Pattern

   A pattern is a two-dimensional diagram of a garment drafted by a patternmaker that is subsequently cut and sewn in fabric. The history of patternmaking can be traced as far back as the thirteenth century with the introduction of form-fitting clothing. Tailors and dressmakers authored guides on how to cut and sew men's, women's, and children's clothing and guilds were formed during the Middle Ages that offered apprentices the opportunity to learn techniques of the trade. By the late 1770s, publications such as Garasault's Descriptions des arts et métiers and Diderot's Encyclopédie Diderot et D'Alembert: arts de l'habillement contained pattern drafts for the professional tailor as well as, in 1809, the American publication The Tailor's Instructor by Queen and Lapsley. The home dressmaker was soon able to access full-size patterns designed for charitable women whose time was spent sewing for the poor in the early 1800s. During the early 1850s, Godey's Lady's Book and Petersen's magazine began promoting small pattern diagrams of new clothing styles and later offered Mme. Demorest's full-scale patterns through mail order. Butterick & Company, incorporated in 1863, offered its patterns in a full range of sizes and was eventually followed by McCall's, Vogue, and Simplicity pattern companies. Patents were issued that included solutions for properly identifying pattern pieces (Robert S. O'Laughlin, 1899, and George M. Laub, 1907), conveying the order of garment assembly with numerical symbols (William P. Ahnelt, 1907, and Alice Audrey Maxwell, 1908), and the most comprehensive solution patented by Hannah G. Millard in 1920—her "Dressmaker's Pattern Outfit" instructed pattern users in garment cutting and construction procedures with an accompanying step-by-step instruction sheet and diagram. Her patent was secured as proprietary by competitor Butterick and called the "Deltor" after Butterick's magazine the Delineator. The "Pictograph," patented by Max Herzberg for the Excella Corporation in 1925, printed all of the instructions on the pattern pieces themselves, eliminating the need for a separate reference sheet. Between the 1930s and 1950s, the home sewing industry, dominated by women, flourished. However, after World War II as more and more women entered the workforce, they had less leisure time. By the 1960s, the home sewing market began to wane as women, with increasing amounts of disposable income, found that buying clothes instead of making them satisfied their need for immediate gratification. Although pattern companies resorted to various marketing strategies, such as using top models for their catalogs and licensing designer names, the industry continued to diminish. Today, patterns are either drafted manually or by computer.