How to draft a pattern
From choosing a block to a printed, graded pattern and a toile. Plan about fifteen minutes for your first one, plus the time to measure.
Open the pattern library and look through the blocks. Each one is drawn on the figure from the front and, when you hover it, from the back. Switch to Pieces to see the pattern pieces instead.
Open a block to see every piece, the measurements it uses and its settings, then press Edit in the editor. You can also switch blocks in the editor from the pattern name in the top bar.
- Measure over thin, close-fitting clothes, standing naturally with arms relaxed. Ask someone to help for the back and arm measurements.
- Keep the tape snug but not tight, and level all the way round for chest, waist and seat. Write everything in centimetres.
- Each block only asks for the measurements it uses; the editor shows which ones.
In the Measurements panel on the left, choose the nearest standard size and the height, then press Load size. Every measurement now holds a sensible value for that size.
Overwrite the ones you measured. Anything you leave keeps the standard value, so you can start with chest, waist and length and refine later.
Type a client name and press Save to keep the measurements as a profile. Pick it again from Saved profiles next time.
Below the measurements, Block settings hold the design decisions: ease over the chest, length, shoulder extension, armhole depth, sleeve and cuff widths, collar heights and so on, depending on the block.
The defaults are a balanced starting point. Change one value at a time and watch the pattern and the figure on the right update. Defaults puts every setting back.
- Ease is how much the garment is bigger than the body. A fitted shirt starts around 12 to 16 cm at the chest, a coat around 30.
- Length settings are measured from the nape or the waist, as their label says.
- Shoulder pad lift raises the shoulder for a pad and adds the same height to the sleeve cap.
The right panel measures every seam the studio draws. A green dot means the value sits in the target range, amber means it is on the edge, red means it needs attention before you cut.
The note under each check shows the value and its target. If a check is amber or red, change the setting it names and watch the dot.
- Cap easeSleeve cap longer than the armhole by the target amount
- Shoulder back minus frontBack shoulder eased onto the front
- Side seams back minus frontBoth side seams the same length
- Sleeve widthEase over the bicep
Click any seam on the pattern. A small panel shows its length and the measurements you can set for it, such as the neck depth of a neckline or the length of a side seam.
Type the value you want and press Enter. The studio finds the setting that gives that result and redraws the whole pattern, so matching seams stay matched. Use the undo button in the panel to step back.
Turn on Construction in the toolbar to show the chest, waist, seat and knee lines. They can be clicked and edited the same way.
Drag to move the sheet, use the plus and minus buttons or the mouse wheel to zoom. On a phone, use two fingers.
Create a free account with Sign in in the top bar. Then Save keeps the block, its measurements and settings in your account, and My patterns opens, renames or deletes them on any computer.
From the account menu, Save as new pattern keeps a copy before you try something different, and New pattern starts fresh. The editor warns you before you leave with unsaved changes.
Switch the canvas from Pattern to Grading. Your edited block becomes the base size and the studio drafts the other sizes around it, nested on top of each other in colour.
Pick the sizes to include and adjust the increments: how much each body measurement and each setting grows from one size to the next. Reset them to the standard rules at any time.
Choose the export in the Export panel. Everything is true to scale.
- PDF A4 or A3 for a home printer. Print at 100% with fit to page turned off, then measure the test square on page one: it must be exactly 10 by 10 cm. Trim one edge of each page and tape them together by the row and column labels.
- PDF A0 for a copy shop, Plotter PDF for one sheet at 1:1.
- SVG for Illustrator, Inkscape or a laser cutter, DXF for pattern CAD with every size on its own layer.
- DXF-AAMA for CLO 3D, Gerber, Lectra and Optitex. In CLO choose File, Import, DXF (AAMA/ASTM), set the scale to millimetres and tick Optimize All Curve Points. Add seam allowance in CLO; pieces cut on the fold arrive unfolded.
- Project saves a file you can open again with Open, or send to your workroom.
Cut the pattern in calico or an inexpensive fabric of similar weight and sew the main seams with a long stitch. Try it on and look for pulling, drag lines, gaping and length.
Correct the measurement or setting that causes it, not the paper: a tight back means more across back or ease, a collar standing off the neck means a smaller neck width. Save the corrected measurements to the client's profile, and the next pattern for that person starts right.
Choose a block