The McCalls printing plant in Manhattan, Kansas, will shut down at the end of 2021. The plant currently employs 85 people and prints and folds sewing pattern tissue. It has five tissue presses and two folding machines.
“It was a difficult decision to close Manhattan,” says Abbie Small, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Craft at Design Group, the company that has owned McCalls and Simplicity since January 2020. “We are grateful for the dedication and service of our employees there.”
At its height in the 1970s, Simplicity and McCalls combined printed 200 million sewing patterns each year. That number is down to 20-30 million today. The Manhattan, Kansas plant has been in operation for approximately 50 years. It once employed 1200-1300 people, according to a source we spoke with who wished to remain anonymous. Before the pandemic, there was a round of layoffs and last week remaining employees were told of the forthcoming closure. Most will be laid off, while some will do their jobs virtually. “Anyone who was anyone worked at McCalls back in the day,” the source we spoke with said. “Now they say, ‘They’re still open?’”
Printing and folding for pattern tissue will be consolidated to the Simplicity plant in Wisconsin. The pattern envelope printing will be outsourced. Small says the Simplicity printing plant can print on a sturdier tissue. “We had been hearing consumer complaints about the quality of our tissue,” she says. “So this will be an upgrade. Outsourcing the envelope printing will allow for higher print quality and capability as well.” Small says the closure and consolidation are not related to the cyber attack the company faced at the end of 2020 which shut down production for over a month.
Besides printing and folding patterns for the Big 4 pattern brands, the Manhattan plant also prints and folds tissue for many indie sewing pattern companies. Small says they plan to continue these contracts. She says the indie pattern companies will also benefit from the improved quality once the printing services consolidate. The move will not cause a price increase for the contract jobs, although the supply chain and distribution challenges happening worldwide may have an impact at some point.
The printing presses and folding machines at the McCalls plant were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and are some of the only operating machines of their type in the US. According to the source we spoke with, the machines will not be sold but instead will be scrapped as will the replacement parts.
Small, who returned to DesignGroup in October after a 34-year career at Simplicity, says she’s pulling together a committee now to examine every aspect of the company’s sewing patterns. “Our motto is ‘keep the sewing machines sewing,’” she says. “We’ve seen a huge surge in sewing during the pandemic. Now we’re looking at everything including the back-of-envelope, instructions, and guide sheets to make them the best they can be.”
Abby Glassenberg
Abby co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president. She’s a sewing pattern designer, teacher, and journalist. She’s dedicated to creating an outstanding trade association for the crafts industry. Abby lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Why in God’s name scrap machines and replacement parts? Give them away instead.
It seems so very wasteful. Maybe it’s to stop someone setting up in competition with them.
I suggest to include access to video showing how to sew the patterns. Probably you can do it associated with influencers that are well known in the sewing world.
I so agree with you. I started sewing because of the pandemic and it started by making masks for my family and myself.
There are many videos for sewing patterns across You Tube, sewing websites and blogs, and the company websites that highlight many of the branded sewing pattern.
I’d like to see the machines go into a museum. An all sewing museum would be great.
McCalls was my fist job out of high school in the 80’s. I enjoyed working there. Sorry to hear that it’s closing.
They have historical significance!!! They should not be destroyed. This wouldn’t even be happening if they had kept Homeconomics in schools!!!?
Totally agree! My sewing career is a direct result of my mom teaching me first and Home Ec classes broadening my horizons. I still keep in touch with one of my junior high teachers. Now I design and sew for my sister’s fledgling company. Wish Home Ec had been available for my daughters.
Please don’t destroy these magnificent machines. I have been sewing since I was eight years old. Eliminating home economics in our schools have destroyed our kids today. Videos and phones that they can’t put down, even at an early age. They can’t even cook and sew today. Please continue the good work. Bless
The simplicity patterns are on a nicer tissue, some of my recent vogue/McCall’s barely showed on the thin tissue. If you look back at vintage patterns they were printed on heavier paper. As a result you can still use them 50 yrs later. I am sad to hear of the factory closing as I had good experiences with my orders from there but the tissue needed to be improved. A $30 pattern that barely shows the markings is not good value in a world of modern pdf patterns.
