If you’ve been following my blog much at all, you’ve probably run across at least one of the many blog posts I’ve written on this particular sewing pattern, vintage Simplicity 4883 for Ideal Tammy dolls.

I have a long history with this pattern, which was the very first pattern I ever sewed. In fact this pattern helped morph me into the doll clothing designer that I am today.

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As many times as I’ve used this pattern, you would think I know this pattern inside out and backwards, but there’s one thing I’ve never been able to discover about Simplicity 4883: it’s date of publication.

It can’t be found anywhere on the back of the envelope (look for yourself and see if you can find one — let me know if you see any kind of date on it); it can’t be found in the instruction pages; it can’t be found on the front cover either.

It just doesn’t seem to have a date anywhere at all.

Of course we can look at the outfits and make an estimate, based on our knowledge of fashion history.

Two key elements in this pattern are the swing coat from View 1 and the pedal pusher pants in View 4. Swing coats are mostly associated with the 1950’s, especially when they have this 3/4 length sleeve; however the earliest Ideal Tammy dolls didn’t come on the scene until 1962. Of course a coat like the one in View 1 could still be worn in the early 1960’s, even though it was a trend that was losing momentum at that time.

With regard to the pedal pushers, I’ve had a harder time dating them. Wikipedia says they were “popular during the 1950s and the early 1960s,” which doesn’t help any more than the swing coat’s date of origin.

My best guess is that this pattern was likely published around 1963, just considering the origin date of 1962 for Tammy and the fact that the swing coat and the pedal pushers are considered fashions of the late 50’s and early 60’s. But of course, Simplicity 4883 could have been published in 1962, 1964, or even 1965.

When a follower asked me what year this pattern was published, I actually reached out to Simplicity to see if they could help put a date on this pattern.

To my surprise, they were unable to help.

Here’s what their representative wrote in response to my query:

Did you see this lady’s name? It’s Suzanne Smith. With a name like that, I wondered if this message had been sent by AI instead of a real person.

So nosey me… I looked her up!

It turns out Suzanne Smith is a real person with a lot of experience in online learning and curriculum. So she’s probably a seamstress, and maybe she has taught sewing classes online. And I believe she’s 100% correct about her response when she states, “We do not have an archive for Out of Print patterns” because my nosiness also led me down a “Simplicity business history” rabbit hole as well, and guess what I learned?

IG Design Group Americas not only owns Simplicity, but also McCall’s, Vogue, and Butterick, which are known as the “Big 4” sewing pattern brands.

So I guess it’s up to vintage sewists like me and you to keep the secrets of these “out-of-print” patterns.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about this. Do you think it’s okay for bigger companies to buy up all the little pattern companies in the interest of saving their customers money? Do you prefer to buy your patterns from small, independent pattern makers because you can more easily get in touch with a human person, should you happen to have questions?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. And if any of you have a really good guess about the date of publication for my Simplicity 4883 doll clothes sewing pattern for Tammy, I’d like to hear that as well!

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For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.

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Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.

Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with the pattern company or companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly finds inspiration in the doll clothes designed by these pattern companies. To purchase patterns from Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, or other pattern companies shown and discussed in this blog post, please click on the links provided here. These links below the “Disclaimer” section do not help raise money for this free pattern website; they are only offered to give credit to the company that made these patterns.