The GASP Athenaeum (Gallery Athenaeum of Sewing Patterns) is a paid membership community providing scans of sewing pattern catalogs, the sewing patterns themselves, and knitting / crochet patterns for personal use or historical research. The virtual sewing patterns also give a view of a few pieces to assist collectors with their own patterns. Our priority is to preserve vintage and new sewing patterns. In doing so we provide PDFs of envelopes and instructions sheets for new to advanced pattern collectors or for fashion research.
Mail Order 9224 (1970’s)
This is a sample page kept public as an example of what each pattern page has to offer. Front and back of the pattern with instructions sheet(s) in pdf form with one or more pattern pieces included in they are available and not FF (factory folded). If we have duplicates of the same pattern in different sizes each envelope is included on the page to indicate what is in the library.
Catalogs / Magazines / Pamphlets can give incite to pattern migration through pattern brands in addition to dates of the style. Our selection of mail order pattern catalogs can help with dating and provenance. Or you can just look at all the pretty patterns and decide on your future dressmaking or tailoring project.
Woman’s World Magazine December 1935
A sample page of a mail order pattern magazine featuring patterns you could request by mail. In addition to sewing patterns knitting and crochet patterns were included as well as kits. The whole magazine is not scanned and censored for things offensive in current times but common place back then. Sewing and needlework is what is featured on each page. Below the PDF all the pattern numbers are mentioned and on what page they are featured on.
Another service is the donation station for incomplete, damaged, or orphaned sewing patterns. Vintage to modern, incomplete to a single orphaned piece. We take them all. They are sorted and paired with their exact match if it is in stock. Pattern donors are given the option of receiving pattern points after patterns received are assessed for point balance. If the donor opts out of points they are offered to other members in the library.
If you are in need of completing a pattern of your own, submit a request through the contact page and we can see what we have and discuss if we have originals to pass on or provide scans to be printed at full scale as a replicated piece(s).
We also take personal collections with provenance and are kept together and never sold. At times collections do help a great deal restoring incomplete and damaged patterns.
