Most clothing sewing projects start with a sewing pattern. A pattern provides a template that is used to cut the fabric and sew the clothing. When I was a young teenager in the 1970s, I loved dresses. Since I enjoyed sewing, I usually made my own dresses. The process was to go to the fabric store to shop for a pattern and fabric. Finding a pattern was fun. It involved looking through a large book that had illustrations of all of the latest patterns. At the time, there were 3 main companies that sold patterns: Simplicity, Butterick, and McCalls. The patterns came in an envelope. Inside was folded tissue paper where the pattern was printed.
#5790 (from SoVintagePatterns.com)
Besides selling sewing patterns, McCalls also sold household magazines. I have a handful of McCalls magazines in my collection of mid-century women’s magazines. My favorite is the May 1961 issue. The ads and articles reflect the mid-century perfectly.
McCalls featured articles about their sewing patterns in the back section of the magazine. The May 1961 issue had this 2 page article.
Titled “Cool Costumes in the Hottest Colors”, the article showed readers 2 dresses and one jacket. The outfits were sewn using 3 of the latest McCalls patterns.
The above photo shows McCalls dress Pattern #5845. The sleeveless dress has a pleated skirt and slashed neckline. It is made with cotton fabric in bright colors described as “Traffic-stopping orange and shocking pink”.
I found the pattern online from an outlet that sells vintage sewing patterns. This image came from SoVintagePatterns.com.
The other outfit featured in the article was also made with McCalls sewing patterns. The dress was made with McCalls #5850. The jacket used #5790.
Bright colored cotton was also used for this outfit. They described the colors as “Sizzling pink with sharp lime green”.
Here’s a peek at the patterns used.
Mid-Century Page 
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