BECOMING A PATTERN MAKER

By- Namrata Jaiswal

[Guided By- Ms. Monika Malik]

Writing down your professional goals is something everyone should focus on. Similarly one should also plan how to achieve those goals.

I, based on my skills have always driven towards Pattern making and consider myself as a budding pattern maker. Since day one I was focused on learning more and more about this field and how to draft patterns.

Here’s a basic introduction about what are patterns and who is a pattern maker.

Patterns are templates from which pieces of the garments are traced onto the fabric before cutting it out, usually made on papers. Through pattern making you get a blueprint of a garment before the fabric is being cut. pattern making is the most hardworking job. A pattern maker is the most requested professional figure in the fashion industry. A pattern maker transforms creative ideas into reality.

To achieve these goals one needs to work hard and needs a lot of experience. People like me who go to a fashion school are taught everything, but someone who doesn’t know where to begin with should always start with buying books. I personally prefer studying with Winifred Aldrich. This book teaches you pattern making in the easiest way possible.

Pattern making is such an amazing and fun subject if done the right way. The future of fashion is pattern makers. Without pattern makers this field is incomplete. There is so much handwork involved which pays off when you see the final outcomes on the runway. As a pattern maker you should have good knowledge about fabrics, for gaining that i personally used to go to the local market instead of getting things online. This helped me in increasing my knowledge in many different ways for example: I learned to deal with whole- sellers/sellers.

Now I would like to share what I have learned and done to achieve my goals so far:

• How to take body measurements
• How to make drafts and cut fabrics
• How to shop the right fabric
• Garment construction

In my free time after my college, I have worked at my college boutique under the guidance of Prof. Leela Taparia to gain some extra knowledge and experience. While working at the college boutique I learned a lot about drafting patterns of different sizes and fits. I also learned about the different techniques used for cutting the fabrics. But, the most important thing which I learned about was how to create garments without waste. Zero waste and sustainability is the future of fashion, and it is very important for us to create without harming the environment.

It was surely very difficult to manage working there and completing my assignments at the same time. But when you are seriously focused towards your dream nothing is unachievable.

I have also written blogs on dart manipulation, do have a read

• https://f03.home.blog/2020/05/27/the-magic-of-darts/
• https://f03.home.blog/2020/08/29/the-magic-of-darts-3/

Pattern makers are the most important part of the industry yet they are so underrated.

So, stop worrying about how & when and start with writing down your plans and working towards them.

Hard work is the Key to success my Friend….!!!

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