The McCall Pattern Company distribution plant in Manhattan.
Fashion by pattern Home-sewn fashions able to compete
A decade ago, clothes were sewn at home to cut down on the higher cost of retail clothing. New, home-sewn clothing has become a form of art.
"Today, women want to create their own fashion designs, said Marcia Francke, employment supervisor of The McCall Pattern Company.
In 1970, The McCall Pattern Company in New York City opened a distribution plant in Manhattan, Kan.
By Janell Good
Francie said that the Manhattan location was ideal. With Kansas State University and the Fort Riley military base close by, the 530 soldiers had always been McCall; patterns had always been
Another asset was the K-State home economic department which boosted the growth of the home-sewing industry, she said.
We designr or McCall's patterns come from the main office in New York, where each pattern is the end product of many hours of research.
"The current styles and trends in clothing are studied by teams of fashion and design experts," Franck said.
Fifty million patterns are generated each year by the top three manufacturers in the industry, which are McCall's, its closest competitor.
Simplicity Pattern Companies and Butterick,
Frapke said.
But together the pattern companies must keep up with clothing wholesalers that are able to sell them online.
To attract more customers, McCall's added brand-name fashions to their pattern line.
"These designs are exclusively licensed to McCall's, including The Gap, Laura Ashley and Liz Clarbone," Francie said.
McCall's also promotes their patterns by creating wardrobes for celebrities.
Celebrities such as Brooke Shields and television stars Linda Evans of "Dynasty" and Shari Bellefaune-Harper of "Hotel" model their wardrobes for the McCall's call.
Although patterns are usually associated with women, McCall's has expanded their lines to include crafts and pattern that fit the needs of the entire family.
"Promoting home-sewn fashions on the secondary-school level is a recent endeavor of McCall's," Francke said.
High schools no longer require a home economics course. This was usually the first introduction young people had with using patterns, she said.
"These are the people that will be on their own soon or starting families in the near
future," Francie said. "They are very important to our share of the clothing market."
"To forecast the demand of a pattern design, the company gets help from the dealers," Francie said.
Dealers place orders directly to the Manhattan distribution plant. McCall's has dealers across the United States and in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.
These dealers order daily and from the sales.
Ater the company receives orders, the production process begins.
Once the New York branch sends the paper copy of the pattern design to Manhattan, a metal plate of the pattern has to be made. The paper is cut and tissue tracing are made from these plates.
Following an assembly line production schedule, pattern materials are cut, matched and delivered for folding. Folding is either done by machine or by hand if it is a smaller order.
Completed patterns are banded together in groups of twenty and transferred to the distribution area.
Patterns are shipped to stores through the company's own railway system that is enclosed in the distribution area. Railway cars also remove paper products for recycling.
Kansan Fashion Special IMAGE/Wednesday, September 28, 1988
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