Hi there! We’re starting a surf and swimwear line here in Los Angeles. We love the look of your button up shirt and would like to purchase the pattern to use for manufacturing. Would that be okay with you?”
If you design and sell home sewing patterns for clothing, this sort of email lands in your inbox fairly frequently. It happens to pattern designer, Jen Beeman, on a weekly basis. Jen is the founder and designer of Grainline, an independent home sewing pattern company. She’s formally trained as a pattern maker and used to work as one. In her former job these sorts of emails would have led to new work. But now, in her current role, these requests make her recoil.
“Home sewing patterns are simply not drafted for production,” Jen explains. The reasons are threefold: technical, financial, and philosophical.
Grainline Archer button up shirt.
The Technical
There are basic technical differences between a home sewing pattern and a pattern intended for use in an industrial scale, according to Jen. “In a factory setting, even in a smaller factory, workers aren’t sewing a single garment from beginning to end like a home sewist would. This can change the order of operations. And shrinkage is not addressed in home sewing patterns, whereas in production patterns shrinkage is drafted in. Believe me, if you’re wholesaling fabric you aren’t going to want to try to fit 20, 30, or 100 yards of fabric into your washing machine!”
Pattern designer Sonya Philip concurs. “In the factory sheets of fabric are laid out on a vacuum table, one on top of another,” Sonya explains. “Then the fabric is covered in plastic and vacuums suck the air out making the stack of fabric rigid, like wood. All of the pattern pieces are programmed into a computer and laid out like a jigsaw, trying to get as many pieces cut most efficiently. In a home sewing pattern the difference between a 3/8″ versus a 5/8″ seam allowance is negligible, but when it’s multiplied out over several pieces it really has an impact on the amount of fabric waste.”
Perhaps some of the aspiring fashion designers contacting home sewing pattern designers are aware of these technicalities, but are faced with the not insignificant challenge of finding someone to custom design and grade a pattern for manufacture. Sonya explains that this information is not readily available today. “The clothing industry, including fabric importers, sample and production sewers, cutters, pattern makers and graders, even in its most robust, was a closely held network of family businesses. There’s not really a need to advertise because people would know one another.”
If you are able to find a pattern maker in your area, you can get your goal accomplished for an upfront cost. Sonya advises, “Go to a pattern maker with a sketch. They could draft a pattern and sew a sample for about $250. That pattern would be within industry specs. Then you would go to a grader and for perhaps $50 more you would have that pattern graded into however many sizes you wanted.”
It seems that a better accessible directory of pattern makers and graders, and more transparency in how the process works and how much it costs, could be a real asset right now. There’s growing interest in bringing manufacturing back to the United States so perhaps a fashion incubator like Manufacture New York or a manufacturing organization like SF Made could provide that resource over time. Fashion Incubator is a great site for online research, as is their web forum.
The Financial
It’s possible, though, that some of these aspiring designers have looked into hiring a pattern maker and grader, but are interested in saving money. A $12 pattern for the Archer button up shirt is certainly cheaper than having a custom pattern made and graded. This might work out for now, when your company is small, Jen says, but if you aspire to be in business for the long haul its wiser to figure the true cost of production into your pricing. “Say your company expands,” Jen explains. “The pattern you started your line with for $12 you now realize was actually about $300. Once you decide to wholesale your products you’ll find yourself in a pickle because the true cost wasn’t figured into your pricing from the start.”
The Philosophical
Beyond the technical mismatch of home sewing patterns to the industrial setting, there are philosophical questions to consider as well. Pattern design teacher and author, Cal Patch, explains why using home sewing patterns are not the right choice for starting a clothing line in a broader sense. “While this might be a valid thing to do if you’ve been granted permission from the pattern designer, I wouldn’t call it a ‘line.’ To me it’s more like a service, much like a dressmaker would have done.”
Pleated top with side ties by Glitter+Wit made with the Tiya Tunic pattern from Tikatuly Designs.
For some sewists, though, home sewing patterns are the ticket to beginning small businesses, making each item by hand to sell on Etsy, for example. More than being a seamstress, the creativity comes in choosing fabrics and embellishments, and in the fineness of the finish.
Tasha Early makes and sells children’s clothing in her Etsy shop, Glitter and Wit. She uses indie patterns for all of the clothes in her shop.
“For a long time I went back and forth about selling my own sewn goods,” says Tasha, “but always felt that I had to do it all: design the garment, draft the pattern, source the fabric, style the samples, take photographs, write listings, promote the brand, and package the product. I finally realized that drafting the patterns was the only thing holding me back and five years had gone by. I finally found the worth in my work and realized that I don’t have to do it all. There is value in the way I put it all together – the fabrics I choose, colors I pair, attention to detail and dedication to a quality product are enough for my work to stand out and appeal to customers. I see myself transitioning to my own designs at a leisurely pace. For now home sewing patterns help me work smarter, not harder”
Billie sweater dress from ElizabethSuzann
If you have bigger goals and really intend to launch a clothing line, though, beginning with home sewing patterns is the wrong move according to most fashion designers. Elizabeth Pape owns the women’s clothing line ElizabethSuzann. She makes modern women’s clothing based on simple shapes and clean lines.
Elizabeth explains, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all to practice and experiment with home sewing patterns to determine what shapes and garment you like to work with, but when you’re ready to launch a long-term, legitimate business you need to be ready to draft your own, or hire a skilled pattern maker to bring your specific ideas to life. Even if you’re working with simple, basic shapes, having the background knowledge and understanding of pattern drafting and how clothes are made will give a stronger foundation to your work and contribute to higher quality, better made, original garments.”
