I came home from a church rummage sale a few years ago with a stack of 1960’s craft books and tucked inside one of them was this much older pamphlet called “Easy-to-Sew Toys”. It was published in 1944 by Clark’s O.N.T. – J. & P. Coats (the merger of these two companies became the Coats & Clark we know today). It’s entirely charming.
15 pages long, there are patterns inside for six button jointed stuffed animals: a kangaroo, an elephant, a bunny, a horse, a penguin, and a pig. And there’s a boy and a girl doll pattern. The aesthetic is wonderfully dated, but in a way that is still very appealing, to the point of actually feeling modern. I think we’ll always be nostalgic for the look of classic toys. They never get old.
I love the cover photo – the toys lined up, the kids looking off camera, the bunny on the boy’s head. This could easily be the cover shot on a modern pattern if it were in color (and it would get pinned a ton). It’s silly and cute. And do you see the little white outline drawings of each toy around the pink border? I love those.
The pattern templates inside are hand-drawn (we don’t know by whom because no designer is named). They’re full-sized so just trace and cut and you’re ready to sew, seam allowances included.
I was thinking about this pamphlet yesterday and how special it is. It’s one of those things that came to me for free, by accident, and has become a treasure. My understanding is that works published before 1964 for which the copyright was not renewed (renewal was a requirement before 1978) pass into the public domain. As far as I can tell, Easy-to-Sew Toys falls into that category. So, I thought I’d share it with you.
I scanned it so that you can download it as a PDF. Save it, print the pattern templates, and let’s sew from it! I love all of the historical sewing that’s going one now, people sewing clothing from 1940s patterns and quilts from the 1920s. Let’s add to the mix and sew some old toys.
Penguin from Easy-to-Sew Toys on the left. On the right, the Purl Bee Penguin made from the same pattern pieces.
One of the patterns from Easy-to-Sew Toys already lives on, albeit uncredited. Have you seen the Purl Bee Penguin? It’s the penguin from Easy-to-Sew Toys. The pattern templates are identical. It’s totally fine, of course, for the Purl Bee to reprint a pattern from the public domain (although perhaps some credit or a nod to the original would be welcome), but to add their copyright notice to the top is sorta funny. Their photos and sewing instructions belong to them, sure, but the pattern and project? I don’t think so.
Now that the patterns belong to all of us, let’s bring the rest of them back.
I’ll work on mine in October. I’m thinking I’ll make the horse, or the girl doll. These would be great classic handmade holiday gifts. Get the PDF and join me in some historical toy sewing.
I love your blog & how generous you are to share gems like this. Thank you!
What a cute book! Thank you for sharing it with us.
this is wonderful, thanks
How special. Sometimes God knows just where something belongs.
When my Husbands grandmother moved to a nursing home his father asked if I might like her sewing box. YES of course. I couldn’t believe I was the only one in the family who was offered it. (She has 5 children, 8 grandkids most of whom are now married men and 10 great grand kids)
When the box arrived it was a 60’s brown timber grain laminate chest that looks more like a lamp table than a sewing box. Opa (Hubbies grandfather) had made it for Nanna many years before and it still contained a treasure trove of supplies and projects. There was thread, vintage buttons and zips, sewing and crochet needles and pins in vintage tins, completed tapestries and cross stitches and a cut but not assembled softie elephant. I wanted to complete it but the instructions were all in Dutch (literally) so I put it aside as a one day thing. Now I’m pretty sure the instructions from your pattern above will match perfectly so I might just have to give it a go.
Thanks for sharing
This is great!! Love vintage softies! Thanks for sharing. Love your blog!
O.My.GOSH! This is such an amazing find! What adorable little toys and I am so excited to make that pig! 🙂 Thank you SO much for sharing this with us!!! I was reading through your post, thinking, man I wish I had that! Now I can ! Your awesome!
Count me in on this sew-along! The horse, I think. Or the penguin. Or how about all of them. I love the look of the button joints. Thanks for sharing.
You rock! I will definitely be joining in. 🙂
I made the horse. It was so much fun! I will certainly be making more. Thanks so much for all that you do, Abby! I’m a huge fan.
I saw your horse on Instagram and it’s amazing. All white! And I love how you did the mane. I’ll do a round-up post in a few weeks of the finished toys everyone has made so far from this pamphlet. It’s so awesome!
What a find! Thank you so much for sharing – I really like your outlook on things and your generosity.
