Mid 1920s.
Suitable for both nursing and general household service. In some cases pattern companies showed maid's uniforms in their catalogs, usually toward the back of the publication, after the night clothes and under things. It's a little startling to spend time poring over illustrations for patterns of elegant tea gowns and just a few pages later to find yourself in the territory of bungalow aprons, step-ins, and maid's uniforms.
A few years earlier in 1916, the publication Journal of Home Economics published an article entitled "Costume in the Cookery Lab," which documented the results of a 1915 survey of clothing or uniform requirements for students at colleges offering Home Economics programs. At that time some departments recommended specific commercial patterns that their students (all young women, one imagines) could use. Further research may reveal that nursing schools made the same sort of recommendations. The Journal indicates that at two institutions, their students made aprons in their sewing classes. While the students may have made their own, they may also have purchased the pattern, fabric, and findings and had their clothing made by a family member or a local dressmaker.
Pictorial patterns are wonderful quality. They come pre-cut, printed, and perforated, making them very efficient to use. This pattern has been used.
