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- [00:00]
Tracy B. Wilson
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Holly Fry
A new era of power has arrived with the Alienware Area 51 gaming laptops, intentionally engineered to push more power to the CPU and GPU for maximum performance. This otherworldly power, paired with the game changing capabilities of Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs with DLSS4, ensures ultra smooth, stunning gameplay. So no matter what you're playing, Alienware ensures every game runs precisely, precisely as its developers intended. Discover Area51@alienware.com.
- [00:53]
Tracy B. Wilson
Samsung Galaxy S25 Con Galaxy AI Por Cuenta Nuestra.
- [01:09]
Unknown
Every case that.
- [01:10]
Tracy B. Wilson
Is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime on the new.
- [01:15]
Unknown
Podcast America's Crime Lab. Every case has a story to tell.
- [01:19]
Holly Fry
And the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen, I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology's already solving so many cases.
- [01:32]
Unknown
Listen to America's Crime Lab on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:38]
Tracy B. Wilson
The Girlfriends is back with a new season, and this time I'm telling you the story of Kelly Harnett. Kelly spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. As she fought for her freedom, she taught herself the law. He goes, oh God. Harnett Jailhouse Lawyer. And became a beacon of hope for the women locked up alongside her. You're supposed to have me faith in.
- [02:00]
Holly Fry
God, but I had nothing but faith in her. I think I was put here to.
- [02:03]
Unknown
Save souls by getting people out of prison.
- [02:07]
Tracy B. Wilson
The girlfri jailhouse lawyer listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [02:17]
Holly Fry
Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry.
- [02:30]
Tracy B. Wilson
And I'm Tracy B. Wilson.
- [02:32]
Holly Fry
And we are still talking about paper sewing patterns this week. Little did you know, this could possibly be two episodes worth of information. Honestly, this could be a whole podcast series.
- [02:43]
Tracy B. Wilson
Yeah, I was gonna say, I bet it could be a whole series if we wanted.
- [02:47]
Holly Fry
Yeah, easily. I felt bad every time I cut something and there's one in particular that we don't mention at all. And I will explain why on behind the Scenes.
- [02:55]
Tracy B. Wilson
Yeah, and we said in part one that this is really a focus on like Europe and North America. And if it became a global thing, it could be like 10 podcast series.
- [03:04]
Holly Fry
Forget it. See you. See you next year. And people would be like, I Don't sew. I'm not in for this. But here we are at the end of part one. We had mentioned, after talking about various tailoring and some sewing books that had come out, that there were two people that really kicked off the industry of printed patterns in the US and made them super popular. And those were Ellen Curtis Demarest and Ebenezer Butterick. So today we are going to talk about those two people as well as the development of the other companies that make up these so called big four pattern companies. Butterick, McCall's, Vogue and Simplicity.
- [03:43]
Tracy B. Wilson
Ellen Louise Curtis was born on November 15, 1824 in Schuylerville, New York. She went to Schuylerville Academy as a teenager and when she graduated at the age of 18, she immediately went into business as a milliner with her own shop. She worked in millinery for about 15 years and then got married in her mid-30s to a man named William Demarest.
- [04:07]
Holly Fry
So Ellen's entree into pattern printing is often described as her envisioning a product that could fill the gap in the home sewing market. A series of patterns that were offered in multiple sizes and were mass produced, not custom measured, for each client, and that her husband William was on board and that they launched this new business venture together.
- [04:28]
Tracy B. Wilson
That doesn't seem to be entirely accurate though. There was another Mrs. Demarest before Ellen, and that was Margaret Demarest, William's first wife. And she was billed as Mrs. Demorest in pattern ads and women's magazines in the mid-1850s. One from 1853 that ran in the New York Times touted sewing lessons as well as quote, patterns of plain and basque waists cut to fit the form with unfailing accuracy and elegant dress patterns cut at 18 and a half cents. William had hired Ellen and her sister Kate to actually design and produce the patterns, while Margaret was the public face of the brand. Initially, Margaret Demarest died in 1859, the year before Ellen and William married.
- [05:17]
Holly Fry
And once Ellen assumed the role of Mrs. Demarest both domestically and professionally, the pattern company, which had modest success in the 1850s, really started to take off.
