Following a 1970s Sewing Pattern : Sewing through the Decades

We've moved into a decade where knees are visible. Which means we are nearing the end!

Fabric from Fabric Mart
Shoes from Nine West
Pattern (Style 4528) from Etsy

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About me:

My name is Angela Clayton, I’m a twenty year old designer and seamstress who is currently living on Long Island, in NY.

I’ve been sewing for five years and focused on period costumes and original designs for the last three. I make costumes for fun and to expand my skill set so I can hopefully get a job in the industry someday.

I can be contacted with inquires about paid work via the email above.

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[SpiritBear]

As some one who was alive in the late 60s though the 70s, that dress is like a flash back to me. LOL

[rowenawragg]

I'm from the UK and have used Style patterns before. I am almost sure I've got this pattern. I have kept nearly all the patterns I've bought over the years but I would have to check. I think I made it in a flowered cotton fabric with a Navy background and a white collar. I loved that dress. I got married in 1971 and made all my own clothes by hand. I didn't get my sewing machine till the mid 70s. I hate basting and never do it unless absolutely forced to. I'm 5' so had to adjust the pattern accordingly.
I love how your dress turned out. The colour and design of the fabric is very 70s and as you say, it's really cute.
Regards Rowena 🇬🇧
Sorry for the long comment, I got carried away as your video brought back so many memories. Now I've made it even longer 🤣

[sandihj]

I made that dress back in the day, using a heavy cotton with a coarse weave and a very similar print and colorway. Style was a bargain brand at just about the time that pattern prices started really escalating. It makes me feel ancient, but I really enjoyed watching you make it.

[KaloCheyna]

I've inherited my great-grandmother's pattern stash and more than half of the older patterns that I got were style ones. She passed away about 15 years ago, and was sewing for family and herself up that point. Apparently when she moved from Sydney to Hobart one of her friends gifted her with hundreds of style patterns. I've wanted to try making at least one, and seeing how they're relatively easy to follow makes me a lot more confident on that front.

[brendabaum]

This dress is sooo 70s! The style, pattern, and colors are perfect...I..ahem...may have been in high school in the 1970s and graduated in 1978. As usual, love your videos Angela.

[cathys]

I love this series Sewing Through the Decades!!!

[pollydolly]

Style patterns and my mother were my teachers in the 70s, and I most likely made this one. Full sleeves, a-line, slight empire...full on fab!

[jacmcw]

I love how you take the time to make a quality garment, with the French seams and crisp corners, pressing your seams real well all along the way. This IS a darling dress, do make another in another fabric. It looks so good on you.

[wildflowerwind]

Boy does that pattern bring back memories. I have an old pattern book that my mom kept and it shows all kinds of dresses from that time and they have the paisley wild colors dresses in it. One of the best parts are the shoes they wore. Beautiful color shoes in low heels, sling backs. And I was a teenager during that time. I'm 58 now.

[galewhiteman]

Nice job. Having graduated in 1975, I’m familiar with sewing dresses like this.

[morrowdimtindomiel]

Although I generally am not a fan of such short skirts, I am glad that you removed the additional length. That made it much truer to the period. I don't ever think of rayon when I think of the 70s, though. I think of polyester, nylon, and cotton. In the end, you produced a dress that really flatters you.

[caracunningham]

My mom made me this dress when I was a kid. Funny to see it again.

[berkleypearl]

Every tine you upload a new video I tell myself “I’m going to learn to sew” and every time I get closer and closer to doing it

[leewiley]

That dress is so cute on you. Adorable fabric, too.

[EmbroideredDoll]

The print on the fabric is so perfect for that dress!

[AdirondackRuby]

The print is just so perfect! When I was little, my grandparents and great-grandmother lived in a two family house and, before doing some renovations, the laminated wallpaper in my Babcia's kitchen looked SO much like the pattern on this dress, especially the color palette, though I think there might have been bits of blue throughout.

[tracywestby]

Wow! That dress looks amazing on you! As a novice at sewing, I am glad you explain the instructions after you read them because instructions seem like white noise to me :)

[lanellehatcher]

OK... you sent me running to my pattern drawers... I have several STYLE patterns from the 70's through the 90's. Style Patterns Ltd. were based in London. They began in 1937 and dissolved the company in 1997. From what I can see, their pricing was on the higher end for the timeframe.... and the instructions very detailed... as you found out. They had offices in London, Ontario, Johannesburg, Sidney, Auckland, and New York... so it sounds as if at one time they were very successful. It is nearly impossible to find out anything on them. I could not find where they were included in any industry histories (as Simplicity, McCalls, Butterick, and Vogue are) which is a shame because based on the patterns I have and others I've seen online, they had a very nice product. Your dress turned out beautifully. Thank you for sharing!

[LivWildStyle]

Fabric choice is perfect. I know not everyone embraces the orange brown theme, and there are other period accurate color themes... But that's what research is for ( ladies, lol) Any way I grew to really love the orange-brown palette. It does require a good consideration of complexion as well. Thank you for the video.

[mollysmith]

I just love this series, Angela. Thank you for bringing us along all these trips into the past. The 70's was my teen era and we all had some kind of Empire waisted dress at some point or other but they were usually made of hot, uncomfortable polyester and they usually had a white or ivory contrasting collar and often cuffs too. Your dress is Far Out, man! :) Edit: Your shoes were perfect for this dress too!