Have you ever woken up with the illusion of designing a garment that you saw in a store window yourself? Well, it’s time to take your old machine, dust it off and let your imagination run wild, letting your creative ideas flow.
An architect needs a plan for the construction of his works; we will need a pattern or also called a mold to be able to create our works. You don’t have to be a master drawing because there are also digital tools that can help you and if your thing is design, fashion and sewing, then you are on the right track.
Remember that making a pattern is a crucial part when making a garment and the result will be that your designs are the ones you had dreamed of. No matter the reason that led you to make a pattern, the important thing is to get going to start and practice until you get it right, because like any new skill you need practice; when you have mastered it, you can design and even stamp your own patterns.
Instructions
It sounds difficult and even complicated, but it is not. Designing a pattern just takes a little imagination and practice. No matter the reason that leads you to design your own pattern, the important thing is that you are willing to learn and get down working.
A pattern is nothing more than a mold, a guide created on paper that will allow us to make endless designs that will help you make any garment. There is not only one way to design patterns, everything will depend on the use that we are going to give it. There are domestic, industrial and digital patterns.
If you are not a good artist, you have the digital option, but if you have certain drawing skills, making your own design will be very easy. Just start by making a sketch of the garment you want to make. Sketch from the Italian bozzetto, refers to a scheme or project to start any work, in our case it would be a body on which we will draw the garment we want. Thus, take a notebook or any books where you can capture all the ideas you have and then gradually draw the pieces.
Then you will wonder what to do with that drawing, how to bring it to a life-size pattern; so don’t let fear invade you, because it’s still very simple.
When you put your imagination to run wild, there is nothing left to do but start with the design of your pattern or mold. But what would be the most appropriate option for you and which one is more within your reach. We will show you the different methods to design your pattern.
What do you need
Domestic Patterns
They are those made by hand, in manila, silk or Kraft paper. The paper on which the pattern is made is very important, since it should be considered according to the garment that we are going to make and each one is thicker than the other.
This manual work needs a lot of precision and detail, so it will take you a little time in view of the fact that you must avoid the greatest number of errors in terms of scale and measurements when joining pieces. The fabric on which you stamp your pattern should also be considered.
Industrial Patterns
They are used to create garments in large quantities. A manual sketch is usually made on Manila paper, which must be tested and approved before being taken to scale to make different sizes of the same pattern.
Digital Patterns
With the technological advancement of our age, designing a pattern has become very easy. You just have to have a digital pattern making program that will allow you to draw lines, make modifications, add seam allowances, visualize your projects in 3D and create your own scale molds. The most incredible thing about all this is that you will reduce the time spent considerably and there will be less chance of errors; You can also save it and use it as many times as you want.
Web tools that will help you with your designs
You need many tools to translate your ideas and make them come true, but there are applications and programs that will benefit you to make this design process more versatile and save you time and money.
Potties is software for making 3D digital patterns that will allow you to design, develop and produce your projects from start to finish without so many manual steps.
Au daces 360, allows you in the easiest way to make patterns, scale them and modify them if you already had them directly from the computer.
Leuctra allows you to make patterns, control them and modify them with digital functions.
Gerber is a tool that, based on patterns, allows you to visualize the garment in 3D whose characteristics it analyzes and performs the necessary calculations itself.
Valentine, software specialized in pattern making where you can create your patterns based on measurements and it is free.
Seamly2d, a tool that allows you to make custom or industrialized patterns. It offers the opportunity to clarify your doubts online and is free.
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Tips
Another alternative that you can follow for the design of your patterns would be to take your own measurements and make the design that you like. You take the measurements, make the sketch and on a sheet of paper you draw the lines of your pattern, always considering the seam allowances. Then you cut out each piece and label it to make it easier to tell them apart.
Another option you can play with is using finished garments as a guide for a new pattern. You take a large piece of paper, fold it, take the ready-made garment, fold it in half and pin it to the sheet. Trace your new pattern around the piece on the sheet; remove the garment to better outline your lines, always considering the seam allowance.
And if you don’t have much time, there is a huge variety of patterns in stores that you would have to buy and with which you could try.
Do not forget that the basic equipment that should accompany you consists of a pencil, tape measure, straight and curved rulers, paper, scissors and all your ingenuity. Remember that to make a pattern you do not need to be an artist, just get your ideas to take shape and you will have achieved it.
Tanner Abraham
Data Scientist and Software Engineer with a focus on experimental projects in new budding technologies that incorporate machine learning and quantum computing into web applications.
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