- [05:30]
Tracy B. Wilson
In 1860, the two of them opened a shop on Broadway in Manhattan called Madame Demorest Emporium of Fashions. The patterns that they sold were not just functional for sewing, they were also works of art. Dressmaker shops that used the patterns could also assemble the pattern itself with pins and have a display piece for their window. Because the demerists printed their patterns on colored paper, customers could even get trims for their assembled paper patterns.
- [06:02]
Holly Fry
But the demerists had a much bigger vision than just opening a shop from which to sell patterns. They envisioned an entire brand that people would associate with style and dressmaking. To expand their business identity, they also started a periodical, Madame Demarest's Mirror of Fashions, which William basically ran in terms of the editorial, while Ellen managed the shop and the new designs. And the magazine, which ran for nearly 30 years, published color plates of the latest fashion trends. And it also included full sized patterns. These were not part of the page content of the magazine. They were a separate insert that was stapled into the magazine itself for easy removal and use.
- [06:44]
Tracy B. Wilson
The demerists also still offered the patterns as separate products. Customers didn't need to purchase the magazine if they didn't want to. They could just select from the various pattern offerings. This was the first of many products the demerists eventually offered through both mail order and via retailer distribution. Over time, their products included branded sewing notions like pins, scissors and measuring implements, and even foundation garments to get the perfect base layer for the new dresses customers were stitching. The demerists also expanded into cosmetics to offer a full fashion and beauty brand.
- [07:22]
Holly Fry
Yeah, they also kind of franchised like. There were multiple demerist shops that opened up that were run by other people, and they were very successful in all of this. By 1864, just four years into their venture together, they had to expand their quarterly magazine to a monthly, which was called Demarest's illustrated monthly magazine and Madame Demarest's Mirror of Fashions. It was kind of two magazines, but they were all put together into one, and that was all one title for it. And the magazine, of course, touted their patterns on the first page in a huge ad. For example, the April 1865 ad read, Life size paper models of all the reliable and latest Paris designs for ladies and children's dress arranged and elegantly trimmed so as to present the most perfect resemblance to the original articles, including evening, home, bridal or fancy dresses. Also cloaks, mantles, waists, jackets, sleeves, apron, sacks, capes, robes de chambre, undergarments, etc. And every style of garment adapted to boys and misses and infants that has any claim for either novelty or utility, or all accurately reproduced in tissue paper as soon as they are offered in either Paris or London, to secure which we have completed ample and costly arrangements. Patterns sent by mail or express to all parts of the union in Canada, Madame Demarest's Excelsior and Alwa's first premium system of dress, Cutting the Rest of.
- [08:52]
Tracy B. Wilson
The magazine included articles about the latest fashions and accessories, such as paisley shawls being a good investment, small pieces of sheet music so readers could learn a new song, sequential art stories, fiction stories and essays and commentary on fashion related news that included the ball for President Lincoln's second inauguration, of which the magazine noted, quote, the arrangements for a brilliant opening of Mr. Lincoln's second term were made with great liberality and were entirely successful. Nothing could exceed the imposing grandeur of the spectacle which the great hall of the Patent Office presented when the august assemblage, composed of the President and his lady, the foreign ministers with their wives, the heads of departments, and 5,000 of the most distinguished people from different parts of the country was complete. The clothes were, of course, also noted in this write up quote. The toilets were, many of them magnificent. Mrs. Lincoln's consisted of white satin with an elegant white lace flounce festooned at the side with heavy white silk cord and tassels. A Bertha of point lace ornamented the low neck, and a costly point lace shawl covered her shoulders. Her hair was worn in curls and adorned with white and purple flowers, pearl necklace and ornaments, bouquet and violets.
- [10:15]
Holly Fry
In the early 1870s, the magazine began touting the latest Demarest innovation, patterns in sizes other than an average slash medium. It had also developed really smart ways to integrate pattern sales with fashion and society news and information. An editorial package about cruises, for example, would include information on how to book them and where, types of excursions that one might go on, and then suggest the patterns that would enable the reader to prepare the perfect wardrobe for such a trip. The Demarest brand assured women who stitched their own garments that their patterns would enable them to create clothing as stylish as people in higher income brackets.
