One of the reasons I’m so focused on French patterns at the moment is that I own quite a few unpublished drafts from the French pattern magazine La Mode Pratique. The trouble is, I own the “wrong” issues.
My first run of the magazine runs from July to December of 1892. Let me quote the pattern instructions from issue 30 (2 Juillet 1892)
Robe en voile vert amande, petite veste en gaze vert amande à rayures vert foncé (fig 5)
Metrage: 4 m. 50 de voile.
Le corsage de cette roe est rentré sous la jupel il a devant forme d’une petite veste. Nous couperons une doublure d’apres l’explication parue dans le numéro 1 de la Mode Pratique.
From issue 31
Costume de petit garçon en serge bleu marin, blouse bleu marin, col blanc, et plastron rayé blanc et bleu, vareuse croisée avec revers sur lesquels on brode une ancre
Nous renvoyons au numéro 19 pour l’explications e la blouse de ce costume, qui est exactement semblable à celle que nous avons donnée; il en est de même du plastron et du col marin.
Both patterns build on what I don’t have, and this pattern continues for the rest of the year.
My second run is from 1897– and I lept on the chance to get those issues in the expectaion that I would receive the basic pattern instructions that I belived were included in issue number 1. Nope. Turns out that the January patterns refer to the November and December issues in 1896. Argh…
So, I’ve been pouring through old french pattern manuals from the 1890s in search of something that looks familiar… Of course, I coud try to find the exact issues of LMP I need. But given that they aren’t online, yet, tracking down them down is an iffy proposition,
Anyway, the computerized pattern for this post is from
Click on the picture for an interactive version of this pattern. Use the sliders to change the measurements
If you’d like to read a copy of LMP, Vol 1 issue 30, I’ve uploaded a copy here