I think it has more to do with independent designers online and being able to print your patterns at home. Its a one time buy then whatever printing at home costs for each size. Now though patterns are going to projector files so they dont even need printed, just line up your projector under the correct figures and draw a chalk line or, if youre brave, cut.
#TRUTH
It is sad that some young people have no idea about sewing basics like replacing a button or hemming. Home Economics and Basic Home Repair/Shop classes are needed in school.
I agree why destroy the machines.keep them or give them away for God sakes.
completely agree with you
The machine are mechanical printing presses and folding machines. The press is probably close to 2 stories tall and about the size of a small house (not a tiny home, but a small house). It is outdated and cannot be moved. The only option is to tear it down and sell it for scrap or to leave it where it is and hope that a potential buyer of the building won’t mind–which they probably would.
This is not some evil corporate empire destroying some historical artifact of great importance. It is an old, outdate printing press that was super common in the late 1950s to early 1960s. McCalls is still in operation and selling patterns, they are just not in Kansas anymore.
My concern is for the Indie patterns companies that are being hung out to dry because of this. They are scrambling to find another option. Sublime Grafx prints on tissue. Hopefully they can pick up the pieces for some of these companies.
Linda A, I also am concerned for the independent pattern makers. Too bad no one was concerned with the 85 McCalls employees in Ks. Many of whom had worked there for decades.
Maybe you should offer to buy them, and start your own business. It seems like you are very confident that there’s an opportunity awaiting…go for it, Valorie! This is your chance to shine!
URI houses the largest archive of printed pattern designs in Rhode Island. If the company does decide to scrap their machines I hope they contact URI first.
That’s an interesting idea, Valorie! Of all institutions, perhaps they would be most interested in preserving this press.
I agree with Abby that it would be interesting. It would come at a great financial cost to URI. Moving the machinery from Kansas to Rhode Island is one heck of an undertaking. The press alone is the size of a two story home. The folding equipment may be easier to move and would actually be more significant to the commercial pattern story than the actual press. The press is no different from what newspapers in the 1950s were printed on. The folding equipment that was brought in during the 1970s has more value to the commercial pattern industry. That is when they changed over from hand folding to machine folding.
So the competition doesn’t get them. Especially China.
@Jerry;
What is going on with this plant closure and the Indie companies stands to put way more than 85 people out of work. It also has the potential to completely kill any competition to the Big 4 pattern companies which are all owned by Design Group. Yes, 85 people are being let go. Not sure if any will have the ability to transfer to another position within the Design Group companies as nothing has been said either way. There are safety nets in place ( like unemployment) that is available to employees of a company but not available to indie pattern company owners and/or partners. A big question is were other opportunities offered to any or all of those 85. I would not assume they were all just let go.
Give them to who? I doubt there’s much demand for the machines. PDF patterns and heavy-paper patterns are the future.
It may be the future but I REALLY hate taping together pdf files. Especially those that are 47 pages. Just try getting the register marks to line up correctly when you’re at 5B – 5C and trying to tape that to 4B-4C. The pattern line is still going to be out of alignment by 1/16 inches. Good luck if you’ve got 5 sizes on that paper.
Let’s not even talk about how some pattern designers set their register marks …
Lola J. Lee Beno;
This is why you need a service like Sublime Grafx. We can print and assemble those print at home patterns. You’ll get a large page, maybe 2, if it is a very large pattern. Many indie designers are printing their patterns in layers, so you can choose which layers (sizes) to print. It takes a little getting used to, but this is where sewing is heading. From a pattern company standpoint, PDF patterns are a better business model. It is way less expensive to keep a small amount of patterns on hand and let the customer print the patterns on their own.