- [10:58]
Tracy B. Wilson
Not entirely germane to the topic of patterns, but worth mentioning. The way that Ellen Demarest ran her business was quite progressive. She made working women one of her personal causes, and she walked that walk. Her business employed a lot of women, and that included black women. She also reportedly hired black employees under the same employment terms and pay rates as white employees. She talked about the importance of recognizing women as part of the workforce. Publicly, In November of 1863, she wrote a long and rather sharp reply to the editor of the New York Times for an article that had been published about women in the workforce. Her reply began, quote, inasmuch as you are not a woman and do not to any extent employ women, allow one who is and who does, to reply to yesterday's article headed women's work and their struggle for better compensation. The whole article, because of being based on false premises, will bear an absolute reversion. She then picks apart the entire article point by point, noting, among other things, that the original article failed to take into account the fact that women are expected to raise children and that it's one of the reasons women weren't often seen in careers. Ellen Demist was involved over the years in a lot of women's causes, and the magazine often gave space to women writers to share opinions on women's issues.
- [12:25]
Holly Fry
Yeah, people like Louisa May Alcott contributed to the magazine all the time. The 1876 Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia featured two paper dress pattern exhibits. One of those was set up by the Madame Demarest company. The other display was the work of Ebenezer Butterick. And we're going to talk about Butterick and his company after we pause for a sponsor break.
- [12:52]
Unknown
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- [13:53]
Holly Fry
A new era of power has arrived with the Alienware Area 51 Gaming laptops intentionally engineered to push more power to the CPU and GPU for maximum performance. This otherworldly power, paired with the game changing capabilities of Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs with DLSS4amplifies performance and image precision for ultra smooth, stunning gameplay. And with the new cryo chamber design, airflow is focused exactly where it's needed most. Fused with Alienware's enhanced thermal solutions, it creates a higher power output without raising noise levels, allowing you to play with confidence even during the most demanding marathon gaming sessions. So no matter what you're playing, Alienware ensures every game runs precisely as its developers intended. A new era of power is here. All you have to do is take it. Discover Area 51 today@alienware.com Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old gays pull back the curtain on their brains. Brand new podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. With over 300 years of experience between them, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve four lifetimes of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community, and whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. Listen in to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [15:57]
Tracy B. Wilson
Listen to High Key, a new weekly podcast. You better listen.
- [16:01]
Holly Fry
That's literally the definition of being an Aries moon.
- [16:04]
Tracy B. Wilson
Just one little spicy off calm. That's all it takes. Everyone loves me at the cancer and then the Aries comes out and they say who the is that? No you're gonna come for me being an Aries and you have a sag moon. Get out of here. But I'm a Capricorn rising so that honestly balances it out and makes me more likable. Okay, that is your Capricorn talking. Listen to High key on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast casts.
- [16:41]
Holly Fry
Ebenezer Butterick was born in Sterling, Massachusetts on May 29, 1826. He apprenticed as a tailor starting at an early age and then he opened his own business as a merchant tailor. So that's a tailor who makes clothes but also manages an inventory of fabric that is used for the clothes but is also offered at retail. He is frequently described as having been kind of a mediocre poker as a tailor and not having a lot of success in that business.
- [17:09]
Tracy B. Wilson
But then in 1863, Butterick, working with his wife Ellen Augusta Butterick. Yes, there are two Ellens in this story. He did two things. He started offering standardized tissue paper patterns in multiple sizes and he established a factory to print them in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. This was a lot more lucrative than his tailoring business had been and he saw its potential. Butterick also had the foresight to do something the Demarests had not. He patented his patterns.
