Assembil Books - How Patterns Work: The Fundamental Principles of Pattern Making and Sewing in Fashion Design

How Patterns Work:
The Fundamental Principles
of Pattern Making and Sewing
in Fashion Design

Assembil Books

2013, Assembil Books

Published by Assembil Books

Email: info@assembil.com

Version 01.01.01

All Rights Reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any other information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the publisher.

Assembil is a fashion innovation company.

We believe that the fashion industry needs a rethink, and that every step in the creation of fashion has the potential to be reimagined using new techniques and new technology. Future Assembil projects will examine the way that fashion is taught, designed, manufactured, distributed, consumed and appreciated, and offer alternative solutions to traditional models.

Unlike other creative industries, fashion has been slow to embrace the agile nature of digital products and services. We believe that one of the ways that technology can be better utilised in the fashion industry is in the way that people learn about the design and construction of fashion.

We believe in the power of great design, but professional quality design has traditionally been expensive or out of reach for most people. We want to change this. Were passionate about helping people of all abilities to design and make their own high quality fashion by giving them access to the necessary skills and knowledge to create beautifully crafted clothing.

For this reason, our first project begins in the world of fashion education, with our first product being a streamlined pattern making book developed specifically for digital devices. We hope that you enjoy reading How Patterns Work.

www.assembil.com

This book has been created to approach the principles of pattern making in a different way. Some pattern making texts and courses will give you very specific instructions to follow from beginning to end in order to reach a finished garment, however these instructions can leave you at a loss when you want to create your own variation of the pattern.

There are also many common mistakes that people make when learning to pattern make, mistakes that all stem from a basic misunderstanding of the principles behind how patterns work. This book aims to address this problem so that rather than learning hundreds of separate pattern making processes, you will build your knowledge of basic pattern making principles step by step.

This book is in fact designed to start from absolutely zero assumed knowledge, building in complexity to cover basic concepts and terminology before moving into an array of basic pattern examples. These pattern examples have been built like a library of reference guides, complete with step by step instructions and clear diagrams so that you can adopt or change them to use to suit your own design work.

The main aim of this book is not just for you to be able to follow pattern making instructions, but for you to actually fundamentally understand why patterns work within the fashion industry. After reading this book, you wont just be able to follow the pattern making instructions of other books and courses - you will actually understand how and why pattern making works and be able to adapt the principles for yourself.

By learning about pattern making in this way this book acts as a companion guide to other more technical books and courses on pattern making and sewing. In a way, it is the ideal prequel, if you are just about to embark on a course about fashion design, pattern making or sewing, that will allow you to digest and consider the key terms and concepts of pattern making in your own time.

Not just for beginners to sewing or pattern making, this book has also been designed with the more experienced sewer or pattern maker in mind. By thinking about traditional pattern making processes and concepts in a simplified form, more advanced sewers and pattern makers may be able to pinpoint any previous mistakes that they have made, or improve the efficiency and accuracy of their own work.

The main idea to take away from this introduction is that sewing and pattern making processes can sometimes be presented in very complicated processes but ultimately these processes can often be reduced back to simple relationships, such as between the 2D and the 3D, or between fabric and the curves of the body. The complex measurements and processes in pattern making will always be meaningless until you can find a way to make them feel more tangible and relevant. It is hoped that by reading and understanding this book the concepts behind pattern making will be easier for you to visualise and truly comprehend, in order to allow you to make your own decisions and choices in your own work.

In this chapter we will begin by examining the roles of sewing and pattern making in the broader context of garment construction. This chapter will include an overview of the basic lifecycle of a garment and will also give a basic overview of the roles of pattern making and sewing within this process.

In order to understand the relationship between pattern making and sewing let us first look at the basic lifecycle of a new garment:

1. The designer creates a sketch of a design.
2. The pattern maker creates a 2D pattern that represents the design.
3. The cutter cuts the fabric to match the shape of the pattern.
4. The sewing machinist sews the fabric together according to the pattern to create a 3D garment.

The following diagram shows a summary of this basic process:

The role of the sewing machinist in this process is generally fairly well understood. Many people entering the fashion industry for the first time will understand that in the process of constructing a garment, sewing is essentially the process through which two or more pieces of fabric are joined together using a needle and thread. The sewing machinist will generally assemble the garment with a sewing machine, including all fastenings and trims, and press the garment.

The process of pattern making in the context of the fashion industry is generally less understood. Pattern making, or pattern cutting as it is also known, allows a designer's idea to be represented in a 2D form and provides a vital step in the lifecycle of a garment. A completed pattern must be clear and accurate and be a true representation of the design without room for misinterpretation.

A pattern is a vital tool for communicating a design idea from the designer to the cutter and sewing machinist. For this reason patterns must be completed with any relevant markings and instructions that will allow the pattern maker to communicate the designer's idea in a way that the cutter and sewing machinist can easily follow. If the patterns are well made, and followed correctly, they will result in a 3D garment.

Patterns are essentially a 2D template that represents the shape that will be cut out in fabric. A pattern is normally laid on top of the fabric, and the fabric is cut to follow the outline of the pattern.

Patterns for home sewing are often made from fine tissue paper but design studios will normally make patterns out of lightweight cardboard so that they are more durable. In some design studios, and often for manufacturing, the patterns are created as a digital file for longevity and so that they can be reprinted onto paper when needed. The process of making a paper pattern into a digital file is often referred to as Digitising.