Thanks for your thoughtfulness in sharing the patterns book – they are great – I also appreciate your integrity and fearless approach to issues –
What an enchanting book, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!!
This is so charming.
The directions remind me of an old Betty Crocker Cookbook that I grew up with.
Thank you for your generosity and for sharing something so fabulous!
I think I’ll have to make some really soon!
Thank you for sharing. I am looking forward to making these.
These are terrific… I love vintage pattern.. thank you for sharing your wonderful find.
Wow, what a wonderful find!
I do like the idea of being a lot less ‘high tech’ in the toys that we give our children. I think a lot of children are growing up a little too quickly, these days – yeesh, that makes me sound so old, lol. Of course, everyone, including youngsters, needs to be up to speed with computers and the like, but I personally miss seeing children simply ‘playing’ – like the little ones on the front of the pamphlet you found, Abby.
I love that these toys are button jointed, a cute solution to make them more interesting to young hands.
I do wonder what became of those two little cuties. I wonder who they were and what their lives were like!
Thanks for sharing this with us, Abby.
Regards from Paula, in Liverpool.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I just love stuffed toys and the vintage ones are especially sweet. . .. maybe because they are vintage. I look forward to making some of these projects. Thanks again!
Linda in OK
Thank you Abby! Gee, I think its a bit cheeky for Purl Soho to do that!
These are really cute. I’d like to make one too 🙂
Thank you for sharing the precious book – I have come across old books like this and it is really exciting – just a moment shared from the past to give to the future.
Those patterns are darling, thank you! It’s bothersome when people use other older patterns and rename, reprint and try and copyright the design. I know a few other designers have done the same.
Thanks! I’ve been hoping to snag a copy of this one for some time now! I plan on making at least one of each, but I imagine it won’t stop with just one.
I too get excited when I find old pattern booklets. Being Australian, I’ll go for the kangaroo and joey. Completed before Christmas I’ll be happy!
Thank you for sharing. I love vintage and these little softies is just what I need to start sewing again. The pig wearing apron is too cute!!
Well, obviously I am a fool, because literally I have just purchased this PDF from someone who has it up for sale on Etsy. In fact there are two copies; I ought to have been suspicious. Says copyright of the seller all over it. Hmph. Thank you for not doing that. I’m debating whether to make horse or kangaroo first.
Oh no! Well, I did sorta buy this pamphlet myself (it was slipped into another used book I was buying) so I guess it’s okay to sell it. I figured since it’s in the public domain and I got it by accident I would share it for free. Plus it’s neat to bring back such an old softie book.
No website – just a hobbyist! As a hobbyist, I like to think I have fairly sophisticated tastes…so how come I’m just discovering you?
This is just a note to thank you for sharing the Coats and Clark animal patterns. It irritates me when I’m trying to find vintage patterns on eBay and Etsy and I can find nothing but PDFs and paper copies of the originals. It takes the joy out of the hunt – and “public domain” or not, it doesn’t seem right.
I had a box of vintage embroidery patterns I had totally forgotten about until recently. I noticed that some of them were beginning to deteriorate, so I decided to make digital copies and put them on a Pinterest board I created just for them. I like the idea of people being able to use them – I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they will use them in the spirit in which I intended. I mention this because it seems like you are a kindred spirit – an eternal optimist!
You have a wonderful gift and again, thank you for sharing.
Patti Vick
Thanks, Patti. I really love bringing back these old designs and seeing what a new generation of sewists can do with them!
I adapted the horse and the penguin to fit my own style. <3 Thanks for sharing. Lovely patterns.
Hi Abby, found this pattern, thank you so much for posting it. I am reading the instructions and wonder what “Cut BAND 1 1/2 ” wide – 28″ long” means, I am starting with the horse but this has me baffled. Thanks for your input 🙂
I made the horse, too. It means you cut a strip of fabric 1.5″ x 28″. That is the gusset that goes between the front and the back of the body to give the horse some depth. Make sense?
Thank you so much for clarifying. Yes that does make sense.
Hi Abby, well I managed to put together Wonkie Horsie !! I have to really concentrate on the next one with the gusset (band) and try to do it better. I did see your post on head gussets so will have a go. I wanted to paste a picture here but don’t know how. Will try sending to your direct email.
Thanks !
Mags
Or you can post it on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/abbyglassenbergdesign
This is gold! Patterns of 1944 toys, how amazing – thank you so much for sharing this booklet. I cannot wait to get started, first, I think, the elephant.
Maggie
Ireland