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Party Like It's 1790 With These Free Historical Costume Patterns

By Shaunacy Ferro

From The Cutters' Practical Guide To The Cutting Of Ladies' Garments, 1890
From The Cutters' Practical Guide To The Cutting Of Ladies' Garments, 1890 / W.D.F. VINCENT, Archive.org // Public Domain
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If you’re quick with a sewing needle, there’s still time to throw together a great Halloween costume on the cheap. You can take outfit ideas straight out of the pages of history thanks to costume designer and cosplayer Artemisia Moltabocca, who collects historical clothing patterns on her site, as My Modern Met highlights.

Moltabocca’s site, CostumingDiary.com, pulls from sources across the web—from low-budget pattern blogs and history sites to authorities such as the Missouri Historical Society and LACMA—to bring you guides to making historically accurate fashion designs.

From a January 1927 issue of La Femme De France
From a January 1927 issue of La Femme De France / Archive.org // Public Domain

Want to whip up a silk men’s suit circa 1770? There’s a pattern in PDF form here. If you really want to get historically accurate with your costume, how about a 1910 bra pattern or a guide to making 1950s underwear? The online collection includes outfits for both men and women sourced from all eras dating back to the 1700s.

For more ideas, check out CostumingDiary.com or Moltabocca’s Pinterest board of historical costume patterns.

[h/t My Modern Met]

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