- [17:40]
Holly Fry
Initially, most of his patterns were for men and boys clothes, and he also started a periodical, although his was not a frequent one. That was the semiannual report of Gents Fashions, which debuted in 1865. He offered individual patterns for 25 to 50 cents, but you could also make a bulk purchase of 50 patterns for $5. The next year, he added graded size design for women and girls. And that was when things really took off. He also started another periodical, Ladies Quarterly Report of Broadway Fashions. His women's patterns were usually for component pieces of a garment and not a full dress, for example. So rather than an entire dress, a customer could purchase a bodice and a skirt separately and then combine them into a dress. One of the reasons his offerings became so popular so quickly was that he offered what was at the time an extremely wide size range. It was graded to fit bust lines from 28 inches to 46 inches. Butterick also innovated in the way that patterns were packaged. The Butterick Company folded the tissue patterns so they would fit snugly into a packet envelope that had that envelope flap closure. And soon that became the industry standard.
- [19:01]
Tracy B. Wilson
By the end of the 1860s, Butterick moved his pattern printing operation to a new factory location in Brooklyn, New York, and he revamped his magazine of women's fashions, calling it Metropolitan and publishing it monthly. Like Demarest's magazine, this was part style information and part self advertising. But Butterick also used it to bolster his reputation through what was almost certainly false reporting of his company's success. For example, he claimed that he sold more than 1500 patterns every day, which historians have dismissed as highly unlikely.
- [19:39]
Holly Fry
Yeah, that's a lot. In that same 1979 paper we mentioned in the first part of this two parter by historian Margaret Walsh, titled the Democratization of the Emergence of the Women's Dress Pattern Industry, Walsh notes how this exhibit at the exposition was a touchstone of a massive change in the way that it changed fashion for a wider array of people than would have had access to such things. Prior quote at mid century fashion, both as an indicator of financial strength and social rank and as an expression of femininity had been the prerogative of the rich. Only the wealthy could afford to change their styles of dress frequently. But now, thanks to the mass production of paper patterns, American women and their European counterparts were able to participate in a new social experience of making stylish clothes at will.
- [20:30]
Tracy B. Wilson
1876 was a big year for the Demarests. Their company had the biggest year it would ever have on the books. They sold 3 million patterns that year. But after that things leveled off for them, even though they won several awards at the Expo. Conversely, Butterick saw growth. In 1881, Ebenezer Butterick founded the Butterick Publishing Company, an international iteration of his already very busy business. The disparity between the two companies trajectories is sometimes attributed to the fact that the demerists didn't copyright their designs so soon. The same products were available elsewhere, whereas Butterick had his protected. But the market had also had a lot of newcomers who saw the success of the Demarest and Butterick brands and also wanted to offer patterns to home sewists. Another big factor that differentiated the two was that the demerists, in trying to create an entire brand, had kind of over diversified. They weren't associated just with patterns. Butterick was. Butterick's patterns also offered more instructions than demerists. But the big big thing was that Butterick had started his own printing facility to turn out patterns. He could do it fast and he could do it in large quantities. The demerists and other competitors on the market just didn't have that level of ownership of the manufacturing process and that hurt them.
- [22:02]
Holly Fry
One of the other competitors who started offering patterns as Butterick and Demarest were showing that it was a very viable business was James McCall. This one is a little bit frustrating in terms of the history because information on McCall is actually pretty sparse. We know he was a Scottish born tailor who moved to New York from Glasgow in 1869 and he worked in the sewing trade in New York, first for a British company called Royal Chart that sold a pattern drafting system and then he worked for a sewing machine company. When he went into the pattern business for himself, he too had an accompanying periodical that was called Catalog of the Bizarre Paper Pattern. He was purposely trying to gain momentum by making people think this might be an offering affiliated with Harper's Bazaar magazine, which had grown popular as a fashion publication by then. He next moved on to a new name, the Queen, though it was subtitled once again with the word bizarre as illustrating McCall's bizarre glove fitting patterns. He was to be clear, absolutely not the only person doing this. There were a lot of magazines and pattern catalogs with the word bizarre somewhere in the title, trying to trade on the Harper's Bazaar popularity. But then finally in 1897 it just became McCall's magazine.
- [23:24]
Tracy B. Wilson
We mentioned in the first part of this episode that most of these patterns being distributed were actually blocks or slopers. They didn't include a seam allowance. In 1919, McCall's took the step to start printing all of the company's patterns with seam allowance. Including the stitching line was denoted with a dotted line on the pattern and the cutting line was a solid line. McCall died sometime at the end of the 19th century. The details are a little unclear and at that point his wife, who was only named in accounts as Mrs. McCall, ran the company until she sold it to a banking group.
