{"title":"From Paper Patterns to Patterns-on-Fabric: Home Sewing in Sweden, 1881–1981","authors":"Gunilla Törnvall","doi":"10.3366/cost.2023.0245","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"From the end of the nineteenth century and one hundred years onward, home sewing was an important part of many women’s duties, but it was also a pleasure, something that existed parallel with the emerging mass-produced ready-to-wear industry. The paper patterns used for home dressmaking were often sold and distributed through women’s magazines. These pattern sections were both a kind of reader service and a conscious strategy to capture the female target group. This article, based on an analysis of three Swedish magazines, is the first in-depth survey of patterns for home sewing of women’s clothes in Sweden. The study shows how the magazines adapted to changes in society with increasingly easier patterns and ready-cut fabric for their readers. By highlighting women making their clothes in the home, this article contributes to an often-neglected area of women’s memory and fashion history.","PeriodicalId":51969,"journal":{"name":"Costume-The Journal of the Costume Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Costume-The Journal of the Costume Society","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3366/cost.2023.0245","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
From the end of the nineteenth century and one hundred years onward, home sewing was an important part of many women’s duties, but it was also a pleasure, something that existed parallel with the emerging mass-produced ready-to-wear industry. The paper patterns used for home dressmaking were often sold and distributed through women’s magazines. These pattern sections were both a kind of reader service and a conscious strategy to capture the female target group. This article, based on an analysis of three Swedish magazines, is the first in-depth survey of patterns for home sewing of women’s clothes in Sweden. The study shows how the magazines adapted to changes in society with increasingly easier patterns and ready-cut fabric for their readers. By highlighting women making their clothes in the home, this article contributes to an often-neglected area of women’s memory and fashion history.
期刊介绍:
Costume is the journal of the Costume Society. It is a scholarly, refereed, academic publication presenting current research into historic and contemporary dress. The journal publishes articles primarily object-based, from a broad chronological period and with a worldwide remit. Costume maintains a balance between practice and theory and concentrates on the social significance of dress. Articles are welcomed from established researchers and those new to the field. The articles published in Costume are sent out for peer-review to ensure that they are of a high standard and make a contribution to dress history.