1940s

What to Wear in an Emergency

November 9, 2016September 4, 2018by Sarah Sheehan

Weldons So-Easy 20 hooded wrap housecoat detail — Detail, Weldons So-Easy 20 (ca. 1940).

From Weldons’ 1940s So-Easy line, this “Ten-Second” Siren Wrap features a cozy hood and chic contrast binding:

Ten-second siren wrap dressing gown pattern - Weldons So-Easy 20, circa 1940. A Weldon Production. — Weldons So-Easy 20 (ca. 1940) Siren wrap.

Other So-Easy air raid patterns included a women’s two-way siren suit (no. 19), child’s hooded siren suit (no. 17), and girl’s hooded siren suit (no. 18).

Back of Weldons So-Easy 20, showing other 1940s designs in the So-Easy pattern range — Back of Weldons So-Easy 20, showing other designs in the So-Easy pattern range.

The pattern tissue is printed with an advertisement for Dewhurst’s Sylko machine twist.

Weldons So-Easy 20 pattern tissue advertising Dewhurst's Sylko machine twist — Weldons So-Easy 20 pattern tissue advertising Dewhurst’s Sylko machine twist.

For knitters, Weldons also had a special knitting book called Quick-Change Siren Woollies (click to view an Etsy download):

Weldon Knitting no. 29 1940: Quick-Change Siren Woollies - 14 garments including jackets, pullovers, children's siren suits, mittens, shawls, socks, etc. — *Quick-Change Siren Woollies* – Weldon Knitting no. 29 (Nov. 1940) Image: Etsy.

For more on Weldons’ wartime So-Easy patterns, see There’s a War On.

4 thoughts on “What to Wear in an Emergency”

catherinedaze says:

November 10, 2016 at 3:07 am

These seem to be a sort of coat-dressing gown hybrid. Curious as to what fabrics are recommended?

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1. PatternVault says:
  
  November 10, 2016 at 11:13 am
  
  I was hoping to find fabric recommendations myself, but these patterns don’t seem to include them. The instructions refer to the garment as a “braided wrap with attached or detachable hood”; yardage is for 54″ fabric and optional 36″ hood lining.
  
  Reply
Ally says:

November 17, 2016 at 12:22 pm

I never even though about such a thing! What an interesting piece of fashion history. Thank you for sharing. I love the Quick-Change Siren Woolies and of course, I always love your blog posts 🙂

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