Vintage Sewing Patterns: Vintage 1940s and 1950s Blouse Patterns

Here are some adorable vintage sewing patterns from the 1940s and the 1950s for blouses! I especially love the vintage teen pattern for the 50s blouse with the peter pan collar, so sweet!







Image credits (L-R T-B): 1.] The Fancy Lamb, 2.] Coconut Pie, 3.] Glass of Fashion, 4.] + 5.] Cemetarian Hard Copy, 6.] Miss Betty's Attic, 7.] lost link, I'm sorry! 8.] Vivian Belle 1955

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Vintage Sewing Pattern of the Day: 1940s Simplicity Blouse Pattern

What a darling vintage blouse pattern! I love how versatile this blouse can be for modern wear. You can pair it with a high waist skirt and a little jacket or cardi for something sweet and a bit dressy or wear it with skinny trousers for a more casual look.


"The blouse is softly gathered at the front neck edges and tucked at the waist. Style I is fashioned with a narrow neckband and tied at the neck. The long sleeves are gathered to a wrist band. Style II is the short-sleeved version. A Peter Pan collar trims the neck of Style III. The blouse front is fastened with snaps and trimmed with attractive buttons."

Where to Buy It: Sew Mrs. P on Etsy

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Vintage Sewing Pattern of the Day: Vintage 1960s "Jackie O" Suit Separates

Loving this Jackie O inspired suit pattern but also love that it's a bit more youthful. It is a Petites pattern after all. I love that in the patterns description Petites in the 1960's meant 5'1 and under! (I would have been petite...now I'm SUPER petite, haha!)

If I could sew I would whip up this adorable vintage 60s suit separates, probably in large black and white herringbone print with big mod buttons!

Image credit: The Vintage Design Shop

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Vintage Sewing Pattern: Casual Daywear in the 1930s & 1940s

Vintage patterns never fail to inspire or have me wishing more than ever that I knew how to sew. (Is it too late for me to learn, I wonder?) These vintage sewing pattern images are also terrific for seeing what styles of shoes, handbags, hats, and gloves women wore with their dresses! And once in awhile you see a bit of jewelry too!


These vintage patterns all look simple and chic, but upon a closer look we notice the pleated details on the bodice, the small darts on the shoulders, the gored skirt, the slightly puffed sleeves, the buttoned cuffs... so many little details.

Image credits: All of these vintage 1940s and 1930s sewing patterns can be purchased at New Vintage Lady

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Vintage Sewing Pattern of the Day: Vintage 1970s Full Length Knit Cape by McCall's

If I had a magic sewing wand that with a simple flick of the hand, the garment I wish to sew would appear, this knit cape would be one of them. All right, I know knitting is not sewing, but you get the idea ^_^. I love that this cape borders between fantasy and chic classic.

Image credit: Vintage 1970s Cape Pattern from McCalls from Retro With Lana

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Vintage Sewing Patterns | Understanding the 1940s Dress Silhouette

It is important to note the emphasis on the shoulders in the 1940s dress silhouette. Some costume historians say this trend came about because of the growing responsibilities of the average woman in the 1940s, especially during the war years. Many men were sent off to war and the women assumed their positions in their absence. Perhaps broader shoulders were associated with being stronger, more confident, perhaps evoking that "Can Do, Will Do" attitude.


The broader shoulders also extended to jackets, blazers, coats, and blouses. The 1940s silhoutte can best be described with broader shoulders, nipped in waists, and a-line skirts usually calf length to falling a bit below the knee.

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10 Vintage Sewing Patterns from the 1940s & 1950s by Simplicity

One way to date vintage clothing is to peruse old vintage sewing patterns. You can find many of them on sites such as Flickr or search for them on Etsy. You will have a better understanding of what real women wore in comparison to what the Hollywood starlets wore. You can also find out what the trends were for that year. So if you're trying to learn more about dating vintage clothes, be sure to research vintage patterns!

Simplicity vintage sewing patterns are the most helpful in my opinion only because each envelope was stamped with a date! I mostly view Simplicity patterns to get a better date range for a vintage dress or blouse.



Descriptions: 1.} Rockabilly Vintage Blouse Pattern circa 1957 2.} 1940s Skirt Pattern 3.} Vintage Teen Dress Sewing Pattern circa 1949 4.} Low Back Blouse circa 1954 5.} 1950s Sundress Bolero Playsuit 6.} 1953 V Neck Summer Dress Sewing Pattern 7.} Vintage Blouse Patter circa 1947 8.} Cocktail Dress Vintage Pattern circa 1956 9.} 1954 Vintage Skirt & Petticoat 10.} 1940s Pinup Front Knotted Midriff Top With Shorts & Skirt

Image credits: All patterns are from Flickr from the Vintage Patterns group

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The 60s wasn't only about scooter dresses...

A lot of the full skirted, poufy flouncy dresses are associated with the 1950s, but what you may not know, is that these pretty poufy frocks were actually quite prominent in early 60s fashion.

When vintage dresses are placed in specific decades in the shop, it's sometimes based on what decade the dress is better associated with. Some dresses, especially when they fall in those blurry years (right at the end or start of a new decade), are just too hard to pinpoint an exact decade, so while a dress may appear from the 50s, it could actually be from the early 60s.

Don't you wish dresses required a time stamp? LOL!



Picture credits: 1.] Sugarpie Honeybunch, 2.] Rick Raven, 3.] same source, 4.] Astro Girl, 5.] My Sweetie Pie Pie, 6.] 1961 Vintage Dress Pattern from McCalls, 7.] 1960 vintage dress pattern, 8.] Family Circle, Summer 1960 Jackieinmi

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Vintage 1950s Blouse Sewing Patterns

One of the best ways to learn more about vintage clothing is to study vintage sewing patterns. The illustrations on the front really give a feel for what women wore day to day. I usually look at vintage patterns to determine the age of a garment, very helpful when it comes to dating vintage blouses and skirts as sometimes they're a little harder to date than dresses. Anyhow, without further ado... a few vintage blouse patterns from the 50s for you to enjoy!



How many different types of collars can you spot? Do you notice how tailored and streamlined the blouses were in the 1950s? It seems they were always worn tucked into a skirt (with a banded waist or worn with a belt). The sleeves are never fussy and loose, cuffs seemed to always be present (no elastic!). I am swooning over the white Vintage Vogue blouse with the horizontal tucks, I would wear it in a heartbeat!

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