Sewing Public domain patterns (...if you're willing to dig)

... and also read French, or are confident with Google translate.

The French National Library (a.k.a. the BNF) has posted scans of French women's magazines which are in the public domain. Often issues contain free patterns for accessories or simple clothing items, which a clever person might be able to re-scale to doll sizes (I believe there's a tutorial elsewhere in this forum?). You do have to do a bit of browsing to find them, though, as they are scattered throughout the magazines.

Anyway, here is the list of magazines which I've found to contain patterns:

Elle (1945-1953)
Claudine (1945-1948)
Marie-Claire (1937-1944)
Nouveauté (1935-1939)
La Mode et la maison (1936)
Les Dimanches de la femme (1922-1938)
La Femme de France (1925-1938)
Les Modes de la femme de France (1916-1925)

 

No problem! I read a lot of old fashion magazines for inspiration—they're especially great for finding interesting color combinations, and tips on putting together a cohesive wardrobe. There's a lot more public domain magazines I could recommend, if anyone's interested, but these are just the ones that have patterns in them.

(By the way: anyone who lives in France can go by the BNF in person, and view a lot more resources which aren't available online!)

 

UPDATE: I put up a list of some specific patterns from the aforementioned magazines on my website. Mainly late 40's/early 50's and 1920's. Absolutely not comprehensive, but hopefully saves other people a little time