Yeah, I ordered some PDF patterns from a craft woodworking company, it was horrible!! I have lots of clothing/craft patterns from Simplicity, McCalls, Vogue, New Look, and Butterick….and I can’t believe the crappy quality of some of them…I have even had to contact the company several times to get replacements for some that had double lines (ink transfer) all over the pattern sheets.
It is still a hard task to find buyers for parts that are out of date. It would be wonderful if they could. It is not cost-effective. Everything comes down to the bean counters.
I’m glad you’re concerned for the indie pattern companies Linda. The 85 employees of the Manhattan plant losing their jobs in the plant closure wish someone would have been concerned about them.
Scape metal equals $ …..still a shame in our throw away society.
The folding machines and printing presses will be scrapped, not sewing machines. They may have patents on them, and to many criminals are willing to steel everything from the USA, look at companies that went to china and had to give up their patents to them for cheaper production, not an accident. I don’t blame them one bit.
The technology is 50+ years old. Nothing for China to steal – except scrap metal. McCalls did not own the patents on the printing presses and folding machines. They might have had a patent for the process of printing patterns, but that has long expired (like back in the 1920s-30s).
Pattern printing is changing. PDFs which can be printed at home or in large A0 format are becoming extremely popular, especially with millenials who are very concerned about the amount of material they send off to the landfill. Printing at home is very resource and time intensive. Projectors are becoming readily available and affordable. It removes paper completely from the sewing pattern equation. The days of going to a fabric store and digging through giant cabinets of patterns are quickly going away. As the demand for digital increases, demand for paper patterns decreases. Eventually the only options for new patterns will be digital. It makes sense as digital does not take up premium retail space in a store that could be used for something else.
Yes, times and technology are changing. I would like to see a working model in a good museum, at least.
@Williams, scrapping the machinery ensures there can be no competition.
As a machine knitter I can tell you there’s no competition with you, if everyone else is making better and faster, and you cannot meet demand because your equipment is old and difficult to repair, even having replacement parts.
Most the machinery is outdated and had mechanical problems all the time. Some very dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. My sister retired from there 4 yrs ago after working there for over 30 years. She worked on the machines, among other duties.
Hi Deanna, I found a box of sheets of metallic paper pop outs that read No. 2160 McCalls metallic. They look like Christmas ornaments or decoration in silver red and gold. Are you or your Aunt familiar with this item? Best regards, Loralee
As a FCS teacher that teaches sewing to students I am really saddened by this news. I grew up with tissue patterns and do not like the pdf’s. It is harder for students to work with and tape together correctly and copy paper hates sewing pins. It is also harder to work with the pdf pattern on the fabric. I only use them when we have to. It takes students forever to tape the 20 sheets of paper together. PLEASE continue printing tissue patterns.
Darla;
Check out sublimegrafx.com They print on tissue paper and can take the print-at-home type of PDF files and digitally assembles and print them for you
Darla,
I made my clothes in high school. I made my children’s clothes. I’m making my grandchildren’s clothes.
Bless you for teaching sewing to your students. I hope you are able to teach them pattern drafting which they will need for the future.
PDFs are a painful experience that I will not repeat. Frequently used tissue patterns have been adhered to fusible interfacing. Kwik Sew had an awesome boys jeans pattern that I used for my sons and, thankfully, I still have it because I interfaced it. I trace it onto butcher paper which is friendlier to pins than copy paper.
I hope you teach them to have a fabric stash. Prices for fabrics are rising. Getting a few extra yards of your favorite fabric on sale will save you money in the future.
Keep teaching sewing and they will have a life skill they can always use.
Darla,
I am disheartened that your experience with PDF patterns was a disaster. Have you considered using a printing service? SublimeGrafx.com has paper choices and offers services no one else does. PDF and digital patterns are the future of sewing.
I hope they keep doing tissue patterns at the new plant!
The “new plant” has been printing sewing patterns for over a decade.
Those old presses are enormous. You can’t give them away. You need the space of a small house to keep one.
