Extant Pattern Book List
The Bibliography
“1901s Wrap Cape.” American Duchess, 2019. Link
Known as the “AD Cape Cult”, this extant pattern has made its rounds on social media. From 2018-2020, American Duchess published extant patterns through their Patreon and blog.
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen’s Dresses and Their Construction c. 1660-1860. Macmillan, 1964.
The original extant pattern book, still considered to be one of the finest and most detailed examples in the genre. Includes 28 scaled and gridded patterns. Also includes detailed black and white line drawings of each costume and some details. Historical information is provided in the front of the volume and scaling instructions are included in the back.
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion 1: The Content, Cut, Construction & Context of Englishwomen’s Dress c. 1720-1860. School of Historical Dress, 2021.
The new edition of the Patterns of Fashion 1, published by the School of Historical Dress, has a majority of the patterns in the original plus several more. This volume includes 48 scaled and gridded patterns. There are full color photographs in the front on the volume plus historical and collections information. Each pattern is also in full color and includes the original Janet Arnold black and white line drawing.
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen’s Dresses and Their Construction c. 1860-1940. Macmillan, 1966.
Includes 34 patterns for women's dress from 1860-1840. Has the same structure as the original Patterns of Fashion 1 with black and white photographs and patterns. This book is slated for a new edition in 2022.
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion 3: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c. 1560-1620. Macmillan, 1985.
Includes 56 patterns of rare 16th and 17th century English garments and accessories. There are 20 mens garments, 16 women’s garments, 13 accessories, and 6 youth garments for both boys and girls. This was the last Patterns of Fashion book published before Janet Arnold’s death and is in the style of the original publications with black and white photography.
Arnold, Janet, et al. Patterns of Fashion 4: Cut & Construction of Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear, Headwear & Accessories for Men & Women c. 1540-1660. Macmillan, 2008.
Includes 85 patterns of underwear and accessories for both men and women from the 16th and 17th centuries. This is the first Patterns of Fashion book published after Janet Arnold’s death. It has colored photographs in the style of the reprints.
Arnold, Janet, et al. Patterns of Fashion 5: The Content, Cut, Construction and Context of Bodies, Stays, Hoops and Rumps c.1595-1795. Macmillan, 2018.
Includes 26 stay patterns, one farthingale, 10 hoops and one rump. This book is in the new style of Patterns of Fashion with full color photographs and colored patterns. Here the photos are directly before the patterns instead of all in the front of the book.
Barker, Michelle. C. 1760s Yellow Night-Gown Handbook. The Original Garment Study Series 1. Surry, UK: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd, 2021.
The book is an in depth study of a single garment- a c. 1760s robe l'anglaise. The book describes the patterning, sewing, alterations, and context of the garment. The book includes several versions of the pattern, both an extant and sewing ready version, and extremely detailed instructions on the construction of the pattern.
Baumgarten, Linda. Costume Close Up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1999.
This book has 25 scaled, non-gridded patterns for men and women’s 18th century dress. The book has some construction information and black and white photographs with some color photographs in the middle section. This is a very early institution driven pattern books and is similar to “An Agreeable Tyrannt.”
Bernard, Thomas John, & Linton, Marcy. Historical Pattern Archive: Women's Clothing 1837-1969. Routledge, 2020.
The patterns in this book are gridded and to scale with construction notes throughout. This book is less helpful however because the dates on the patterns are very general and the only rendering of the extant garment are drawn depictions of poor dress mannequins which obfuscates the silhouette information. The book’s primary goal is to provide patterns for theater professionals.
Bernstein, Aline. Masterpieces of Women's costume of the 18th and 19th centuries. Dover Publications, 2001.
This book was originally published in 1959, making it a very early example of extant garment patterns. The patterns are not gridded, but measurements are given. There is no construction information and only drawn renderings of the extant garments. The dates of the costumes are very general. This is not a very academic resource but provides a good overview of the history of western fashion and very general patterning.
Burnston, Sharon Ann. Fitting and Proper: 18th Century Clothing from the Collection of the Chester County Historical Society. Village Green Press, 2000.
This is an earlier extant pattern book that is in the tradition of Janet Arnold. All of the garments are from the Chester County Historical Society, meaning they are specific examples of rural American dress, a unique feature of the book. The patterns are scaled and gridded, but not overly detailed. There are some construction notes. The book has both men's and women’s dress, and touches on all aspects of dress from underwear to outerwear.
Davidson, Hilary. “Reconstructing Jane Austen’s Silk Pelisse, 1812–1814.” Costume 49, no. 2 (June 1, 2015): 198–223.
de Jonge, Jacoba. Een Leven in Mode: Vrouwenkleding 1750-1950: Uit de collectie Jacoba de Jonge/ Living in Fashion: Women's Daily Wear 1750-1950: from the Jacoba de Jonge Collection. Lannoo, 2012.
Catalog from the Mode Museum in Antwerp, Belgium from their corresponding 2012 exhibition. There are several patterns for women’s garments. The patterns are gridded and to scale but are printed in green on white. There are construction notes in both English and Flemish. The book focuses on several more obscure aspects of dress including nightwear, maternity, sportswear, fancy dress, and altered garments.
Frasen, Lilli. Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns. Aarhus University Press, 2011.
This book has scaled, gridded patterns taken from Norse archaeological textiles. The patterns show both the exact dimensions of the archaeological textiles as well as the projected pattern pieces for small, medium, and large sizes. Some construction information is present but there is more information in Woven into the Earth by Else Østergård (2003).
