshots, but also the patterns used to sew the outfits they were wearing! Kay attributes her great sewing memories to her mother, whose influence remains strong with her daughters and continues to bring comfort to others.

Pattern Rescue member Kay not only donated hundreds of patterns from her stash and some of her mother's collection, she also dug out photos to share. The top left photo shows them on the day Nicky was sworn into the U.S. Navy. (Mom looks both proud and apprehensive, don't you think?) The right hand photo is Kay in the last dress her Mom made for her (Simplicity 2575 from Easter 1959). Another Easter a few years later found Kay and Nicky posing in the dresses they'd each sewn for themselves, shown at bottom left. Kay continues the story:

Mom died unexpectedly in September 2006, at age 93 and 7 months (exactly), after a brief illness. She'd been in great health most of her life, but hated slowing down....we always saw her as much younger than her years, game for just about anything. Thankfully, Mom's mental facilities did not diminish! And, though her apparel sewing days were behind her at the end, she still enjoyed sewing quilts for Project Linus....my sisters would give her pre-cut fabric that she sewed together to make what we affectionately called "Nicky quilts" that were then donated to children in stressful and traumatic situations at local hospitals, shelters, etc.

Sewing was a lifelong passion for Nicky that she passed on to her daughters and the community:

What a mom! She certainly inspired me to sew, and my sisters, too.....the three of us are now heavily into sewing quilts for PROJECT LINUS, more so than creating clothing for ourselves....though my youngest sister sews costumes for a local Children's Theatre group.

Thanks, Mom, for turning loose the sewing "bug" on me....from the time I started sewing doll clothes by hand (around age 8), to mastering Grandma's treadle machine, to all the hours I spent on my own clothes in school and beyond.

Editor's Note: Project Linus has local chapters throughout the United States. For more information, start at their website at www.projectlinus.org.

Editor's Note: Many thanks to the Lindberg family for introducing us to their amazing mother - and selecting us to receive her collection. Dr. Lindberg's patterns will be the first of many Special Collections featured in the Trade area (beginning late January 2009).

In the words of her daughter, Nora:

Charisma Madson Lindberg, whose patterns her children have passed on to Pattern Rescue, was a Great-Grandma, a sewer, PhD., teacher, gardener, and Norwegian who lived one heck of a life for 81 years. She raised 5 children, and had 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Born in Savage, Montana, in 1926, Cherry grew up in Montana and Aneta, ND, was a licensed private airplane pilot, an Ohio State University PhD, granddaughter of a circuit-riding pastor, a world-class opera singer, and a breast cancer survivor. She taught at Ohio State University and at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina; she was an Elementary Schools Psychologist in NC, and the Child Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Buncombe Co. (NC) District Attorney.

We remember Mom making our matching polka-dot outfits back in the 1950s from iron-strong cotton; we passed those outfits on to friends! Mom made our Easter dresses, her own clothes, our Dad's clerical stoles, our cowboy costumes, and 1 sister's wedding dress. In later years, she sewed hundreds of little bears to give to children she met through the court system in Asheville where they endured their families going to court. And that's just the beginning: Mom spun wool and made it into wall hangings; she made Halloween costumes for friends, and with some kid-friends made prize-winning gingerbread houses that were displayed at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. May her spirit live on through her many precious things!

Editor's Note: It's always a pleasure to know that we've played a small part in reminding a mother and daughter of a special moment -- especially when it gives the daughter a chance to say "thank you" for something that she really couldn't appreciate at the time...

Pattern Rescue member Laura was delighted to spot this Butterick petal dress pattern on the Trade pages last year, and wrote:

After a little prompting, Laura sent us a photo from that long-ago school event (despite her misgivings about the hair-do). The pattern arrived in time for Mother's Day, when she traveled to visit her Mom. Laura was good enough to fill us in later:

O my mom was just delighted! I asked her if she had the pattern to make that dress... She couldn't remember but agrees that she probably just saw it and then made it using another pattern with a simple bodice and gathered skirt design then added the petals. Money was almost non-existent and for me to have been chosen to march in the school royalty must have been bitter-sweet. I looked as good as anyone else there and thought I was just the "cat's pajamas" !! My mom.... an amazing lady :)

Editor's Note: The family of Rosemary Rozum-Yirka was kind enough to donate her entire pattern collection to Pattern Rescue. After a lifetime of sewing, that amounted to more than 1000 patterns -- which will eventually be featured as a Special Collection. What a lucky family -- and how kind of them to share Rosemary's treasures with us!

Rosemary Rozum-Yirka's family wanted us to know this about her:

It was her act of love to sew clothes for her family. She truly had a zest for life and filled it to the fullest. Rosemary had a talent for gardening, ceramics, crocheting, quilting and other crafts. She had champagne taste on a beer budget, but that didn't stop her from giving her family a beautiful wardrobe.

Rosemary was precision oriented and everything in her home had a place and use. Every Saturday she would spend the day listening to the Metropolitan Opera, doing the laundry, and sewing clothes for her four children, husband and herself. It was this mix of family, classical music, beautiful fabric, and challenging patterns that kept her sewing day after day. Rosemary later took up sewing for her seven grandchildren. Every holiday or special occasion was cause for spending hours at the craft store selecting fabric and patterns.

It would bring her great joy to know that you will be continuing her legacy of love with your sewing projects.

  There's much more to come, but we wanted to get the page started. Updates are generally done on Monday, with new tributes added to the end of this page -- and eventually we'll go on to Page 2 and Page 3 and so forth.

If you're a Pattern Rescue member (or non-member who has donated a loved one's patterns) and would like to do a tribute but don't know what to say, just email us with some casual comments or stories. Although we prefer to use your own words whenever possible, but we're happy to help if writing's not your thing. And it doesn't need to be long.

From time to time you'll also find an extra tidbit or two featured in A Clutter of Patterns -- just look for the "Tributes" tag.