- [24:04]
Holly Fry
Next up was Vogue Patterns, which started in 1899. Unlike other pattern companies who offered magazines to grow their names and businesses, Vogue magazine predated the pattern company that started in 1893. And the pattern branch of Vogue's business began as a mail away service that was part of Vogue magazine. A mail in coupon was printed in the magazine that readers could fill out and mail in along with 50 cents. And then they would get a pattern back so that they could make one of the latest fashions featured in that magazine. But in 1899, the patterns became its own division with a range of patterns available for direct order.
- [24:46]
Tracy B. Wilson
The year that Vogue Pattern service launched, Ebenezer Butterick stepped away from his work in the company that bore his name. His health had declined and he returned home to Sterling, Massachusetts to live out the remaining years of his life. He died in March of 1903, but the company continued.
- [25:04]
Holly Fry
Vogue was purchased by Conde Nast. That's the person, not the company. The company is named after him. In 1909 and five years after that, in 1914, the company sort of relaunched Vogue Patterns, this time as a standalone business which was Vogue Pattern Company. Vogue Patterns saw rapid success and it was the first company that had widespread department store distribution. In the mail away version of the company. Vogue had been the first to license designs from European designers. So women everywhere can make their own versions of designer clothes using designer patterns. And this is actually something that has continued through the current times. Other pattern companies have done this, but Vogue has been associated with it throughout.
- [25:52]
Tracy B. Wilson
We'll talk about a newcomer to the pattern game after we hear from some of our sponsors.
- [26:02]
Unknown
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- [27:02]
Holly Fry
A new era of power has arrived with the Alienware Area 51 gaming laptops, intentionally engineered to push more power to the CPU and GPU for maximum performance. This otherworldly power, paired with the game changing capabilities of Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs with DLSS4amplifies performance and image precision for ultra smooth, stunning gameplay. And with the new Cryo Chamber design, airflow is focused exactly where it's needed most. Fused with Alienware's enhanced thermal solutions, it creates a higher power output without raising noise levels, allowing you to play with confidence even during the most demanding marathon gaming sessions. So no matter what you're playing, Alienware ensures every game runs precisely as its developers intended. A new era of power is here. All you have to do is take it. Discover Area 51 today@alienware.com Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old Gays pull back the curtain on their brand new podcast, Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. With over 300 years of experience between them, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve four lifetimes of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community and whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. Listen in to these fabulous friends, swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:06]
Tracy B. Wilson
Listen to High Key, a new weekly podcast.
- [29:09]
Holly Fry
You better listen. That's literally the definition of being an Aries mood.
- [29:13]
Tracy B. Wilson
Just one little spicy off comment, that's all it takes. Everyone loves me at the Cancer and then the Aries comes out and they said, blue dogs, is that no, you're gonna come for me being an Aries and you have a sag moon, get out of here. But I'm a Capricorn rising, so that honestly balances it out and makes me more likable. Okay, that is your Capricorn talking. Listen to High key on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:51]
Holly Fry
The 1920s were very busy for pattern companies. It was in the 1920s that pattern envelopes started getting full color illustrations of the fashions that you could make with the contents. This was another innovation that McCall spearheaded. But within a decade, all pattern companies had adopted the practice. As designer fashion became more and more prominent in the roaring twenties, McCall's embraced it by working with high profile designers like Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean Lavin to create licensed patterns.
- [30:22]
Tracy B. Wilson
And the last of the Big Four, Simplicity Patterns, was founded in 1927. Joseph M. Shapiro was born in 1888 in Borisov, Russia, and had moved to the United States in 1912. He had a number of jobs over the years, but he was working for a fashion trade magazine when he decided to launch the company based on his opinion that dress patterns cost too much. At the time, the cost of a sewing pattern ranged from 45 cents to $2. Simplicity came into the market with a goal of aiming for the business of lower income sewists. Simplicity patterns were only 15 cents. This idea of making sewing as economical as possible would drive a lot of the company's initiatives after this, Shapiro later told an interview, quote, what's the tendency of the American people in everything and architecture and eating and living? I asked myself, it's Simplicity. So I was pretty sure cheap patterns would go. But I made one mistake. 10 cents was too cheap. No one would believe they could be any good at that price. So I raised it to 15 cents and they began selling like hotcakes. Simplicity's timing entering into the market was fortuitous. When the Great Depression hit in the United States, more people than ever turned to sewing their own clothes. And because Simplicity's price point was the lowest, the popularity really soared.