Another option for indie companies is a print company like Sublime Grafx. This is my company, we already print on tissue for indie companies, not on a press, but wide format. We also offer tracing paper – similar to velum. sublimegrafx.com
Lynda this is very useful news; we had not come across this printing company previously. Do you print in quantity for the indie pattern companies or just individual copies for the end user? Thanks!
Carrie Emerson:
We do both. We can handle one pattern or hundreds. Email us for wholesale/educational/school discounts. Trying to get the word out. Starting a business during a pandemic was a bold move–born out of necessity.
https://www.sublimegrafx.com
I’m going to try out your services next time I need to print out a pattern. Best of luck to your new business.
Thank you Lynda I will contact you as I am beginning my journey into creating patterns.
Donna,
I can’t wait to hear from you!
This is sad news for those who have lost jobs. I’m glad to hear print operations will at least continue in Wisconsin. I’m feeling nostalgic, thinking of my 4-H Sewing Club and the trips we made to the fabric store to pick out a pattern and fabric for a new outfit.
Outdated is outdated – the metal is more useful recycled. It’s very expensive and time consuming to keep some of these old beasts running. But terrible to lose American jobs.
True its awful to loose American jobs but the big four has not really keep up with the digital age or being inclusive. Most seamstresses are tired of this.. so we develop out own or use Indie patterns..
http://www.sewsewchic.com
I have devled into Design Group and it is interesting. They initially tried a hostile takeover of CSS (former owner of the Big 4). It is sad to lose those American companies to a foreign company. I think it will be a good move for the Big 4 as far as print quality goes, they have the technology and infrastructure to print massive amounts of patterns. But, it maybe a big shock to those indie companies who depend on them for printing services once their contracts expire. Desing Group seems to want to own everything they produce. They will look to keep lucrative indie contracts and probably lose the rest.
The rise of indie patterns is definitely due to the lacking of the Big 4. Where a hole exists in the market, people fill it. Indie companies started with PDFs and now are including projector files and some have that AR file which in my opinion is cool but not quite ready for prime time. With some more tweaking it will get there.
http://www.sublimegrafx.com
Future shock! Technology will eventually make this machinery dinosaurs. Digital design, projections and new materials will leave old ways behind. Just as we see Renaissance artisan crafts in museums or curiosity shops and demos, our today crafts will be our yesterday shows in the future. I do hope some examples are lefts so our descendants can see the REAL equipment. There were no phones, TV or computers in my childhood. Planes were beginning to make passenger flights. Now we are going to the moon and beyond, we have mobile phones and can see relatives around the world. News are immediate no matter where they happen. I can’t imagine how all of today’s arts crafts in out DIY world will be such delicate, admirable and precious items will produce. We must keep the traditions alive by passing it forward.
I don’t think you have to worry much about the crafting being lost. There are TONS of young Millennials and younger generations who’ve caught the crafting bug, who are sewing, knitting, weaving, etc. Crafting goes through ebbs and flows in interest. The younger people I think feel connected to something tangible when they craft, and it’s almost a rebellion against a very tech-oriented existence. They’ll be fine. They’ll also come up with crafting innovations the likes of which we could never have imagined.
After all… weaving has been around for 29,000 years, and making clay pots for a few thousand more years than that. Crafting ain’t goin’ anywhere, it’s just going to improve upon itself over time.
McCalls patterns where a huge part of my childhood. Many happy memories learning to sew in the 70’s with my mom and grandmother. Change is painful but inevitable. Thank you for trying to keep it going for the joy of sewing will continue in my family.
I’m sorry to hear this happening on the cusp of a sewing revival. I am/was an avid sewer since junior high. I recently watched the Halston biopic series and it reminded me a Halston dress from a pattern that I wore to the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Los Angeles in 1982. Halston had a license for everything!
The equipment must be terribly outdated as so many things have gone digital. Well….give up this niche to the independents who are thriving. Thanks for the story. I believe it was McCalls who did a tote bag pattern with our oilcloth back in the 90’s.
