E. Butterick & Co.'s quarterly report of New York fashions for fall 1870. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The paper sewing pattern
What it took directly
- statedEbenezer Butterick's graded pattern took from Ellen Butterick, who wished for a pattern the same size as her son while sewing him a dress"Later that evening, Ellen remarked to her husband, a tailor, how much easier it would be if she had a pattern to go by that was the same size as her son." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- documentedThe graded (sized) paper pattern comes from Ebenezer Butterick, after Madame Demorest's ungraded tissue-paper patterns"Though Madame Demorest may have been the first to sell tissue-paper patterns, Ebenezer Butterick was the first to sell graded patterns." ASU FIDM Museum
- documentedThe tissue-paper pattern comes from Madame Demorest, who sold patterns by mail order in fashion periodicals in the 1850s"Madame Demorest, wife of a successful New York merchant, was the first pattern maven. In the 1850s, she began selling tissue-paper patterns for home sewers via mail order advertisements in fashion periodicals such as the Ladies Gazette and Godey's Lady's Book." ASU FIDM Museum
- statedButterick patterns took from the Garibaldi Suit, a boys' craze"Butterick's patterns for the Garibaldi Suit sparked a great increase in pattern sales and carried the name of Butterick into households across the United States." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- statedVogue Patterns comes from Rosa Payne, who brought a pattern she had made to Vogue magazine in 1905"Vogue Patterns began when Rosa Payne strolled into the offices of Vogue magazine in 1905 and asked them to produce a pattern she had made." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- statedThe printed pattern (markings printed on the tissue) took from presses Butterick bought in 1948 for its new plant"In 1948, Butterick purchased advanced printing equipment for the new manufacturing plant. To begin with, the company installed two new presses specially designed to print markings on the pattern tissue." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- statedIndependent paper patterns took from the Big 4 companies' tissue printers, the last in the US"They also own the last pattern tissue printers in the country, and that is significant to all the other pattern companies that rely upon it." Molly Hamilton, owner of Folkwear Patterns, to Craft Industry Alliance (June 2025)
What it learned to do
- statedButterick's pattern took from tissue paper, which Ebenezer Butterick found ideal to work with and easy to package"Ebenezer tried lighter papers and discovered that tissue paper was ideal to work with and much easier to package." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- statedHeather Lou learned from McCall's and Vogue patterns, hunted through store filing cabinets with her mother"My first sewing projects were made using McCalls and Vogue patterns, and I grew up hunting the filing cabinets at our local Fabricville with my mother." Heather Lou, owner of Closet Core Patterns, to Craft Industry Alliance (June 2025)
- statedAbbie Small (who now leads Simplicity Patterns) learned from her mother, a home economics teacher"Small credits her mother, a distinguished home economics teacher and national Teacher of the Year, with instilling her dedication to craft and community." Simplicity Patterns Inc., press release (October 2025)
- documentedSewers using the first tissue-paper patterns learned from grading by hand: enlarging or reducing each pattern to fit"Initially, these patterns were ungraded, meaning that the seamstress had to enlarge or reduce the pattern to fit her figure." ASU FIDM Museum
The tradition it sits in
- documentedHome sewing from paper patterns comes from Isaac Singer's home sewing machine, sold as an affordable appliance"Singer not only perfected a commercially viable sewing machine, but he also engaged in a nation-wide sales campaign which promoted his machine as an affordable home appliance." ASU FIDM Museum
Where the whole form comes from
- statedThe paper pattern comes from women taking apart worn-out dresses to copy them"Most women took apart old, worn out dresses to use as a model for a new one." The Butterick Company's own history (butterick.com, archived)
- inferredThe commercial paper pattern comes from at least the 1840s"It provides a unique tool for researchers and designers to recreate or date clothing from 1847 to present." inferred — the University of Rhode Island's Commercial Pattern Archive catalogues patterns from 1847 on; it does not say 1847 is when commercial patterns began
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