The Butterick Publishing Company was founded by Ebenezer Butterick and forever changed the world of sewing by mass producing and distributing the first graded sewing patterns. By 1867, they released their first magazine, Ladies Quarterly of Broadway Fashions, followed by The Metropolitan in 1868. These magazines contained patterns and the latest fashion news. In 1873, Butterick created yet another publication called The Delineator. By 1876, the E. Butterick & Co. had become a world wide enterprise selling patterns as far away as Paris, London, Vienna and Berlin, boasting 100 branch offices and 1,000 agencies throughout the United States and Canada.

In 1903 the company built The Butterick Building on Spring and MacDougal Streets in Manhattan. In 1948, Butterick started using the printed pattern replacing the dots with bold print. In 1961, Butterick licensed the name and trademark Vogue Patterns from Condé Nast Publications, Inc. and purchased their pattern division. The company was purchased in 1967 by American Can Company and became a subsidiary renamed the Butterick Fashion Marketing Co. In the 1970s as women began to shift from homemaker to professional, sewing lost popularity and sales began to suffer. In 1983 Butterick's management group headed by Bill Wilson and John Lehmann purchased the company from American Can Company. William Proctor Wilson was the first chief executive officer of the privatized Butterick. In 1988 management sold approximately 60 percent of the company to Robert Bass's Acadia Investors. In 1988 Wilson was succeeded as CEO by John Lehmann. In 2001 The McCall Pattern Company acquired Butterick and Vogue Patterns.

Butterick also published a series pamphlet for children, entitled The Little Delineator. Published for boys and girls , each pamphlet was dated and featured eight pages of stories, artwork, contests, etc. Each issue focused on a theme (often a holiday or season). Issues also focused on play ideas (items to make, etc.), and on teaching morals/values. The series did not have a fashion focus as its parent magazine did (The Delineator), but was more general and encompassing. Each issue offered some kind of prize/reward, and a Deli-Club membership card. All one needed to do was mail a stamped, self addressed envelope, to the company. The series did not contain any kind of advertising.