Why not the Smithsonian for one of the machines
I doubt the Smithsonian has room. But there may be a museum of the history of industry or some such thing that might want some of it. But it’s enormous & would be expensive to move, not to mention someone knowledgeable has to take it apart & reassemble at the new location.
I hope they will have someone take good video of the machines printing and then folding the patterns, something very interesting for the future to see. I’d watch it now. Always wondered how they folded them cause they never go back the same way
A good idea. I think a video presentation would be very interesting for historical museums across the country.
McCalls UK has a video of the folding machines in operation. It is really cool. Look for it on Instagram.
I don’t think scrap is to stop competitor – they are closed because of lack of job. If the current demand cannot sustain an established factory like that then it would certainly not sustain any “competitor”. These machines are gigantic, expensive to run and requires expertise to maintain. It’s easier than “give them away” but to whom?? Storage and transport both cost money. Technology advances.
The machines should go into a sewing museum.
They’re as big as a house. Perhaps a dozen tons and they aren’t actually pretty.
Honestly, I had home ec in school, but did not take up sewing again until I learned about the pdf patterns. I hate those tissue patterns. I always felt like I was wasting money only cutting one size and the instructions were not always clear. Now with pdf patterns you get illustrations and sometimes videos also.
McCalls and Simplicity need to learn to change with the times.
I worked in the Manhattan plant for over 20 years. Great place to work and very sorry to see it close. Unfortunately, the writing has been on the wall for sometime.
I am not a fan of the PDF patterns and I have trouble with some Indie patterns that have all the pieces on one sheet over lapping each piece. For me this news is not great.
I no longer feel guilt over my 50-year collection of Big-4 tissue/envelope patterns. I find it ridiculous that I should have to pay $20.00 or more for the *right* to spend time & paper & [expensive] printer ink constructing a sewing pattern. Millenials are welcome to their PDFs.
Carla,
You can save a lot of time and money by having your pdf patterns printed by a large for at print shop, like sublimegrafx.com
Hi, Lynda. Forgive me if I have commented in the wrong space. I’m not in the Crafts industry.I’m a home sewist with an extensive collection of mostly Big-4 published sewing patterns. My previous point was that the purchase of a pattern pre-printed on tissue in-hand is simple and not labor-intensive. I do wish you success in your new business.
McCall’s patterns fit better than Simplicity. Sorry to know they will be going away.
This article does not say that McCalls is going away. It’s just that the print plant is closed. The patterns are now being printed at the plant where Simplicity patterns are printed.
Brooklyn Motif Printing has been operating since November 2020, supplying wide format pattern printing for both indie pattern designers and the home sewist. BMP is a women-owned company servicing the sewing community with A0 pdf pattern printing on 18lb transluscent paper and offer worldwide shipping.
https://brooklynmotifprinting.com/
@brooklynmotif
Brooklyn Motiiff is no longer accepting orders. They hope to change this soon.
The projectors will always require electricity to power them. Another side of sustainability is to be able to continue to produce life essentials off the grid, or during power outages, or times of war. Fabric can always be hand sewn if necessary, but loss of power will mean you can’t cut out your pattern. I think there will be a continued needs for printed paper patterns which can be purchased as is. Sewing Magazines with printed patterns sheets like Burda will boom I imagine.
I am wondering if you can direct me. I have quite a few manilla industrial garment patterns. They are graded into sizes small – large, some up to 3X. I used to have a small business in San Francisco. I hate to throw them away. Are they salable? Taking up space hanging in my closet.
There might be a local sewing store or studio that would take them as a donation.
Wonderful advice, there are 2 sewing stores on the Island of Kaua’i in Hawaii where I live. I will put an ask there to the management and their customers. There is very little garment production here. Bikinis yes. I would love to donate them especially to a teaching space.
I worked for McCall’s in Manhattan, KS beginning in 1970 while my husband served in VietNam. I was so grateful to get the job. The people were great, it was a nice, new plant and I really liked the job. I am sorry they have closed . It paid the bills and gave me a little money. I was 21 then and I am 76 now. Much too late to thank McCall’s but this is a long ago memory.