Antique Witch Costume Brings Big Bucks, Some Assembly Required

This antique Butterick pattern for a witch costume dating to 1898 recently sold for $199.99. Images from the seller, wiskeycowboy.

ANTIQUE WITCH COSTUME SEWING PATTERN 1898 BUTTERICK

See Also – Sewing Pattern History: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.

Retro A-Maze-Ing Halloween Cat Quilt

Perfect for the crazy cat lady in your life, this quilt is based on the simple designs found in coloring books. (We’ve long advocated using those illustrations for patterns.) From the October 1980 issue of Decorating & Craft Ideas magazine, the supposedly simple instructions are:

Look closely at our cat collection and you will find it really a..maze..ing (a network of fabric pathways that winde around this favorite motif.) This marvelous maze could begin with the selection of large, but simple, cat shapes, from children’s coloring books. Transfer them to fabrics, (reverse them for variety), and enlarge each one 1/4 inch. Working from the center out, and from the background to the foreground, arrange, then applique each shape onto the quilt top. (You might even become lost among all the possibilities.) Be sure to distribute sizes and colors evenly. Add pathways to fill in; embroider the details.

halloween cat maze quilt

Vintage Halloween Costumes

Some old costumes at Exit 55 Antiques in Fergus Falls, MN. The black one has orange pom-pons and cardboard pieces (jack-o-lanterns and crows) stuck to it. The traditional dotted clown costume is and truly terrifying because clowns are scary.