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Sewing kits and patterns for outdoor recreation gear became popular during the late 1960s in the United States due to an increased interest in outdoor recreation. This enthusiasm for the outdoors led to a sudden demand for outdoor clothing. Due to high retail prices in outdoor clothing, consumers sought other ways to buy outdoor merchandise. Sewing machines were common in many households at this time and do-it-yourself brands, like Frostline Kits and Altra Kits, began to offer outdoor gear kits and patterns at reasonable prices. The sewing kits provided all the materials needed for a project, such as thread, zippers, and even down for coats and sleeping bags. The mail-order outdoor sewing kit businesses, and related sewing pattern businesses, thrived throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. However, with an increased affordability in retail outdoor gear and the decline of home sewing, outdoor recreation do-it-yourself kits and sewing patterns began to decline in popularity by the 1980s and largely disappeared from the market in the 1990s. Some companies, like Green Pepper Inc., continue to sell outdoor gear sewing patterns as of 2021.