“It
sure would be easier to sew if the pattern was the right size!”
Ellen
Pollard Butterick said words to this effect to her husband around the
time of the American Civil War. She was attempting to sew a new shirt
for her son, but the paper pattern she was using to cut out all the
pieces she needed for the front, back, sleeves, and collar of the
shirt was a very different size than her son.
As
a matter of fact, all paper patterns back then came in only one size
each—and not some medium or “ideal” size, either—a different
size for each pattern. Home sewers had to customize the patterns to
their specific family members—and this resizing was apparently
time-consuming and difficult.
Ebenezer
Butterick (today's birthday boy, Ellen's husband, and a tailor)
thought his wife had a very good idea—that selling “graded”
patterns—that is, patterns in multiple standard sizes—was in fact
a great idea. So he drew up some graded patterns on tissue paper and
began to sell Butterick patterns in 1963.
The
Buttericks' invention is said to have revolutionized home sewing!
They
started off creating the pre-cut tissue-paper patterns in their own
home, but within a year the business had grown so much that they
opened a factory. At first they only created patterns for men's and
boys' clothing; later they created patterns for women's and girls'
clothing as well—and that ended up being the best-selling portion
of their pattern business, with 13 sizes offered in blouses, dresses,
coats, and skirts. The Buttericks used to give only the briefest of
instructions about how to cut out and sew the garment, but customers
clearly wanted more help than that, and the Buttericks began to print
instructions on the envelopes and, later, extensive instructions and
even cutting diagrams on folded papers inside the envelopes as well.
These days, there are even some instructions printed on the pattern
pieces
In
1867, the Buttericks began publishing fashion magazines to promote
their patterns. By the “turn of the century” (when the 1800s
ended and the 1900s began), their magazine called The Delineator
was the most important fashion magazine in the U.S.
Boy,
when I was a kid, I used to love to pore over giant books of
Butterick pattern styles—with all the colorful illustrations of
lovely girls and women in fashion-forward clothes. As a matter of
fact, if I asked nicely, the women who worked at the fabric store
would save the pattern books for me when they became outdated and
replaced—they'd just tuck those books under the counter with a note
saying “Save for Cathy,” and I'd go pick them up for free! It was
like having a giant book of paper dolls, because I'd cut out my
favorite 50 or 100 illustrations to play with!
I
wonder if people still do that?
I
imagine that patterns don't sell nearly as much nowadays. Sewing your
own clothes used to be something almost everyone did, but now
inexpensive clothes—often sewn in other countries—make sewing the
much more expensive option.
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