For most of human history, people have made their own clothing. William and Ellen Demorest began selling patterns through their magazine, The Mirror of Fashion, in 1860. These patterns were one size and cut to shape. They did not come with any instruction, but customers could buy them “made up” which meant the pattern would come pieced together.

Ebenezer Butterick is credited with creating the first graded (or sized) paper pattern in 1863. Tissue was used to reduce cost and increase mass production of these patterns. Butterick Publishing Co. is also credited with introducing detailed instructions sheets, called a “Deltor”, included with their patterns. These advancements allowed customers to spend less time making adjustments to their measurements and fussing over the steps for each piece.

In the early days of tissue patterns, important markings were made by perforations in the paper. Notches or holes in the blank tissue would indicate where customers should add darts, buttonholes, or pleats. Printed paper patterns were introduced in the late 1940s and were readily adopted by most pattern companies. Today patterns are printed with instructions, markings, and even multiple sizes all on the same tissue paper.

This Simplicity Pattern Fashion Preview is a small pamphlet showcasing new trends for September 1951. Included with the fashion illustrations are the pattern numbers for ordering from Simplicity. One page features school outfits for children and gives short descriptions like “Jane studies history in her ‘grown-up’ suit” and “Kitty plays at recess in her gay calico”.

Simplicity Pattern Co. started in 1927 and sought to create simple, easy-to-follow sewing patterns at a lower price point. They sold unprinted patterns until 1946, when they made the switch to printing.

This men’s shirt pattern is Butterick pattern 6319, also from the 1950s. Ours is sized for a 14½ inch neck and 36 inch sleeve measurements. The pattern description reads: “Collars and cuffs make the difference. A: Regulation collar tops off shirt that sports popular French cuffs, single pocket. B: Spread collar, single button cuffed sleeves. C: Tab collar, button cuff. D: Button down collar.” This pattern cost 35 cents.

Here we have a women’s dress pattern from 1959, Advance 9235. This pattern is in a size 16 for 36 inch bust and 28 inch waist measurements. The pattern description reads: “One-piece dress loves many kinds of fabrics ... but because of the graceful kimono sleeves, it looks loveliest if the fabric is one that drapes well. And if a lacy or sheer fabric is used, the dress shoulder completely lined.” This pattern cost 65 cents.

Advance patterns, started in 1933, were sold exclusively at J. C. Penney and were one of a few companies allowed to make Barbie clothing patterns by Mattel. The company was sold in 1966 to Puritan Fashions.

Resources

Eastside Heritage Center archives

Admin. (2013, July 22). Vintage patterns. Vintage Fashion Guild. https://vintagefashionguild.org/fashion-history/vintage-patterns/#:~:text=The%20first%20paper%20patterns%20were,graded%20sewing%20pattern%20in%201863.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2020, July 7). History of sewing patterns. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sewing_patterns.

Eastside Stories

The Eastside Heritage Center has a large collection of quilts which date from the mid-1800s to modern day. Patchwork quilting is an American tradition used mainly by women to create useful blankets, preserve family trees and memories, and demonstrate a wide range of skills related the textile arts. A quilt is made by joining a patchwork top layer to a solid or also patched backing, although they are warmer with a cotton sheet or batting layer in the middle this is not always a part of the quilters creation as it can be expensive or hard to find at certain periods of the past.

*Photo above: Detail of quilt made of hexagon patches shoeing hand stitching.*

Quilting is a very time-consuming task and one can imagine how much more so before sewing machines were readily available. The smaller the patches the longer the quilt would take to make with the hexagon flower pattern above. Each hexagon is only about an 1 ½ inch tall and the top layer for this is completely handsewn. It’s no wonder the quilter didn’t finish stretching and sewing this quilt to the backing. Still, this quilter’s labor is preserved in the EHC collection.

Some quilt designs are the result of fads like the Victorian era crazy quilt while many quilts are made from necessity. Quilters will often utilize any material they can find from fine ribbons and lace to worn clothes and flour sacks. Historically some companies have even catered to this by printing designs on their sacks or providing small slips of silk in cigar boxes which could then be used to make quilts. In the Eastside Heritage Center’s Collection there are quilts which still bare the logos of the mills which produced the flour backing some of the quilts.

Photo (above): Red, white, and blue patchwork quilt using the pattern known as "Job's Troubles".

Many quilt patterns were developed from stories in the Bible such as the quilt above showing a pattern called “Job’s Troubles”. The character Job in the Bible faced many hardships but kept his faith in God and may have been an inspiration for women who traveled west and faced many hardships themselves as they made a new life for their families. Often the creator of a pattern goes unknown. Just like today, quilters learn from each other and emulate what they see through skill. The four patches at each corner create a star and the four stars coming together create an almost circular shape. This quilter plays with the negative space by keeping all the larger patches white so together they emphasize the stars and the stars complement the shape back.

Quilts take so long to make that sometimes quilters start them and work on them for years or set their work aside and come back to it after a long period of time. There are two quilts in our collection which were started and finished about forty years apart. We know this because the quilters themselves documented the years they worked on each. In the back-left corner of a sunbonnet quilt, in a hard-to-read red thread over blue, white, and red flowers, are the words “Made by Georgia and Essa Smith 1938-1979”. Another quilt made by the sisters, featuring 25 stunningly hand-embroidered flower panels, reads “Made by Georgia & Essa Smith”/”Started 1930”/”Finished 1979”. Sometimes hand-stitched records like this are all we have to tell us who, what, when, and where regarding the quilts and other textiles in our collection.

Still, many things can be learned based simply on the patterns chosen, the cloth utilized, and the pictures, shapes, and stiches used to create each quilt. Quilts can be used to document communities, like one quilt in our collection showing the “5 Points Neighborhood” which existed on an intersection with five points that no longer exists. Their matching patches document the shape of the streets and show the creativity of each group who created them. Quilting can be an individual or a community activity and either way gives a unique glimpse into moments and times throughout east King County’s history. To see more patterns and learn about the history of quilts, download our new Basic Quilt Coloring Book and look out for more information on our quilt collection.

Photo (above): Quilt showing the use of printed bags from milling companies as backing for a crazy quilt.

Fifties Sewing Patterns

Quilts of the Eastside