Patterns for Theatrical Costumes: Garments, Trims, and Accessories from Ancient Egypt to 1915

This book is perfect for costume patterns for theme parties and amateur theatricals. It covers the major design trends over a wide historical range of time. The individual pattern pieces are well drawn and labelled and clearly specify the placement on the fold or the edge of the fabric. The costumes are straightforward to make but maintain the authentic line and shape of each period without the myriad details that deter many would-be sewers. Each accompanying illustration of the finished costume has helpful hints for appropriate accessories and trims to allow for creativity. The drawings and instructions on how to drape, fold and wrap long lengths of fabric are very clear and helpful, particularly for Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman garments. A copier can enlarge the drawings to size, but I have found my home enlarger is perfect for the job. I highly recommend this book for those who want authentic looking costumes without the complicated and frustrating time-consuming sewing details. The results are comfortable for the modern wearer. It is also just fun to look through.

If you need historical patterns, this book can serve as your guide. It comes with patterns in three main sizes for male and female characters, which can be enlarged by the grid method, by projecting, or by using a system like Lutterloh. Once you've enlarged them, you can adjust the patterns to fit by usually dressmaking and tailoring methods. I spent years checking this book out from the library and finally decided I needed a copy of my own. The illustrations are good, and come with suggestions for fabric decoration as well. Highly recommended, with the caveat that you need to have some dressmaking and/or tailoring skills to get the most out of the patterns.

This book looks at first to be incredibly simplistic, but first impressions are decieving. Although the images are basic and there isn't really any information regarding the actual costruction of the costumes, this book is wonderful in that it provides the basic shapes and pieces of such a wide range of garments. Definitely one for a more experienced costumer, or at least for someone with a bit of pattern drafting knowledge. I'm very happy with this purchase and can see this book coming in very handy.

First off, I have to say that I've been using this book on and off for the last 25 years or so. Made several of the outfits in the book for not only myself but for others(male, female and children)...whether it was going the RenFaire, SCA events or just mucking about for LARP or Halloween. This book has the basics for almost every time period from a European basis. Now to OWN such a wonderful resource AND in hardcover for the price (~15$), I can finally make more costumes. What impressed me the most is that the book itself is as close to mint as possible. It appear that the only time the book was opened was to put the Library stamp on several of the end pages. No pages dog-eared, written on, tore out or anything. Granted, I knew I was going to get a used book but HOLEY MOLEY, this thing looks like it came from the printers. The one that I've used before was almost falling apart and it was a soft cover. (And i used that as reference ALOT in my college years in Denton, TX.) To those buying this specific book, GET IT. This book has everything you need to get started on building a costume that has that HISTORIC LOOK to it...fashion it to suit your tastes and needs. BUT this is not for making a HISTORICALLY ACCURATE piece of clothing....for example, a simple tunic from the medieval period. In this book, it gives you a pattern to cut 2 pieces of cloth together (basically) and BLAMMO, tunic! I've made basic tunics from a HISTORICALLY ACCURATE pattern and it was much more of a bother(not much of a bother tho, I've been sewing stuff since I was 12)...2 bits for sleeves, 2 bits for gussets, 2 bits for f/b of tunic. If you want historically accurate, get another book. For random costumes (like the title suggests), GET IT. Another reason to get this book is because it is so handy....especially for High Schools. I believe that every school library should have this on their shelves. Even colleges (the one that I used for ages was on the shelves of the TWU library there). Like I stated before, this has library markings on it but it came from a Public Library. Libraries in schools will get more use out of this book just for the sheer necessity that many of the more crafty students will pick up rather than being on a public library shelf and never seen. If anyone sees this that is a purchaser for your school's library, buy this up and get it into the hands of students that are needing something like this to make stuff for plays and such. On to the rating of the seller. SPOT ON EXCELLENT!! Ordered it (and a couple other pattern books) and had it in my hands in less than a week. The merchandise itself was as mentioned...INCREDIBLY good. Packaged in a standard mailer, but well protected and secure. But then, it's a book. Hard covered and incredible hard to smash to bits...even the other books i got with it (soft paper covers) didn't get dinged up or damaged in any way. TLDR: LOVE IT!!! TOTALLY HAPPY ALL AROUND!!! RECOMMEND THIS SELLER VERY HIGHLY!!!

Great reference for making Halloween costumes and for making garb for our local Renaissance Festival.

Able to see shapes needed to create a specific look

I am a costume designer and have had this book for many years. I recently purchased a copy for one of my student workers who has gone on to pursue a degree in costume design. It is a great book for fashion history overview. It is full of basic period patterns that are simple to draft and then use your own details. It accessible to beginners but a wonderful resource for professionals as well.

It was exactly what I hoped it was. I am a professional seamstress and I want all of the fluff taken out. Give me the bare bones patterns and let me work the construction in the logical order I have been taught to do. I LOVE this book.

Bellissimo! Non mi aspettavo un così buon libro ma sono rimasta piacevolmente stupita. Si sviluppa sull'utilizzo di 3 taglie (s,m,l) e i disegni sono semplici, ma ti fa capire bene come sviluppare il cartamodello per poi proseguire nella confezione. Essendo un libro per costumi teatrali risulta un pò semplicistico a chi è del settore storico ma lo consiglio vivamente a chi a volte ha solo bisogno di avere una base su cui lavorare e non vuole perdere troppo tempo sui cartamodelli storici: questa è una buona alternativa ad un buon prezzo.

Super cool pour création de costumes historiques mais aussi de théâtre. Outil très utile pour des recherches mais aussi pour la confection bien qu'il faille créer ses propres patrons avec le modèle donner et qu'il faut bien maitriser les techniques de coupe !

Tanto para personas como para Muñecas. Es el libro ideal para hacer ropa de época

各時代の代表的な服飾デザインを順をおって見ることができ、かつそれらのデザインは物理的にどう再現できるのか実際にパターンで把握することができる。 あくまで舞台衣装用のデザイン＆パターンなので厳密的な正確性には欠ける部分もあるのだろうが、それでも充分勉強になる。 特に、下着や袖のパターンは「なるほど」と思わせられた。 ただし、パターンに実寸が入っていないため、この本から実際に衣装を作るとなると本のパターンを拡大トレースしなければならいのだろうが（その方法の説明も記載されている）、合印の入り方などみてもかなりザックリしている印象なので、 多少パターンの知識のある人ならば自分で引き直した方がいいかもしれない。

Nachdem ich mich nun seit geraumer Zeit in Besitz dieses Buches befinde, sei an dieser Stelle auf die Vor- und Nachteile des Buches hingewiesen: Vorteile: - Schnittmuster für vierschiedenste Kostüme für Männer und Frauen vom alten Ägypten bis zum frühen 20. Jahrhundert - Schnittmuster für Spezialkostüme (Maskottchen, Kleriker, etc.) - ausführliche Anleitungen inkl. Materialempfehlungen für besondere Kostümteile (z. B. Korsetts) Nachteile: - setzt grundlegende Kenntnisse im Umgang mit Nadel, Faden, Nähmaschine und Schnittmustern voraus - setzt Englischkenntnisse voraus Wer diese beiden Anforderungen erfüllt, wird mit dem Buch wahrscheinlich glücklich werden. Anfänger im Nähen bzw. Menschen ohne grundlegende Englischkenntnisse werden jedoch höchstwahrscheinlich auf teils unüberwindbare Schwierigkeiten stoßen.