Mini Pantjumpers from the 1960s

What happens when skirts get ridiculously short the way they did in the late 1960s? You end up with something like this. The micro mini lengths of the 1960s created the need for the pantjumper. This cute girls' pattern allowed you to show a lot of leg while keeping those panties covered. Some patterns had  micro miniskirts but provided a bloomer pattern to go underneath.

I had a handy little cottage industry in my dorm room hemming up skirts for the other residents. Skirts got shorter and shorter each season. I remember that as a college girl, there were always boys congregated at the bottom of stairwells during class changes. Wonder why?

We weren't allowed to wear pants on campus (yes, believe that or not) but pantdresses (Or pantjumpers as in this pattern) were okay.  Go fig.

I adored my pantdresses. They were so cute. Mom made me one in a forest green floral print with a big beige middy collar. My boyfriend (who's about to celebrate our 41st anniversary with me this month) dubbed it my Scout uniform. It was adorable.

When skirts couldn't go any higher in the early 1970s, guess what happened? Right. The maxi dress. Hems fell to the ankle or mid-calf. It's refreshing today to go shopping and find skirts of all lengths. You get to choose today. We really didn't back then unless we wanted to look completely dowdy.

You can find this pattern in girls' size 14 in my shop here.

What I Find in Vintage Patterns

I don't know any other vintage pattern sellers personally. I've talked with a few of them via email. But I can tell you one thing we all share: a vivid memory of things we have found in patterns. I just bought a huge stash and here are some of the fascinating things I've found so far. Click on the first photo for a closer look. The ornament was in the box. But the rest were hidden treasures I found as I started to count pieces. They are:

A lab receipt.


I hope Stan and Steve didn't break anything in Chemistry lab in 1965.

Part of a 1939 calendar. A 1964 postcard posted at sea. The writer says she had a rough crossing. At first I thought she said that she had eaten "on land for every meal." But on closer inspection I see she was "on hand for every meal." A baby gown pattern made from a 1950s newspaper. One side has the classical and opera radio offerings, the other some fabulous dinette suites. And my personal fave, the baby shirt pattern made from the clipping of the wreck of the Andrea Doria which as you all remember sank in 1956. Oh the humanity! I think I would have chosen another part of the newspaper to use for my pattern.

And there are always the pins. Long pins, short pins, colored pins, safety pins. And I throw them all away. My neighbor was surprised at the waste, but they are all going to be either rusty or dull and there's no sense ruining a new piece of fabric on an old pin. 

Sadly, I could not find the sleeve pattern made from a wonderful set of 1930s comics. But I know I saved. it. I'll post it when I find it.

The bottom line is that these old patterns are  great historical documents, but so are the things I find inside.