| History Of McCall Pattern Company:
McCall Pattern Company started in 1870 in New York City. James McCall, an immigrant from Scotland was a Tailor with a small shop who kept up with European fashion trends and worked as a U S Agent for the English pattern company The Royal Chart.
He began to design his own patterns and published a four page magazine, "The Queen" to promote and advertise his patterns.
When James McCall died in 1884, his company continued to flourish. The magazines name changed to "The Queen of Fashion" and reached a circulation of more than 75,000.
McCall's started printing directly onto their patterns in 1919 and in the 1920's introduced full color printing on their envelopes illustrations. It has been stated that ALL McCall's have a copyright date, but I have found a few undated ones. But it is safe to say that nearly ALL McCall patterns are dated and they are the only company to consistently do so.
McCall Website
The pattern number is only an indicator of the date on vintage sewing patterns. You can’t use the number alone because the companies would start over again when they got to a certain level. You must consider the general silhouette of the clothing along with other factors such as hair, price, sizing and envelope style and logo placement you can get pretty close to the issue or copyright date. Please be aware that even if a pattern is dated, it could have been in production for years and could even be a re-release of a previous number.
Style eras often crossed decade lines. For instance it is very difficult to tell a 1938 pattern from a 1941 pattern. The basic style and design elements were the same. The same thing applies for 1959-1961 and again in the 60s and 70's. There is more difference between 1964 and 1967 that there is between 1969 and 1971.
Besides the general look and art work of vintage patterns, the sizing can be a very good indicator. In the beginning of Home Patterns, the bust measurement is often the only measurement given. By the 1940s patterns gave bust and hip measurements but often the waist was not given (due to the fact that the sewist could change that element).
Until 1956 a Size 12 was for a 30 inch bust. In 1956 sizing changed and a Size 12 was for a 32 inch bust. In mid 1967 the standard changed once again and a Size 12 became a 34 inch bust and remains so today. So if you are trying to date something near the year of size change, the size can be a great clue.
All Numbers listed have been found either on a dated pattern, or in a magazine or other publication of the period.
These pages are constantly changing as new information and new publications are found. So check back often to see the current changes.
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