When I was small (in the 40's), I would go with my grandfather to the feed store and pick out the sacks I liked for my grandmother to make my next new dress. He'd have to buy a couple or three bags (as I grew) of whatever feed he needed so guarantee enough fabric in that particular pattern. Then, I'd go home and look in the catalogs (Sears, Montgomery Ward, etc.) for a dress I liked, and my grandmother would make it WITHOUT A PATTERN. She could just look at the picture, cut it out, and sew it up on her treadle machine, which I now proudly own. I now realize what a talented seamstress she was. I wouldn't dare tackle making a dress with puffed sleeves and sometimes a pinafore and panties or bloomers to go with it (those usually made from flour sacks which were finer weaves) unless I had a pattern.