About Us

Mrs. Depew Vintage is dedicated to preserving as much hand-made history for the next generation as possible...

The history of women is often told through the treasures they made with their own two hands. I was raised in an antique shop and my mother taught me to find the stories of women shining through each loving stitch of the clothes they left behind.

Mrs. Depew Vintage is built around preserving that history through education, restoration work, and reproductions of vintage sewing and embroidery patterns, public domain books, and magazines.

Located in muggy, buggy Georgia, U.S.A.

Our studio houses a large collection of vintage sewing patterns, books, tools, tailor systems etc.

Our History

At Mrs. Depew Vintage LLC, we have been providing high-quality vintage sewing patterns, ephemera, books, and research resources since 2008. But well before that, I (the Mrs. Behind the brand) was raised in my mother's antique clothing shop, helping her hunt for and restore beautiful and rare antique clothing pieces for theater and film productions. That passion for sewing and commitment to preserving history has made Mrs. Depew Vintage a trusted name in the vintage sewing community.

Our pattern and antique paper document preservation workspace.

Our Studio

The Mrs. Depew Vintage Studio is part office space, part warehouse, and ALL museum where we work to preserve, restore, and protect sewing patterns and their history for the next generation to learn from. The sewing desk often does double duty as an antique paper repair and restoration space.

Our Research Library

Our extensive research library houses sewing patterns, catalogs, quarterlies, magazines, pattern books, tailor systems, and manuals from the 1860s through the 1990s. We currently have over 3,000 research and dating texts in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, German, and Russian.

What to do with Vintage & Books patterns

Where to donate vintage sewing patterns:

To donate locally: it is always a good idea to check with your local thrift store before donating vintage sewing patterns. Some thrift stores throw patterns away or use them as wrappings for fragile items. You can always post them for free on your local Facebook page and they can go to a local who really wants them. You can also donate your patterns to dedicated research archives that specialize in the preservation and restoration of vintage sewing patterns.

The Mrs. Depew Vintage Research Archive

This private archive is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of vintage sewing patterns, catalogs, and materials related to the history of the hand-made needle arts. Donations to this archive are lovingly repaired and preserved and reproductions are sometimes made from donated patterns. The sale of these reproductions goes toward the cost of materials used in pattern preservation, such as archival bags and backings, acid-free mending tissues, and archival-safe storage and filing materials.

The archive accepts donations on a case by case basis, and if we cannot make a home for your patterns, we are happy to direct you to other safe and reputable places to donate or sell your collection.

Contact the Archive

Where to sell vintage sewing patterns:

Many people sell patterns in lots/ collections via eBay or Facebook marketplace. You can also reach out directly to a professional pattern reseller to see if they are interested in purchasing your collection. When you contact them, be sure to let them know approximately how many patterns you have, and what eras they are from. A professional reseller with a good reputation should pay you fairly for them, but keep in mind that any reseller will have a lot of work to do with each pattern (counting the pieces, ironing, making repairs, photographing, and listing on their site) before they can hope to make a profit. This may limit how much they can pay for a pattern collection.