K P means Kitchen Patrol. Military personnel assigned to duties in the mess hall/kitchen. I have a photo of my grandmother and mother (around age 13, early 1942 or 3) wearing matching summer dresses Gramma sewed -- very likely from one of these Simplicity patterns.
When an Army soldier was assigned to help in the kitchen - clean, peal potatoes, etc. he was on KP (kitchen patrol duty). KP patterns must mean dresses for housework. I'd like to see more of these books - they remind me of my younger days.
Reminds me of the period song "GI Jive". Part of it mentioning KP: If you're a P-V-T, your duty Is to salute to L-I-E-U-T But if you brush the L-I-E-U-T The M-P makes you K-P on the Q-T
"Other rope to tie her to the stove." 🤣 I just about died! Being inspired by the 3 yards or less page, I would love to see some 1 yard/1.5 yards or less patterns! I have quite a few remaints from past projects where I have a half yard here, a yard there. Definitely need some inspiration of things to make with my fewer yard cuts.
At 13:42, I think the “K P” might be “kitchen patrol” from WWII era military influenced lingo, I remember in White Christmas, the retired general is handed a bag of groceries and says he’s “on KP”. Just a little historical nugget for the day.
I thought it stood for Kitchen Police, same idea. It's a military term, for the lads who would be upset to be called "housewives", though it was essentially the same work.
Beautiful editing, Bianca. The close-up shots are EVERYTHING. Your educational commentary is topnotch because it's always a learning experience with the Closet Historian.
Fun to hear you explain these. I want them all. I'd love to go 40s and 50s totally. Since I'm 75 it's funny that I want to go back but the styles are fabulous. Thanks.
I also love the '40s. Plus the '30s. And am your age. I'm drawn to the interesting sleeves, wonderful bodices and other details. Far superior to the "three seam" boredom in today's fashions.
When I am doing boring things, like my hair or my makeup I like to watch your videos for their pure entertainment goodness. Thank you for such quality youtubeness
I love you humour - “where the other rope is to tie her to the stove…” :-) Lovely video. Agree with other commenters, your instructional style is on point and breaks down the styles and patterns to a helpful and educational “how to”, which is much appreciated. I always look at my patterns a bit differently, with more ideas after watching your videos.
Tied to the stove and my third husbands funeral look...so funny. I did make gloves ONE TIME. Never again. The styles of dresses/slacks/blouses in the 40's and 50's were wonderful. Thanks for the walk through.
Ok so I'm only a tiny bit into the video and can I just say that I love the illustrations in that first pattern book? The economy of the colours used! The red outline! The fact that they've achieved a dark tone by overlapping the red and green inks and *planned* for that! I know red and green together are *so* associated with Christmas but I've found that layering red and green alcohol markers (like a forest green + a vermillion or cadmium red) makes a very nice deep green tone as depicted here that has a bit of inner vibrancy to it. I was wondering how they made the dark tone on the back of the handbag and/or the lines on that olive green suit but I think that they might be doing a halftone screen of the red on the green suit, and then the lines are just full red which produces that almost black colour when overlaid with full green. So clever and well-designed! I love that kind of old traditional illustration work and the clever work-arounds to limitations like amounts of colour available. Sometimes less is more.
Every time you suggested you might do a video on something, my answer was always yes please. Yes to all, your videos have been so so helpful and enjoyable, I will always watch more 😊
Lol! The lady has snacks! That's me and I always have KP and Toddler Duty 💜. Thanks so much. Enjoy the laughter. I really enjoy when the pamphlets/catalogs feature buttons and trimmings. My button heart flutters.
oh , i LOVE 40's fashion, but i'm always scared to spend fabric and time, to end up looking too matronly on my 5' 2" self. Since you add a gothic "vampy" spice to vintage fashion, I'm soo looking foward to see more 40's 🥰 ( GREEN GARDENING DRESS !! )
Who would have thought that a video of watching magazines would be so interesting!! I loved this video also, I think is a good tool to recharge and get inspired!. Keep them going..
I love seeing the magazines in your collection, they're always very inspiring! A flat drafted collar video would be amazing. Seeing the green gardening dress and learning about straps in general would be great. I'm also really looking forward to your princess line video as that style looks really nice on me. The giant hats in the Vogue magazine are to die for and so drool worthy!
GREEN GARDENING DRESS! And love this one, I always learn so much when you go through vintage catalogs. Imagine my joy that I get to sit and watch/listen to this masterclass while I attempt things you're talking about on my own machine. 10/10
Yes to all the pattern drafting tutorials! Would especially love one on collars and also on the pleated and darted sleeves you mentioned in an earlier video
I need that crepe wrap dress at 17:43. KP is a military term, "kitchen police" or "kitchen patrol." The catalog writers obviously being cheeky, using a military term show they know "the men"' were off to war. KP duty in movies is often depicted as a young soldier peeling a mountain of potatoes.