There’s an additional point to consider, according to Jen Beeman. “If you’re using patterns from an independent company such as Grainline you’ll run into the problem where none of us indie designers really have enough patterns in our lines to create a full clothing line of your own. At that point you may end up mixing lines and in turn having absolutely no size consistency since we’ve all done our own research and draft and grade based on our own fit models and grade rules. It doesn’t matter how amazing your clothes are, if they don’t fit or people can’t rely on the finding their size easily between garments and styles, it’s not going to sell.”
Jen sums the situation up well. “Starting a clothing line is a serious investment of both your time, money, and energy. To me it doesn’t make sense to start out by trying to cut corners on the most important part of the process by using a pattern not made expressly for that purpose.”
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Have a question about this topic? Feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to find the answer for you or have an expert weigh in.
Best place for people to go for information on starting their own line is fashion-incubator.com
Very interesting article. I had often wondered what it was really like for clothing designers that I’ve seen on Etsy and elsewhere. Thank you for sharing.
I find it odd that people would want to use other’s designs to start their line. I would think the whole idea was having ideas. However, for my Etsy shop I am glad for the indie deisgners, since, as in the example above, I do not have the drafting and grading skills. I use half and half indie patterns and vintage patterns.
This post is inspiring and so informational. I am not interested in clothing lines, just making my own little things, but there is a lot of food for thought here. I will carry this around thinking this week. I think I do need to look again for drafting classes.
Thanks Abby, for your quality information and thoughts.
I don’t think it’s odd. Designers can sometimes not have good making skills, and sometimes the reverse is true too. I’ve seen designs ruined by the creator of a pattern who spoils it by making poor choices for materials and/or poor finishing skills. The expertise comes into the equation by the choice of fabric, quality of sewing etc. as someone in the article says. The flair is the artistry and creativity with the pattern and that is hard to find and should be appreciated (it’s a bit like a good hairdresser who knows how to cut hair to suit the individual). I’ve seen exquisite work done by people using other people’s patterns which raise it well above the ordinary. That is their skill, the workmanship.
Much improvement is often made aesthetically by the user of a knitting pattern for example, when compared to the original. Because you are good at use of colour, putting textures together etc. it does not mean you can do the maths required for a sewing or knitting pattern. On the other hand being a whizz at designs where lots of number crunching is involved does not mean you are a good ‘artist’. Ideally maybe someone would be both but I can quite see that designing sewing patterns is a full time job, while making them for people is another. Idea’s are important – very, where would anyone be without them? To the end purchaser of a garment though, it’s the execution of them that counts the most.
Great points! They also would need to consider adding in the additional cost to hire a fit model. That way everything in their line would fit the same and give a consistency to their sizing. Nowadays pattern makers and graders usually use a pattern drafting software, Gerber. This makes it easier down the road to add subtle changes to a best-selling garment that shouldn’t cost quite as much as the original pattern drafting. That said, it does seem like there’s still room for people who are boutique sewists offering clothing sewn from indie pattern designers but perhaps it works best for children’s clothing since kids have easier shapes to fit. 🙂
How can I find a proper, good, quality pattern maker?
Have you looked on LinkedIn?
BOF is doing a series that anyone interested in the topic might also like reading! http://www.businessoffashion.com/2014/10/secret-journey-fashion-piece-part-2-manufacturing-production.html
This is awesome. Thank you, Stephanie.
Great post, Abby. I get a question like this almost weekly even though I only have one pattern (and soon to be two). I understand how frustrating it can be for excited entrepreneurs trying to break in and figure out all the technical services they need. That whole part of the fashion industry– like pattern development and samplemaking services–seems very relationship-based. You find someone who knows someone… and they don’t have pretty websites if at all. On the other hand, home sewing blogs and patternmakers are more visible which is attractive to start-up entrepreneurs. Anyway, I often redirect them to fashion-incubator.com or recommend they go to a trade show to network. The f-i forums would be a good place to network or perhaps just to ask questions. Her book is great, too. Thanks for interviewing these women!
I think that’s so interesting that you get this question so often. That’s what Jen said to me, too. I think this just confirms that these resources are hard to find and take some digging. As you said, home sewing pattern designers are very visible and often have great websites that make them very easy to find. It’s good to know where to redirect people and I hope that this post can help explain why you’d be redirecting them in the first place.
Great article, Abby!
Starting any small business is daunting, but beginning clothing production on your own is so intense! There’s so much benefit in being hired by a company that has employees with experience, that can coach you along as you learn. When someone is wanting to start producing a clothing line, I think the industry experience of a professional patternmaker, and his or her suggestions and connections, would far outweigh the costs of trying to muddle through on your own.
Amy made a good point about finding a patternmaker, though. If you don’t have a connection to begin with, it can be really challenging!
Do you have any advice if one is inexperienced in the fashion industry and wants to start a fashion business?
No, unfortunately I don’t.
Awesome article I love the inside perspective. Great job as usual Abby!
Wow, I was just starting out on getting my children’s boutique up and running. I was just wondering where I was going to find a factory to stitch my designs and hadn’t even thought the patterns used at home and at factories were different. So glad I came upon this page. Thanks for sharing!
Seema
i would like to have a newletter please.