Original 1948 McCall Pattern No. 1279 - Misses' Bow Apron with Embroidery Transfer

Original 1948 McCall Pattern No. 1279, a "Bow Apron" designed for women's kitchen and hostess wear, in three views: a bibbed apron trimmed in rick rack, a gathered waist apron finished with a wide bow, and a lace-edged tea apron, each ready for embroidered roses. One Size. Complete Nice Condition, with the uncut transfer included; the envelope is worn and has been professionally repaired.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: McCall No. 1279
• Year: Dated 1948, found in the McCall 1948 catalog, Page 42; promoted in catalog appearances from 1948 to July 1955 (McCall catalog, December 1953, Page 675; McCall Printed Patterns catalog, July 1955, Page H6994)
• Garment: Misses' Bow Apron (3 Views), with Embroidery Transfer
• Size: One Size
• Condition: Complete Nice Condition, 7 Pieces; Uncut Transfer; Envelope Worn and Professionally Repaired with Lineco Acid-Free Archival Tissue and Acid-Free Adhesive

Design

McCall 1279 is built around the bow. View A is a full bibbed apron edged in rick rack, with an embroidered rose on the bib worked in satin-stitch and outline from the blue transfer; it takes 1¼ yards of 35" fabric. View B is a simpler waist apron, gathered onto its band and finished with a wide bow, suited to a breezy plaid; it takes 1 yard of 35" fabric. View C is a dainty tie-on tea apron in a pastel, edged in lace and embroidered with roses. Seven pattern pieces plus one embroidery transfer, in one size.

A Moment in Fashion History

McCall 1279 first appears in our 1948 McCall catalog, on a page shared with its companion Heart Apron, McCall 1278, and it was still being offered seven years later, in the July 1955 McCall Printed Patterns catalog, at the same 25-cent price. Along the way it appears in December 1953 beside McCall 1594, a sheer organdy party apron from 1950, and in 1955 beside the Flower Petal Apron, McCall's 1691. A run that long, unchanged, shows how well a pretty, practical apron could hold its place in the catalog while dress fashions changed around it, from the end of the war years to the full skirts of the mid-1950s. Bows, rick rack, and embroidered roses kept it suited to every kind of hostessing, from casual after-game gatherings to afternoon tea.

Illustration

The envelope front and back are shown as scanned, framed on our blue mat without retouching, so the artwork appears in its true color and condition. The envelope shows all three views: the bibbed View A trimmed in rick rack with an embroidered rose, View B as a plaid waist apron with a wide bow, and the lace-edged tea apron, View C. We've also included three McCall catalog pages where it appears: page 42 of the 1948 catalog, beside its companion Heart Apron, McCall 1278; page 675 of the December 1953 catalog, beside McCall 1594; and page H6994 of the July 1955 McCall Printed Patterns catalog, beside McCall's 1691 and 1799.

Connections

McCall 1279 stayed in McCall's catalogs from 1948 to at least July 1955, and along the way it shared pages with two aprons in our collection. On page 675 of the December 1953 catalog it appears beside McCall 1594, a sheer organdy party apron; both are dressed in roses, here embroidered above crisp bows, there cut from chintz and appliquéd on organdy. On page H6994 of the July 1955 McCall Printed Patterns catalog it appears beside McCall's 1691, the Flower Petal Apron, whose skirt is cut as overlapping petals. See McCall 1594 Organdy Party Apron and McCall's 1691 Flower Petal Apron.