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Sewing and Pattern Design

Every style feature serves a purpose.

-- U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics. (1947). Round-the-House Work Clothes, p. 1

The Bureau's staff developed many patterns for women's and children's clothes based on specific criteria that tied form to function. These patterns were then marketed directly to consumers by private companies such as Advance, Simplicity, and Butterick. This section of the exhibit will show many of the patterns and provide some background into their specific creation and the Bureau's work in general.

Apron Strings and Kitchen Sinks

Sewing and Pattern Design