Simplicity Pattern
Encyclopedia
The Simplicity Pattern Company is a manufacturer of sewing pattern
guides, under the "Simplicity Pattern," "It's So Easy" and "New Look" brands. The company, now owned by Wrights
, began in 1927 in New York City
. During the Great Depression
, Simplicity allowed home seamstresses to create fashionable clothing in a reliable manner. The patterns have been manufactured in Niles, Michigan
since 1931, but the products are distributed and sold in Canada
, England
, and Australia
. In some markets, the patterns are sold by Burda, and they are sold by third party distributors in Mexico
and South Africa
. The company licenses its name to the manufacture of non-textile materials such as sewing machine
s, doll house kits, and sewing supplies.
Each Simplicity pattern has step-by-step instructions for the cutting, stitching, and assembling of clothes. Simplicity aims to emulate fashion designer clothing, and the company currently produces over 1,600 patterns.
Simplicity Patterns, like most home sewing patterns, consist of tissue paper
with numbers and instructions written on it. This paper is pinned on the fabric to be sewn. The hobbyist then stitches and cuts along the printed lines to create the finished clothing.
Novelist and short story author Eudora Welty
claimed that she used Simplicity Patterns for her short stories, that she would re-use the paper and pin her paragraphs to the paper and rearrange passages for greatest effect.
Some of the licensed brands that Simplicity Patterns carry are:
Cynthia Rowley,
Project Runway,
SUEDEsays™ - (Suede from Season 5 of Project Runway
) & SUEDEsays™ Studio by New Look,
Khaliah Ali - Muhammad Ali's daughter
Pattern (sewing)
In sewing and fashion design, a pattern is an original garment from which other garments of a similar style are copied, or the paper or cardboard templates from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric before cutting out and assembling .Patternmaking, pattern making or pattern cutting is...
guides, under the "Simplicity Pattern," "It's So Easy" and "New Look" brands. The company, now owned by Wrights
Wrights (textile manufacturers)
Wrights is a manufacturer of trim and other textiles for home sewing, located in West Warren, Massachusetts.The company was founded as William Wright and Sons in 1897 and remained independent until 1986, when the company was sold to Newell Industries. Newell spun off Wrights and Boye Needle in...
, began in 1927 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Simplicity allowed home seamstresses to create fashionable clothing in a reliable manner. The patterns have been manufactured in Niles, Michigan
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...
since 1931, but the products are distributed and sold in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In some markets, the patterns are sold by Burda, and they are sold by third party distributors in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The company licenses its name to the manufacture of non-textile materials such as sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
s, doll house kits, and sewing supplies.
Each Simplicity pattern has step-by-step instructions for the cutting, stitching, and assembling of clothes. Simplicity aims to emulate fashion designer clothing, and the company currently produces over 1,600 patterns.
Simplicity Patterns, like most home sewing patterns, consist of tissue paper
Tissue paper
Tissue paper is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled paper pulp.-Properties:Key properties are: strength, absorbency, basis weight, thickness , brightness, stretch, appearance and comfort....
with numbers and instructions written on it. This paper is pinned on the fabric to be sewn. The hobbyist then stitches and cuts along the printed lines to create the finished clothing.
Novelist and short story author Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
claimed that she used Simplicity Patterns for her short stories, that she would re-use the paper and pin her paragraphs to the paper and rearrange passages for greatest effect.
History
James J. Shapiro (1909–1985) was the founder and first president of the Simplicity Pattern Company. His father, Joseph M. Shapiro (1888 Russia—1968 California), a magazine ad salesman, developed the idea to launch the firm in 1927. At the time, producing dress patterns for the home sewing market was the exclusive province of McCall's and other women's magazines, including one long-forgotten publication, Fashionable Dress, that the elder Mr. Shapiro worked for in New York.Some of the licensed brands that Simplicity Patterns carry are:
Cynthia Rowley,
Project Runway,
SUEDEsays™ - (Suede from Season 5 of Project Runway
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
) & SUEDEsays™ Studio by New Look,
Khaliah Ali - Muhammad Ali's daughter