- [31:52]
Holly Fry
Joseph's wife, Caroline Hutchins Shapiro, is super important to this story. She was a home economist and she had a tremendous influence on the company's offerings and ethics. Because she specialized in home EC and Simplicity had been founded with a vision to empower stitchers at all economic levels. She spearheaded a new division of the company, the education department. This department worked with the public school system to assist with home economics curricula and even had company reps who would travel to visit schools regularly. This was great in terms of helping educators, but it was also really savvy in that it meant that the next generation of sewists, and thus customers, was always getting support from Simplicity. So if you're one of those people who took Home EC in school and had a sewing project like an apron or a basic garment as part of your schoolwork, that is thanks in part to the materials that the Simplicity education department provided schools with in its early years, setting the tone for Home EC curricula for decades. Caroline Shapiro stayed with the company until the late 1960s when she retired after working for Simplicity for more than 30 years.
- [33:03]
Tracy B. Wilson
In the 1940s, Simplicity started offering patterns that had been designed to use as little fabric as possible. There were also tips included for using the fabric from existing garments to make something new. According to a stat on Simplicity's website, the war years were a boon for home sewing, as everybody was trying to economize. Before the start of World War II, an estimated 50% of women in the US sewed. But by the end of the war, it was more than 80%. Simplicity was not the only pattern company to meet the country's economic challenges with simpler designs that required less fabric. Vogue also shifted its design as slimmer silhouettes became more realistic for the finances of Sewists. When the country's financial picture grew brighter in the 1950s, though, Vogue was quick to launch new couture campaigns, including a line developed in collaboration with Christian Dior.
- [34:02]
Holly Fry
Yeah, that's the point where you get.
- [34:03]
Tracy B. Wilson
That so called, like new look that.
- [34:05]
Holly Fry
He was coming up with, which was like a very fitted nipped in waist with a huge skirt that was very voluminous to create a really sharp silhouette. And you those skirts take a lot of yardage to make that beauty. So they quickly shifted gears. But that ongoing effort to appeal to a wider audience of economic levels really paid off for Simplicity. By the late 1950s, the company had offices around the world and patterns were sold in five dozen countries. The company built on that success in the early 1960s by launching the Jiffy line of patterns. And this line was designed to be approachable in every way. It was inexpensive, relatively easy to sew, with few pieces to cut out, and generally, Jiffy patterns had low yardage requirements.
- [34:54]
Tracy B. Wilson
With Simplicity's star on the rise, Butterick made a move to stay relevant in 1961 when it purchased the Vogue patterns license license. Vogue was and still is the pattern company most associated with high fashion design. So this was an interesting move for Butterick to make. It sent a message that the company wasn't competing with Simplicity, but was going after different Sewists, that being the ones with more money. This was emphasized when the company launched pattern lines like Vogue Paris Original, Vogue Designer Original and Vogue Couturier Design. And in its continued efforts to establish and maintain relationships with fashion designers like Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karen and Issey.
- [35:40]
Holly Fry
Miyake, Another pattern company emerged in the 1960s. That was Kwikso, which was launched by Kirsten Martenson McMaster in 1967. She was born in Sweden in 1938, and she had studied fashion and pattern drafting in Europe before moving to the US when she was in her 20s. That was a move she made for her job working for Viking Sewing Machines. And one of her jobs with Viking was designing patterns for a newly growing sewing trend. Working with knit fabrics, she eventually branched out on her own to create the Sew knit and stretch company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And then seven years after it launched, it became Kwik Sew in 1974. Kirsten was the driving force behind Kwixo until her death in 2002. Boom. The company was purchased by McCall's in 2011 and continued until 2021, when McCall stopped producing all of the garment patterns under the brand to focus just on crafts. And it has since been Sunset completely.
