Original 1950 McCall's Pattern No. 1597 - Mr. and Mrs. Aprons, Hats and Mitts

Original 1950 McCall's Pattern No. 1597 for matching Mr. and Mrs. barbecue aprons with a chef's hat and quilted mitts, embroidered with a comic cookout: a little cook and his helper chasing a dog that has run off with a string of sausages. Complete, in nice condition, with its two transfers cut but present; the envelope is worn and professionally repaired.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: McCall's No. 1597
• Year: 1950; promoted in catalog appearances from January 1952 to 1955 (McCall's Economy Group catalog, January 1952; McCall catalog, December 1953, Page 676; McCall catalog, 1955)
• Garment: Mr. and Mrs. Aprons, Hats and Mitts (2 Views), with 2 Transfers
• Size: One Size
• Condition: Complete, Nice Condition; Transfers Cut but Present; Envelope Worn and Professionally Repaired with Lineco Acid-Free Archival Tissue and Acid-Free Adhesive

Design

The two bib aprons are cut from one pattern and bound in red bias tape, with a small pocket at the top of the bib, deep pockets low on the apron, and a neck strap of self fabric or woven tape with woven-tape ties. View A, for him, adds a towering chef's hat, a puffed crown on an elasticized band, and a pair of mitts interlined with sheet cotton and quilted in a windowpane pattern. His embroidery shows a young chef in a checked apron tumbling over as a dog makes off with the sausages beside the grill; hers, View B, shows a girl in a checked apron carrying a tray while a pup tugs at the sausage chain. The transfers stamp in McCall's Blue on light or dark materials, and the envelope adds a large drawing of the little dog dashing off with a string of sausages. Six pieces and two transfers.

A Moment in Fashion History

The postwar patio made the backyard cookout a family event, and McCall gave it a whole wardrobe. This Mr. and Mrs. set was issued alongside a junior version for brother and sister, No. 1598, and McCall kept it in its catalogs for years: it appears in the January 1952 Economy Group catalog beside No. 1596, and in the December 1953 and 1955 catalogs beside the earlier Mr. and Mrs. set No. 1481, the 1955 page under a cook-out, cook-in apron feature.

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 front shows the wife in a blue blouse with a mitt on one hand and the husband in a towering chef's hat, with the sausage-stealing dog drawn large across the bottom. A previous owner's name is written in pencil at the top left. We've also included pages from McCall's January 1952 Economy Group catalog, the December 1953 McCall catalog (page 676), and the 1955 McCall catalog, where it appears.

Connections

Numbered side by side and copyrighted the same year, this Mr. and Mrs. set has a junior partner, McCall 1598, Brother and Sister Junior Aprons, Hat and Mitts: the same bib apron, chef's hat, and quilted mitt, scaled down for the children, with its own backyard-barbecue embroidery, so the whole family could turn out for the cookout. See the junior set, McCall 1598, and explore more aprons made for the whole household in McCall Family Aprons.