Commercially available sewing patterns have been a cornerstone of home stitching for a century. But well before they existed, there were people trying to share sewing patterns. 

Research:

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• Boullay, Benoit. “Le Tailleur Sincère, Contenant Ce Qu'il Faut Observer Pour Bien Tracer, Couper.” (Reproduction.) Hachette Livre Bnf. 2012.
• Buckley, Cheryl. “On the Margins: Theorizing the History and Significance of Making and Designing Clothes at Home.” Journal of Design History, vol. 11, no. 2, 1998, pp. 157–71. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316192
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• Crossland, Samantha R. “Made in Minneapolis, sewn all over the world.” Hennepin History. 2021, Vol. 80, No. 2. https://hennepinhistory.org/from-the-magazine-made-in-minneapolis/
• Demorest, Ellen. “The Question of Labor. Women’s Work and Wages.” New York Times. Nov. 18, 1863. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1863/11/18/78710875.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “The Educational Legacy of Simplicity Pattern Company.” Simplicity Patterns. September 2024. https://simplicity.com/blog/the-educational-legacy-of-simplicity-pattern-company
• Emery, Joy Spanabel. “A History of the Paper Pattern Industry: The Home Dressmaking Fashion Revolution.” Bloomsbury Visual Arts. 2020.
• Freyle, Diego de. “Geometria Y Traça Para El Oficio De Los Sastres.” Sevilla, Spain. 1588. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/1588-geometria-y-traca-para-el-oficio-de-los-sastres/page/n1/mode/2up
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• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Ebenezer Butterick". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ebenezer-Butterick
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ellen Louise Curtis Demorest." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/money/Ellen-Louise-Curtis-Demorest
• “Demorest’s Illustrated Monthly and Mme. Demorest’s Mirror of Fashions.” April 1865. https://ia802801.us.archive.org/8/items/demorestsillustr00newy/demorestsillustr00newy_bw.pdf
• “Design Group Americas Voluntarily Files for Chapter 11 Protection, Initiates Sale Process Aimed at Maximizing Value Through Going Concern Transactions.” BusinessWire. July 3, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250703734892/en/Design-Group-Americas-Voluntarily-Files-for-Chapter-11-Protection-Initiates-Sale-Process-Aimed-at-Maximizing-Value-Through-Going-Concern-Transactions
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• “Millinery.” New York Times. Nov. 7, 1853. https://www.newspapers.com/image/20309463/?match=1&terms=%22Mme.%20Demorest%22
• “The 40’s from The War Effort to The New Look - Championing Fashion that Matters.” Simplicity Patterns. September 2024. https://simplicity.com/blog/vogue-patterns-an-evolution-of-american-style
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• Reyes-Martinez, Marcos A. “The Vara: A Standard of Length With a Not-So-Standard History.” National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oct. 11, 2019. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/vara-standard-length-not-so-standard-history
• Walsh, Margaret. “The Democratization of Fashion: The Emergence of the Women’s Dress Pattern Industry.” The Journal of American History, vol. 66, no. 2, 1979, pp. 299–313. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1900878