Cabbage pattern was first introduced in about 1814 and was a copy of a Chinese porcelain design based on the so-called 'tobacco leaf' studies. Josiah Spode's Cabbage pattern had number 2061 and was produced on his Stone China body which imitated the look and feel of Chinese Porcelain. Dinner, tea and breakfast ware were produced.

In the late 1920s in the United States there was a growing interest in 'Oriental Lowestoft' - the name mistakenly given to China Trade Porcelain or Chinese Export Porcelain. The Spode company expanded their range of New Stone (successor to Stone China) to included tea and coffee ware modelled after the popular Chinese shapes. This shape was called Lowestoft . On this shape a large selection of old Spode patterns were offered as well as many patterns copied from the Chinese ones which had been made specifically for the American market.

Cabbage pattern had been reintroduced on earthenware in 1910-11 (pattern 2/6207 and 2/6347) and was again brought into the Lowestoft range in 1934 as pattern Y3936. This was printed in blue and coloured in red, pink and green with white patches at the edge of a large leaf.

In 1937 another version with extra tracing in gold on the branches and the leaf patches was recorded as pattern Y4879. After World War II (1939 - 1945), in 1948, Cabbage pattern was again revived especially for the United States speciality shops like Tiffany in New York and V. C. Morris in San Francisco. (The Morris shop was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who chose a service of Cabbage for use in his own home). This latest version was pattern W50 and had yellow leaf patches instead of gold ones. All versions had a buff-coloured edge.

No definite date is known for the discontinuation of the pattern but it is thought to be the late 1950s as there is no mention of the pattern in a catalogue of 1961. Lowestoft shape is still made today in earthenware for a range of patterns. The Stone China body was discontinued in 1995.

A selection of the early 19th century Spode's pattern 2061 is on display in the Spode Museum .