My Hilary Duff x McCall’s Sewing Pattern Collection- 2021

Recently, I’ve been struggling to come up with blog post ideas for this blog. Since this is my sewing, art, and photography blog, I don’t like to write a post unless I have something creative to share. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to be very creative lately. Due to this, all I have to talk about are my plans for sewing and craft projects. Since I’m struggling to come up with ideas on what to write about, I decided to write a post about something I’m passionate, and proud, of that involves sewing, art, photography, and crafts.

Last year, I decided to start purchasing vintage and out of print sewing patterns I had my eye on but never wanted to own. Many of those patterns are from the Hilary Duff x McCall’s sewing patterns.

In the late 2000’s, Hilary Duff collaborated with McCall’s sewing patterns to design a line of sewing patterns. I really wanted these patterns at that time, but at that time it was impossible to get to a store that sold McCall’s patterns. Because of this, I missed out on buying them. When the pandemic started to effect everyone’s lives in a major way, I began to think of those sewing patterns again and wished I could own as many of them as possible.

Prior to the pandemic, I began to collect some of them but I stopped. I felt very embarrassed to buy so many patterns that had a style that was obviously out of date and I wanted to buy, make, and wear clothes that were more contemporary in style. After trying and failing to find these clothes and patterns, I gave up and focused on other more pressing matters in my life. But, when the pandemic started, I began to question why I was so embarrassed to buy them. The most of the styles of the clothes still looked good on me and looked flattering on my body. Because of this, I began to restart my search for many of the missing sewing patterns in the collection.

Here are all the patterns I collected so far…

The first pattern is M5677…

This pattern was the first pattern I added to my collection. It was also a pain in the rear to find for less than $20 USD with shipping and taxes. When I did find it, I immediately purchased it.

The pattern makes dog and cat beds. I remember seeing it for the first time and laughing at it. Back then it was very in style to have elaborate and ridiculous beds for your pets to lay on. These beds were very expensive, resulting in this pattern to become super popular. I thought it was ridiculous, especially since I had labador retrievers at that time that could fit one paw on it and that’s about it. Still, I wanted to buy it and keep it in case I had a dog or cat that could fit on and are willing to lay on these beds.

I think it’s funny this was the first pattern I purchased from this collaboration. It wasn’t my favorite pattern from the collection, but it is one of those patterns that brings back memories for me.

The next pattern I purchased is M5880…

I remember seeing the dress style this pattern makes often in the 2000’s. I never wore this kind of dress because the already made dresses available in stores back then did not fulfill my requirements for modesty. This pattern, on the other hand, did and, because of this, I wanted to buy it and make myself a dress. All these year later, I was able to find it and buy it.

The next pattern is M5748…

Years ago, this pattern was not one I wanted to own because of the plunging neckline. A few years ago, I began to find dresses for sale in a similar style to this dress. Unlike years ago, today I don’t mind the neckline and dress style of this pattern so much. In fact, I liked this pattern more than the new dresses I saw in store. Inspired by the dresses I saw in store, I bought this pattern.

The next pattern M5878…

I loved the dress style of this pattern, but I never thought I could wear it. I probably would’ve looked good on me as a teenager, but I felt like this style was for the popular and pretty girls at my high school and college. So, even though I love the dress, I didn’t want to own it and make it. Now that I’m an adult, I decided to buy it. Looking at life back then, I can see why I wanted to avoid wearing clothes like this. But today, despite the fact this dress design may not be fashionable, I don’t mind wearing it and getting picked on those popular girls at school for wearing something I made myself.

The next pattern is M5595…

I remember seeing this pattern in the 2000’s, but I don’t remember if I liked it or not. I used to own shirts in the style of this dress, except in a shorter length than these dresses. I no longer fit into those old shirts, but I liked them so much wish I could keep them and wear them today. When I found this pattern for sale, I decided to buy it and use it to make myself a dress or shirt out of it.

The next pattern is M5618…

When I was a teenager, I loved the style of the dress this pattern makes. I love the style of the neckline and the opportunity to decorate the neckline with sequins, beads, and other sewn-on appliques, making it look like a necklace. All these years later, I still love the style of this dress, but I would like a more understated and simple design for the neckline.

The next pattern is M5581…

When I saw this pattern, I didn’t like the design of this dress. It looked to much like the 2000’s take on the 1960’s. Back then, I didn’t like the 1960’s fashion a lot because it looked bad on me. Based off my tastes, I decided that this pattern was not one I would like to own unless I bought every single pattern in the Hilary Duff collection. Today, I still don’t think the dress would look like on me, but I like the jacket that comes with the pattern. I found this pattern for a very good price, so I decided to purchase it.

The next pattern is M5660…

When I saw this pattern for the first time, I liked it but didn’t want to own it. I thought it wouldn’t look very good on me. Today, I liked it, but I don’t think I’ll ever make it because I probably wouldn’t look good. Despite this, I really liked it and wanted it in my Hilary Duff x McCall’s pattern collection.

The next pattern is M5765…

I really loved coats in this style when I was a teenager, but I couldn’t afford them back then. When I saw this pattern in the pattern catalogue, I knew I wanted to own it. My idea was to buy the pattern, buy fabric to make it, and then, once I was skilled enough to sew my own clothes, I would make myself a coat. It took me a few years to buy the pattern, but I did. I still love the coat style and design, so I plan on making myself a coat in the future.

The next pattern is M5708…

This pattern is one of the patterns I liked as a teenager and as an adult. I think the shirt is very cute and would look great as a blouse for the office.

The next pattern is M5585…

When I was a teenager, I liked this pattern, but as an adult I think the shirts are cute, but better left as in the 2000’s. View C, located on the lower left side of the pattern, is probably the most likely shirt I would wear today. Despite this, I really wanted this pattern. After finding this pattern for a very good price, I added it to my collection.

The next pattern is M5514…

I found this pattern around the same time I found M5677, but I decided to buy M5677 instead of this one. While searching for new patterns to add to my collection, I found this pattern. I thought about not buying it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to try to another pattern to make a new coat for my dog, Brownie. Finally, I decided to buy it and use it to make Brownie a jacket. Unfortunately, Brownie passed away before I could make it for her. I’m still going to keep this pattern in my collection for my future doggie.

The next pattern is M5515…

When I was a teenager, I became interested in wearing motorcycle jackets as a light weight jacket. I ended up finding some at Target that I loved, but I always wanted to make my own. Back then, I didn’t have the sewing skills to make myself a jacket, but I did want to own a sewing pattern from that time period in the hope I will become good enough to make myself a jacket out of it. I didn’t buy a pattern for myself back then, but during my search for Hilary Duff sewing patterns, I discovered this one. I remembered I wanted this pattern, but like all the patterns in this post, I didn’t buy it. Now that I have the luxury to buy it, I did. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to make it, but I’m hopeful to make it before this winter.

The last pattern is M5513…

The last pattern in my collection is this coat pattern. Like with the previous coat pattern in this post, I really liked the style of this coat and wanted to own one, but couldn’t afford one. I was ecstatic to find it for sale and bought it. I already talked about my plans to make this pattern in the near future in this post.

 

Since taking these photographs, I bought more patterns to add to my collection. Instead of adding them to this collection post, I decided to talk about them in a different post in the future.

I know I don’t own every single pattern from the collaboration, but I’m not in a hurry to buy many more of them. The patterns I own make me happy to own, even if I don’t think the clothes the patterns make will look good on me. I hope to buy more in the future, but for now I’m going to enjoy and use some of them to make myself clothes I want to wear. And no, I don’t care as much as I did before the pandemic to wear “out of date” clothing styles anymore.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!