• Tuesday 09th December 2025
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Clothing Pattern Making Skills Course

What is garment pattern making?

It is impossible to be a tailor and not deal with garment pattern making. In a basic way, we can say that patterns are cut pieces of paper that are placed on the fabric and lines are drawn around them, so that the fabric is cut and sewn in the same way. Today, pattern making is more than just a sewing process; it is an art. It is an art that lies between design and sewing in order to best match the flat fabric with the curves of the body. In this article, we intend to introduce you to the profession of pattern and pattern making. In general, pattern making is the art of shaping flat fabric according to the curves of the human body.

In the world of modeling, clothing designers first design various types of clothing, and when the design work is finished; it is the turn of pattern makers to prepare the pattern and design template created for the main stage, which is cutting and sewing. A skilled and professional pattern maker must be able to take accurate measurements. Usually, to reduce errors, pattern makers use mannequins; for example, they put the created pattern on a mannequin and fix possible flaws in their work. Testing the pattern using a mannequin is an ideal and cost-effective method.

As we said, clothing pattern making is an essential step in manufacturing, but some small and medium-sized manufacturers use ready-made patterns to save costs. This eliminates their need to hire a professional designer and pattern maker. By using a pattern in sewing, you can easily implement the necessary changes to the pattern before cutting the fabric and sew a perfect garment. Also, in this sewing method, less fabric is used and the number of errors during work is reduced.

History of Pattern Making

The art of pattern making has a long history, dating back to before the Industrial Revolution. At that time, tailors would measure their customers and make them clothes that fit them. Of course, only the very wealthy could afford to order such clothes. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, standardized patterns were essential for the success of ready-made clothes. At first, these standard patterns were not made so professionally and with such detail, and as a result, the resulting clothes were very ugly. After much trial and error, pattern making finally made a successful transition from customization to standardization.

Principles of Pattern Making and Techniques You Should Know

There are various techniques for making clothes patterns professionally, which are the result of years of experience of pattern makers. Of course, despite such techniques; some pattern makers still prefer to work in the same old style. In general, in the world of pattern making, any technique that can turn a design into a real garment; It is valid. Now this can be done with traditional, manual methods or to speed up the process, digital tools and facilities can be used. Today, many designers have moved from flat patterns to 3D patterns on mannequins.

Principles of garment pattern making include the following:

A number of important principles should be followed in garment pattern making, including:

The pattern should be made larger than the actual body measurements to allow for enough room for free body movement.

Since parts of the garment are repeated and exactly the same; a paper pattern can be prepared for only the front and side halves; but for other parts such as sleeves, a complete pattern should be prepared.

The detailed construction information after drawing should be clearly marked on the pattern to aid in subsequent processes.

Each pattern piece should be identified with its name.

Seam and cut lines should be clearly drawn on the pattern.

The length of the grain line should be indicated with a different color on each piece of the pattern.

Slits should be made for easy matching of the pieces during sewing.

The front and back lines should be indicated on the pattern.

The fold lines in garment pattern making should be clearly marked.

Dart and plot marks, etc., should also be clearly marked on the pattern.

Introduction to Clothing Pattern Making Software

Software used for clothing pattern making includes two-dimensional pattern design software, sizing and grading software, marker and layout software, and clothing simulation software on a mannequin. Some of these programs have more features; for example, if you select the desired clothing model and size; the program will provide you with the pattern and its parts. These programs also have sizing and layout capabilities in addition to pattern making. Sizing allows the designer to create patterns in desired sizes from a basic pattern, and its advantage is high speed and accuracy in pattern making. Pattern markers or layouts allow the user to create their own patterns using such software while minimizing waste of fabric and raw materials. Some of these programs provide the ability to simulate clothing on a mannequin, thereby allowing the designer to make the necessary changes. There are a large number of software programs used for clothing patterning, some of the most widely used of which are:

:Adobe illustrator This software is used to create and edit vector images. Working with Illustrator software is similar to Photoshop. This design software has powerful features for creating vector works and graphic effects with different brushes.

Marvelous Designer: This software has the ability to design patterns with very high precision. You can sew the designed patterns together with just a few mouse clicks and see them on the body of the existing model.

Gemini: Using Gemini software, you can design clothing patterns accurately, quickly, and without errors or limitations according to your wishes. With Gemini, you can design the desired pattern and then size the designed pattern using the standard size charts available in the clothing pattern making software archive. Of course, you can also design your own sizing charts in this software.

Gerber: Using Gerber software, which has high accuracy and quality, you can view a simulated sample with specific dimensions and sizes on a mannequin in 3D before starting the actual physical sewing of the garment. This feature eliminates errors related to pattern making before sewing the garment. Many clothing manufacturing industries around the world use this program professionally in their production.

Getting to know the equipment needed for pattern making

Today, many tools have come to the aid of artists in this field to design and sew clothing patterns; but if you want to do clothing pattern making in the traditional way and without using software; you need the following tools:

A long and transparent ruler (in centimeters)

A sewing ruler (T or L ruler)

A gun for drawing curves

A sewing slit

A sewing tape

Sewing soap

A round-bottomed pin

Pattern paper

A special sewing carbon

Scissors and cutter

Adhesive tape

Thread and needle

Fabric