Last time we started talking about the figures that make up the product office. Today we will focus on the figure of the patternmaker.

This is the professional who manages to translate into two geometric dimensions the drawings that come from the style office. Often these drawings, while beautiful, are little understood by those who have to approach the production of the prototype or sample, so here is the flat drawing (technical drawing), which assistants or some members of the design team are often able to elaborate, turns out to be the essential base from which to start.

Once the technical drawing has been made and it turns out to be a faithful transposition of the designer’s stylistic idea, the patternmaker must with his techniques, skills and tools make the paper pattern. This is a sheet of cardboard that has the shapes of all the parts that make up the garment laid horizontally. On the paper pattern are indicated the seam allowances, notches to orient the different parts of it, the direction of the fabric (straightedge) and any other notes useful for its use.

This is then the paper pattern that will give rise to the prototype and later the final sample, then made in the average sample size. Later according to sales it will be necessary to produce all the sizes requested by customers for which the paper pattern will be to undergo development through some special coefficients that allow individual parts to be enlarged and adapted to the sizes.

This work used to be done manually by the patternmaker, who now uses CAD and CAM systems and even electronic cutting to minimize waste and thus define the best consumption of fabric to be communicated to those who will have to define through the BOM the cost of the garment.
Size development is also done by digitizing the base pattern and entering the development coefficients into appropriate programs.

A special patternmaking technique is “moulage“, which is developed for evening gowns with special dramatic shapes. In such cases the fabric is applied directly to the mannequin to which it is stapled to define the desired effect, is cut and arranged before being laid out on the table and only then being translated onto a sheet of paper in two dimensions.

Patternmakers are highly sought-after and particularly valuable figures because often even for extremely trendy and contemporary brands, the difference is made by the fit of the garments, the comfort and the perfect fit that only a capable patternmaker can attribute to the individual garment.

by Stefano Sacchi
16th December, 2022