Love this video. Found it really interesting what you said about crepe (creap?) fabrics not being available nowadays and how fabrics have gotten wider. Would love to learn more about how fabrics have changed over time
I actually found a set of either dress or shoe clips at our local thrift store last week! If I hadn’t been watching you for two plus years, I wouldn’t have known what they were. Believe me, when I found them, just laying in a basket with earrings , I latched on to them ! I have started my collection. I would love to continue my collection with pattern books and magazines. I think you have taught me enough that I could modify a basic pattern, like you demonstrate doing with your own wardrobe. I want a couple “granny dresses” to use for church or funerals. I also want to make a dress or two for my granddaughters. Several of them are quite sharply , it’s hard to find nice dresses for them . Everything is skin tight. As we come to the end of my third year of watching you you religiously, I would like to offer you my sincere thanks for teaching me so much about pattern adjustments and vintage dressing. I am looking forward to the up coming year with you!
Thank you so much Shirley! It really is SO HARD to find nice dresses these days, I have promised to make some for my mom becuase she has a hard time finding nice ones she can wear to work ❤
Hi, YES!!! That all brim no (visibe) crown hat is just over the top fabulous. Actually all of the women's hats are great, and I'm an established hat lover now even if I don't even own a hat. Yet. I love the sheer dress to go with that big saucer too, even if I'm leaning toward the late 20s early 30s for now. I can see the possibility of making something like that in a cotton lawn/voile/batiste, come summer. I don't know the difference between the three as it seems to me that hey are the fabric you are pointing at when you use one of the words. See. You've done this. I can even differentiate between the decades now not to mention. I couldn't do that when I first came here, so thank you so so much for all your content that you make for us to learn from. Something I've been trying to figure out by myself and failed miserably with is to figure out what you would wear as head wear to say the opera or dining and dancing, if your wardrobe doesn't come with a tira or five, so maybe you could touch on that at one time or another, please?Thank you. Yours, Ann
Do you think you might consider some lingerie sewing in 2022? Most vintage clothing requires lingerie underneath. Beautiful satin slips, tap panties, garter belts , etc. . I would love to see some vintage nightwear. My family history includes mostly dirt poor share croppers, so even the idea of non practical anything is foreign. The advantage of taking up vintage , which is after the fact, is you can be anything. I don’t have to dress like I’m one generation out of the cotton patch! I can progress up to a school teacher, or assistant to the manager or even a telephone operator! I can possibly own a satin petticoat, or dressing gown. Here’s to looking forward to another great year of sewing!
When you do a princess seam video, it would be amazing if you could squeeze in there the implications of extending the top of the bodice princess seam into the sleeve. Kind of like an all-in-one with a princess seam? Love your videos!
I would really like a video about darts to gathers and that green gardening dress. Lovely catalogs and everything from start to finish but now have to go check my fabricks and start maybe a new project, so inspiring 😍👌
Biancas 'Why Darts' covers a great deal about darts, and explains that the excess fabric can be used as darts/ pleats/ gathers/ tucks, and it still fit. It's a very worthwhile watch.
I enjoyed your video, especially the part when you said finding a good black faux to make it look like you're attending your third husband's funeral. That's a good line.
Love looking through these. I like a full princess line since I think it's lengthening on my short body, but I also agree it can look 70s/80s hair has to be on point 40s or 50s. Excited to see more pattern drafting
Garden dresses, hats, other dresses. This video, alone, has got enough projects to keep you busy all of next year. I LOVE these old books. They raise a question for me, though. I have tried to look up old pattern numbers from these, and have found no results (it's always the beautiful ones.) And it happens often enough that I have to wonder -- either the pattern was so marvelous that no one wants to give one up, OR maybe they didn't actually print that pattern. The old bait and switch, as it were. Love these!
And the dress next to the yellow scallop edged dress at time 33.30 - a great history bounding medieval meets hollywood thing going on. Oh and the yellow one too, and the green gardening dress. Hey just start at the beginning and sew your way through the catalogue for us!
Awesome Flossum !!! I do love the 1940's. I agree with Amy Morris, a wonderful kick-off for the weekend. Drinking iced tea, btw. ;) Lol. KP = Kitchen Police. Green gardening dress. I'm not a Bonnet wearer either. Thank you.
Oh my gosh my favorite color is Green! There are so many different shades of green as well. You have inspired me to learn how to sew. I really want to make a green dress for my first official sewing project. Right now I am just learning stitches, textiles and just plain tips and tricks. I really want to just dive into a pattern but Lol my Home Economics teacher in High School (way back when) said if you can't conquer a pillow case you can't make a dress. Just love love love your channel!! Have a great week!
I so enjoyed this Bianca, thank you, I love most of the dresses, would love to go around like that daily…and your commentary is so informative and hilarious!
Those Vogue patterns are really nice, I gotta say. Very interesting details. Very chic. And very wearable as well. I'd say that if one does have occasion, to wear a somewhat fancy dress, they wouldn't look out of place among contemporary designs.
hi Bianca, i joined ur family channel @ 25k subs,watching every adventure uploaded to the end, left feeling inspired and not scared to try and sew clothes for me, because of you, THANK YOU Bianca. Q & A, Is there a brand of sewing machine that you would recommend for me as a beginner to start my journey and wat are the main tools that i need to start my journey that u recommend. thanks from new zealand.
