Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-03-26
MAKING PAPER PATTERNS
How Women Who Live Away from tn
Centers of Fashion Are Able to Cut
Their Garments StylishIy.

One often hears OF the severe fashion,:
of I'VE olden time" of plain skirts ant
bodices, fine in material but simply
constructed, even for ''the Sunday
best, and we can but look in astonish
ment to see the contrast few wears
have brought about. Wondering how
this great revolution had taken place,
reporter for the New York Mail Gnc
Express called on large fashion-house
to make inquiries. Having stated his
object, he was conducted to suite OF
rooms, each occupied by a number of
pretty girls, all busily engaged in cut
ting and folding papers.
''When dresses became more elabor-
ate, people in moderate circumstances,
little able to afford dresSmakers' bills,
and who yet wanted to keep up with
the fashions of the day, were at loss
to know what to do, till the inventive
genius of man came to the rescue with
paper patterns. This idea gave rise to
a large business, which was taken up
by few companies, generally in con-
nection with the sale of sewing-ma-
chimes, thus combining the advertising
power needed for the two departments.
Since then several houses have started
independently, and one large firm has
even given up the machine department,
paper patterns having absorbed all the
capital, time, and attention of the COM
pany.
'.Will you tell me how the patterns
are made?n
''When design has been submitted,
designing styles is profession by IL
self, made up from paper or
shown from a French drawing or plate,
and has been approved, competent fit
tiers initiate the design in cheap muslin,
simply basting the parts together, yet
being extremely careful to obtain per-
feet and well-fitting model from which
the pattern may be copied. These
models, to insure sure and stylish fig
IRE, are fitted to live model, who
wears the ghostly dress till every plat
is properly adjusted and the garment
made to compare exactly with the orig
inal design. This cloth model is then
sent to the description-writer, who
carefully rips it apart, at the same time
marking each portion that it may be
exactly replaced from the directions
she writes to accompany each pattern.
Next comes the grader, who takes the
dissected garment and cuts an exact
pattern of each part, putting in all the
nOtches and perforations as marked up
on the cloth by the description-write
The latter by this time has sent the di-
rections to the printer, who is fast
making ready the envelopes to hold the
pattern when completed"
Chow are they made to fit different
persons?"
''Ihe grader, who has system OF
measurement known only to the pro-
fession, prepares separate patterns or
duplicates OF the garment properly en-
larged or diminished to suit both great
and small. He sends these paste-board
patterns of the different sizes to the
cutters, who stand before large tables
with immense sheets of tissue paper in
layers of fifty spread before them. The
pattern is then marked upon them and
cut with large shears, and then is hand
ed to girls, who with trained fingers
rapidly fold and place them in the en-
velopes now in waiting.
''Much art work is required in an es-
Enlistment of this kind, as the cloth
model, after fitting, has to be sketched
by skillful artists, who are to bring out
in the most graceful manner the curves,
folds, and various novelties represented
in the fashion, to make as acceptable a
wood-cut as possible to use in the illus
trated catalogue, upon the envelopes,
and other advertising mediums. Most
houses issue a fashion paper, few
spicy and catching notes from the out
er world helping the circulation of what
without these would be pure adyertis-
ing sheet"
Are these patterns much sought af-
ter?'
lover a million patterns are sold
yearly by one house, agencies being es-
tablished all over the world, though it
is conceded that the most substantial
orders are from the growing west and
from towns where the facilities for OBJ
tanning reliable styles are few and fee
BILE. A love of being la mode lies
either latent or expressed in the heart
of every woman, and to the favored
oHes living in the city walk down the
leading street or avenue brings to the
mind of both young and old some new
idea of dress, with which the country
girl can only be blessed by the advent
of city visitor or by the fashion pa
pers brought by the kindly mails.
These papers are eagerly waited for
and grasped on their arrival. Each
new style is conned and criticised, and
the want of the heart filed and happi-
ness made complete by the knowledge
that few cents will bring the requisite
pattern and full directions for the max
ing of the garment desired"
How many new styles are brought
out a month";"
From fifteen to sixty new styles are
manufactured monthly, and these
sometimes form nucleus for two
hundred-page magazine partially made
up of stories, articles on art decora-
ton, practical housekeeping. etc,
forming still another solid medium for