Handy, Amy, ed. Revolution in Fashion: 1715-1815. Kyoto: The Kyoto Costume Institute, 1989.
A lovely book for images of 18th-century fashion. There are three Janet Arnold patterns in the essays in the back. The patterns are not gridded but are to scale with a scale bar. There are many construction notes but no depictions of the extant garments. Janet Arnold's patterns are known to be very detailed and of high quality.
Holmgren, Therese. En Inblick I 1700-Talets Skrädderi/ A Glimpse into 18th Century Tailoring. Sweden: Lorkrantz Förlag, 2021.
This book is full of scale, non-gridded patterns from little-known, but excellent, Swedish collections. The book focuses on 18th-century tailoring for both men and women and has patterns for jumps, petticoats, waistcoats, banyans, and a 1770s gown. There is a wealth of accompanying information and photographs. There are also men’s and women’s patterns for 18th-century Swedish national costume, which is unique to this book.
Kirke, Betty, & Miyake, Issey. Madeleine Vionnet. Chronicle Books, 1998.
This book is the most in-depth book about its titular designer. It includes 38 patterns of various Vionnet designs. The patterns are not gridded and no measurements are given however there are numbers and letters for corresponding seamlines and brief construction notes. These patterns are not simply intended to be used to recreate garments but to further understand Vionnet’s construction process as well.
Köhler, Carl. A History of Costume: With over 600 illustrations and patterns. Dover Publications, 1968.
First published in 1928, this book is one of the first to have a pattern of historical garments in it. It is unclear whether the patterns in this book are taken straight from extant garments or are approximations of originals. There are drafting points but no measurements.
LACMA. “Undertaking the Making: LACMA Costume and Textiles Pattern Project.” Accessed September 10, 2021. http://www.lacma.org/patternproject.
A series of two-page extant patterns that provide a gridded scaled pattern with detailed construction notes, photographs, and drawn renderings. These patterns are easily disseminated and available for free online.
North, Susan. 17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns. Thames & Hudson, 2017.
O'Brien, Alden. et al. "An Agreeable Tyrant": Fashion After the Revolution. DAR Museum, 2016.
This is a catalog for the exhibition of the same name at the DAR Museum in 2016. There are 20 patterns of both men’s and women’s dress from the late 1770s through the late 1820s. The book states that the patterns were primarily published to provide more details about the changing fashion during the time but openly states they know that costumers and re-enactors will utilize these patterns. The patterns are gridded, to scale, and have a generous amount of construction notes.
Salen, Jill. Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques. Costume and Fashion Press, 2008.
This book is full of extant corset patterns from the mid-18th century through 1920. The patterns are gridded and to scale with minimal construction notes. There are general directions for putting a corset together in the back of the book. I have made two of the stays in the book and they have both turned out well.
Salen, Jill. Vintage Lingerie: Historical Patterns and Techniques. Pavilion Books, 2011.
Salen, Jill. Vintage Swimwear: Historical Patterns and Techniques. Batsford, 2014.
Palmer, Alexandra. Christian Dior: History and Modernity, 1947 - 1957. Hirmer, 2019.
This is an exhibition catalog for an exhibition of the same name at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2018. The book features several patterns. They are on a very small scale and are not necessarily intended to be reproduced but to further understand Dior’s construction. There are construction notes for all the garments in the catalog but only a select few have patterns. I created the Cachottière design for my 2020 WUDPAC application art portfolio. The pattern was difficult to scale up but I did end up with a wearable garment in the end.
Percoco, Cassidy. Regency Women’s Dress: Techniques and Patterns 1800-1830. Batsford, 2015.
A book of gridded and scaled Regency women’s patterns. These patterns are hand-drawn and not super exact and the extant garments only have detail photographs of the textile and drawn representations of the whole garment.
Tiramani, Jenny, and Susan North, eds. Seventeenth-Century Women’s Dress Patterns: Book 1. Victoria & Albert Museum, 2011.
An extremely detailed deep dive into these garments. Includes color scale and gridded patterns, many color photographs, magnified images, x-radiographs, detailed step-by-step construction information with illustrations, and photographs of ½ scale models. This is as detailed as a Janet Arnold pattern with extended construction information.
Tiramani, Jenney, and Susan North, eds. Seventeenth-Century Women’s Dress Patterns: Book 2. Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013.
“The Isabella MacTavish Fraser Gown: Pattern and Construction.” American Duchess, 2019. https://www.americanduchess.com/collections/books-and-patterns/products/isabella-mactavish-fraser-pattern-pdf.
Another American Duchess project, in collaboration with Rebecca Olds of Timesmith Dressmaking and the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery in Inverness, Scotland. Includes a gridded and scaled pattern and very detailed construction information with many photographs.
Waugh, Norah. Corsets and Crinolines. London: Faber and Faber, 1954.
This book focuses on women’s shapewear from the 17th-20th centuries. The patterns are not gridded but scaled with a scale marker. There is limited construction information. I have made the mid-18th century pocket hoops and 1840s corset from this book and both worked well.
Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men’s Clothes: 1600-1900. Routledge, 2015.
Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Women’s Clothes: 1600-1930. London: Faber and Faber, 1968.
A classic of the historical dress community. This book goes through women’s extant garments from British collections. These patterns are not gridded but are scaled and have scale markers. There are only line drawings of the extant garments, however, these are very detailed. Waugh also published a corresponding book on men’s dress.