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:
Alcega, Joan de. “Libro de geometria, practica y traça.” Madrid.1580. Accessed online:https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07333/
Aldarondo, Abner. “A Master Tailor’s Manual.” Folger Shakespeare Library. Jan. 10, 2023. https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/a-master-tailors-manual/
Bertrand, J.E. “Descriptions des arts et métiers faites ou approuvées.”  l'Imprimerie de la Société Typographique. 1780. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SAWFeeXzMgYC&rdid=book-SAWFeeXzMgYC&rdot=1
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
Crane, Ellen Bicknell. “Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts.” Lewis Publishing Company. 1907. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=nfhSZxL8bTEC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
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
Johnson, Susan. “’Madame’ Demorest—The Woman at the Top of a 19-Century Fashion Empire.” Museum of the City of New York. April 15, 2020. https://www.mcny.org/story/madame-demorest-woman-top-19-century-fashion-empire
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
“Joseph M. Shapiro of Simplicity, 79.” New York Times. July 31, 1968. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/07/31/76959179.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
“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
Queen, James and William Lapsley. “The Tailor’s Instructor.” Philadelphia. 1809. Accessed online: https://dn790007.ca.archive.org/0/items/taylorsinstructo00quee/taylorsinstructo00quee.pdf
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

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.&nbsp;
Research:
<ul>
<li>Alcega, Joan de. &ldquo;Libro de geometria, practica y tra&ccedil;a.&rdquo; Madrid.1580. Accessed online:https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07333/</li>
<li>Aldarondo, Abner. &ldquo;A Master Tailor&rsquo;s Manual.&rdquo; Folger Shakespeare Library. Jan. 10, 2023. https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/a-master-tailors-manual/</li>
<li>Bertrand, J.E. &ldquo;Descriptions des arts et m&eacute;tiers faites ou approuv&eacute;es.&rdquo; &nbsp;l'Imprimerie de la Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Typographique. 1780. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SAWFeeXzMgYC&amp;rdid=book-SAWFeeXzMgYC&amp;rdot=1</li>
<li>Boullay, Benoit. &ldquo;Le Tailleur Sinc&egrave;re, Contenant Ce Qu'il Faut Observer Pour Bien Tracer, Couper.&rdquo; (Reproduction.) Hachette Livre Bnf. 2012.</li>
<li>Buckley, Cheryl. &ldquo;On the Margins: Theorizing the History and Significance of Making and Designing Clothes at Home.&rdquo;&nbsp;Journal of Design History, vol. 11, no. 2, 1998, pp. 157&ndash;71.&nbsp;JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316192</li>
<li>Crane, Ellen Bicknell. &ldquo;Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts.&rdquo; Lewis Publishing Company. 1907. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=nfhSZxL8bTEC&amp;source=gbs_navlinks_s</li>
<li>Crossland, Samantha R. &ldquo;Made in Minneapolis, sewn all over the world.&rdquo; Hennepin History. 2021, Vol. 80, No. 2. https://hennepinhistory.org/from-the-magazine-made-in-minneapolis/</li>
<li>Demorest, Ellen. &ldquo;The Question of Labor. Women&rsquo;s Work and Wages.&rdquo; New York Times. Nov. 18, 1863. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1863/11/18/78710875.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&amp;ip=0</li>
<li>&ldquo;The Educational Legacy of Simplicity Pattern Company.&rdquo; Simplicity Patterns. September 2024. https://simplicity.com/blog/the-educational-legacy-of-simplicity-pattern-company</li>
<li>Emery, Joy Spanabel. &ldquo;A History of the Paper Pattern Industry: The Home Dressmaking Fashion Revolution.&rdquo; Bloomsbury Visual Arts. 2020.</li>
<li>Freyle, Diego de. &ldquo;Geometria Y Traça Para El Oficio De Los Sastres.&rdquo; Sevilla, Spain. 1588. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/1588-geometria-y-traca-para-el-oficio-de-los-sastres/page/n1/mode/2up</li>
<li>Johnson, Susan. &ldquo;&rsquo;Madame&rsquo; Demorest&mdash;The Woman at the Top of a 19-Century Fashion Empire.&rdquo; Museum of the City of New York. April 15, 2020. https://www.mcny.org/story/madame-demorest-woman-top-19-century-fashion-empire</li>
<li>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Ebenezer Butterick".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ebenezer-Butterick</li>
<li>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ellen Louise Curtis Demorest."&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/money/Ellen-Louise-Curtis-Demorest</li>
<li>&ldquo;Demorest&rsquo;s Illustrated Monthly and Mme. Demorest&rsquo;s Mirror of Fashions.&rdquo; April 1865. https://ia802801.us.archive.org/8/items/demorestsillustr00newy/demorestsillustr00newy_bw.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;Design Group Americas Voluntarily Files for Chapter 11 Protection, Initiates Sale Process Aimed at Maximizing Value Through Going Concern Transactions.&rdquo; 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</li>
<li>&ldquo;Joseph M. Shapiro of Simplicity, 79.&rdquo; New York Times. July 31, 1968. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/07/31/76959179.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&amp;ip=0</li>
<li>&ldquo;Millinery.&rdquo; New York Times. Nov. 7, 1853. https://www.newspapers.com/image/20309463/?match=1&amp;terms=%22Mme.%20Demorest%22</li>
<li>&ldquo;The 40&rsquo;s from The War Effort to The New Look - Championing Fashion that Matters.&rdquo; Simplicity Patterns. September 2024. https://simplicity.com/blog/vogue-patterns-an-evolution-of-american-style</li>
<li>Queen, James and William Lapsley. &ldquo;The Tailor&rsquo;s Instructor.&rdquo; Philadelphia. 1809. Accessed online: https://dn790007.ca.archive.org/0/items/taylorsinstructo00quee/taylorsinstructo00quee.pdf</li>
<li>Reyes-Martinez, Marcos A. &ldquo;The Vara: A Standard of Length With a Not-So-Standard History.&rdquo; National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oct. 11, 2019.&nbsp;https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/vara-standard-length-not-so-standard-history</li>
<li>Walsh, Margaret. &ldquo;The Democratization of Fashion: The Emergence of the Women&rsquo;s Dress Pattern Industry.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Journal of American History, vol. 66, no. 2, 1979, pp. 299&ndash;313.&nbsp;JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1900878</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

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. 

Paper Sewing Patterns, Part 1

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ba185a3f-ff1a-4b79-90d8-b31a003d3328/transcript

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