Archives: Patternmaking category

What You Really Get When You Hire A Patternmaker (It’s More Than Just A Pattern)

Costing, Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

It is pretty obvious that you will get a pattern when you hire a patternmaker – it’s in the name. Working with a patternmaker can benefit your brand in many other ways as well. What you get when you hire a patternmaker is more than just a pattern. Here are some additional things you’ll receive.

As A Patternmaker, These Are My 5 Biggest Fit Pet Peeves

Fit, Patternmaking

When there are fit issues, both of the look and function are compromised in the final garment. There are certain fit issues that I see over and over and there are five I find the most egregious. The good news is that they can all be fixed with a well-fitting pattern!

Made To Be Tailored – How To Design Garments That Are Easy To Alter

Fashion Design, How To, Patternmaking, Product Development

The goal with development is to arrive at a pattern that fits well on as many people in the target market as possible, but even the best-fitting pattern can’t fit everyone perfectly. Because of this, it is worth considering how your designs might be altered so you can design with ease of alterations in mind.

Can You Make Digital Patterns In Adobe Illustrator?

Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

With Illustrator being so widely used and accessible and traditional patternmaking software being so cost prohibitive, you might wonder if you can just make patterns in Illustrator. The short answer is, yes, you can. However, depending on your goals and how you will be using the patterns in your business, you might not want to.

Why Quality Patterns Matter In Production

Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

In general, I think that when people think of quality production, they think of quality sewing. While this is certainly true, it is what’s upstream of the sewing – like the pattern – that has the most control over the quality of the finished garment.

Alison Hoenes Design Turns 4! (Exciting Updates)

Fashion Business, Patternmaking, Sustainability

I get to work with amazing clients and be part of making clothes that fit the lifestyle, values, and bodies of real women. This year has been the busiest yet and I’ve had a lot going on behind the scenes. Today I’m excited to share a few exciting updates about Alison Hoenes Design!

Should You Start Your Brand By Making Pattern Blocks?

Fashion Business, Fit, How To, Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

I often get asked “should I make pattern blocks for each category before developing and launching my collection?” Blocks and slopers are what we all were taught to start with in fashion. However, I recommend a different approach that gets you testing your market quicker and is more efficient for future development.

Starting With A Finished Sample Doesn’t Make Pattern Development Cheaper

Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

With a finished sample already approved, having a pattern made for the garment will be simple and cheap, right? Actually, no, that is most likely not the case. Having a finished sample is great for reference, but isn’t going to save you much money when it comes to getting a production pattern made.

Why You Should Be Paying for Patterns and Development (and What it Means if You’re Not)

Costing, Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Product Development

You may think you just got lucky finding a factory that would develop your patterns and make you samples for free as part of your production order. What you might not realize is that those “free” samples and development will cost you in other ways.

Paper vs. Digital Patterns – Which Are Better?

Industry Basics, Patternmaking

Fashion is a very old-school industry. At the same time, companies are adopting technology within their design, development, and production processes – including patternmaking – more and more. This transition to digital has brought up the question whether traditional paper patterns or digital ones are better. Here’s my take.

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Archives: Patternmaking category

What You Really Get When You Hire A Patternmaker (It’s More Than Just A Pattern)

As A Patternmaker, These Are My 5 Biggest Fit Pet Peeves

Made To Be Tailored – How To Design Garments That Are Easy To Alter

Can You Make Digital Patterns In Adobe Illustrator?

Why Quality Patterns Matter In Production

Alison Hoenes Design Turns 4! (Exciting Updates)

Should You Start Your Brand By Making Pattern Blocks?

Starting With A Finished Sample Doesn’t Make Pattern Development Cheaper

Why You Should Be Paying for Patterns and Development (and What it Means if You’re Not)

Paper vs. Digital Patterns – Which Are Better?