- [36:40]
Tracy B. Wilson
By the time Kwik Sew had been Sunset, all of the big four were part of one company. In 2001, Butterick and McCall's merged, which meant that Vogue was also part of that team. This had been something of a survival necessity. Following the sewing boom of the 1950s and 60s. Things had really dropped off as more and more women had entered the workforce, so there was just less sewing being done in most US homes. Butterick was close to going out of business when the McCall's merger happened. @ the time, Sewists were kind of suspicious of the deal, with some concern that there would be fewer choices in the designs available if there was no competition. But each company established and maintained its own clear brand. Then things happened pretty quickly in 2016 and 2017. First, in 2016, CSS Industries, which was largely a gift wrap and holiday Items brand, bought McCall Pattern Company for a reported $14 million. The following year, CSS bought Simplicity Creative Group for $64 million. That seems kind of like a monopoly, but the Federal Trade Commission didn't think so. CSS was then acquired by IG Design Group in 2020 for a reported $88 million.
- [38:01]
Holly Fry
Hey, you know, we started part one. It was because the big four were being sold off from IG Design Group as IG Design Group Americas to Hilco, a liquidation company. Well, while I was working on this, DGA filed for Chapter 11 relief in a July 3rd write up on the filing that appear Business Wire. It was reported, quote, the company intends to pursue a value maximization strategy by engaging with buyers who are interested in purchasing certain of the company's business segments as a going concern while concurrently winding down its domestically manufactured woven ribbon products business and supporting assets. So this seems, and it's all so nebulous, like it might be hinting that there could be some entity at least, least in discussions about possibly purchasing the pattern companies and keeping them going. But that is unclear and the future remains very murky. I, as I said before, 100% expect for all of this to change in the gap between when we record and when we publish. If there's an actual development, maybe we'll do a pickup, we'll see what happens.
- [39:08]
Tracy B. Wilson
Maybe. So one of the things that's troubling for also is that these pattern companies are the only ones that print large scale tissue patterns. So if they're completely shuttered, smaller pattern companies that ran print jobs with them will no longer have any options. Yeah. You know, I just want to say if in the time between when we record this and when stuff comes out or shortly thereafter or whenever, if you see articles alleging that all of the pattern companies mismanaged their money and made silly decisions, just like think about the fact that they were acquired by private equity. Yeah. I mean, when businesses that you love go out of business and you're like, man, what happened? And then you suddenly read articles about how they sold too many lobster dinners or whatever, a lot of times that wasn't the problem.
- [40:09]
Holly Fry
Right. And I, I mean, we could talk more about this on behind the Scenes, but there is also that thing that happens in a lot of industries where some business interest will have a surge in popularity and there will be a huge effort to move capital behind it to expand that part of your business.
- [40:27]
Tracy B. Wilson
Yep.
- [40:28]
Holly Fry
And then that business falls off and you're like, oh, SpaghettiOs, that's not really mismanaging money. I mean, there can be money mismanagement in, but it's also like moving to meet the needs of a market. And then when that market vanishes or dissipates for whatever reason, you have to have an exit strategy. And sometimes, unfortunately, the exit strategy is we gotta sell this, we gotta fold or.
- [40:52]
Tracy B. Wilson
Yeah, be acquired. By someone.
- [40:54]
Holly Fry
Yeah.
- [40:55]
Tracy B. Wilson
Do you have Lister mail on a better note than any of that.
- [40:59]
Holly Fry
I mean, I think it's on a better note. It's about Edwin Howard Armstrong.
- [41:02]
Tracy B. Wilson
Okay, great.
- [41:02]
Holly Fry
This is from from our listener Ed, who writes. Hi Holly and Tracy. I have to say that I absolutely loved your podcast on Edwin Armstrong. I have a BS in electrical engineering and when I took my first course in radio for my undergrad, the instructor described a super heterodyne concept as the Armstrong super heterodyne. I've always wanted to know more about Armstrong and now I have a great idea as to who Armstrong was. I'm retired from engineering now. I'm a veteran. Thank you for your service. But I still love learning about the history of engineering. My graduate diploma is in aeronautical engineering. So I'm waiting with bated breath to hear a story about a woman aeronautical engineer or three for our other listeners. Tracy sent a reply to Ed with some suggestions of things that we've recorded. I got addicted to your show several years ago and I love the detail that you bring to each subject. I especially love your female focused episode. I am the father of two daughters and even more wonderful, I agree with your views on our current state of political affairs. Please keep up the incredible work and know that my two grown daughters and I love to listen and discuss your shows and spread the word to anyone who we feel would be interested in your show, which is damn near anyone. For now, I'm enclosing pictures of my three fur daughters who are grown but live with their father unlike their sisters on two legs. Take care and thanks again. These cats are so cute. There is a very, very fluffy kind of buff with darker tone color elements that looks like she might be sassafras. I love everything about it. That is is Sidney, who is also known as Bubbles after the Powerpuff Girls. It's always getting her sisters into trouble. Listen, I love the Powerpuff Girls. You give me all the PPG references you want cause I'm here for it. And then there is a beautiful black tuxedo kitty named Pepper who is the eldest and the biggest troublemaker and instigator of all that is mischievous. And then Sterling, who is called Linky. She was Sterling silver when she was born and apparently briefly resembled a sausage link which she was filling out as a kitten, which is how she got the name Linky.
- [43:14]
Tracy B. Wilson
Linky.
- [43:15]
Holly Fry
I hope this isn't the case. Linky looks like one of those cats that is a little bit emo. She's a little in her feelings is what it looks like based on this photo, but she could also just be having a moment of curious focus. Your babies are so beautiful, Ed. Thank you for sharing them with us and I'm so glad that our Edwin Howard Armstrong episode was enjoyable for you. I always worry anytime I'm talking about someone or something in a field that is not one I'm super hyper knowledgeable about. Like I try to read as much as I can and get as much foundation under my feet before I start running. But I always worry I've missed something and someone in that field will be like you are a ding dong. Which is possible. Could always happen. If you would like to write to us and share your kitties or your opinions on whether or not I'm a danger ding dong, the answer is yes, I'm good with it. You can do that@historypodcastheartradio.com you can also subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
- [44:18]
Tracy B. Wilson
Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime.
- [44:39]
Unknown
On the new podcast America's Crime Lab. Every case has a story to tell.
- [44:43]
Holly Fry
And the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught and I just looked at my computer screen, I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology technology is already solving so many cases.
- [44:56]
Unknown
Listen to America's Crime Lab on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:02]
Tracy B. Wilson
The Girlfriends is back with a new season and this time I'm telling you the story of Kelly Harnett. Kelly spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. As she fought for her freedom, she taught herself the law. He goes, oh God. Harnett Jeff and became a beacon of hope for the women locked up alongside her. You're supposed to have your faith in.
- [45:24]
Holly Fry
God, but I had nothing but faith in her. I think I was put here to.
- [45:27]
Unknown
Save souls by getting people out of prison.
- [45:31]
Tracy B. Wilson
The Girlfriends Jailhouse Lawyer listen on the.
- [45:33]
Unknown
Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:39]
Holly Fry
My Uncle Chris was a real character.
- [45:41]
Tracy B. Wilson
A garbage truck driver from South Carolina who is now buried in Panama City.
- [45:45]
Holly Fry
Alongside the founding families of Panama. He also happens to be responsible for.
- [45:50]
Tracy B. Wilson
The craziest night of my life. Wild stories about adventure, romance, crime, history.
- [45:56]
Holly Fry
And war intertwine as I share the.
- [45:58]
Tracy B. Wilson
Tall tales and hard truths that have helped me understand Uncle Chris Listen now to Uncle Chris on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app.
- [46:08]
Holly Fry
Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
- [46:12]
Unknown
Just like Great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.
- [46:21]
Tracy B. Wilson
I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies.
- [46:25]
Unknown
I'm Danielle Roubaix and this is Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcast where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authority, authors, celebs, book talk stars, and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [46:53]
Tracy B. Wilson
This is an iHeart podcast.