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Specialist Services For UK Fashion Startups.
The London Pattern Cutter is unique within the UK clothing industry. We are a small team of highly expert fashion industry freelancers – Pattern cutters, graders, sample makers, clothing technicians, tech pack makers, mentors, and tutors.
Based in London we offer a wide range of fashion services, advice, classes and workshops for startup brands, new designers, home sewers, and complete novices interested in learning new fashion skills.
We provide our fashion startup clients with all the advice and services necessary to start up and run a successful UK fashion business. They are free to choose their own manufacturer, or be guided by us, whether they want to manufacture in the UK or abroad.
We work with a number of no minimums, high end specialist clothing manufacturers for sportswear, swimwear, equestrian wear, streetwear, lingerie, tailoring, etc. These factories are happy to work with small startup brands.
EMAIL [email protected]
Launching A New UK Brand ?
If you are an emerging designer, or fashion entrepreneur, launching a new UK clothing brand, then we can offer you all the services, teaching, and advice you need. Just bring us your concept. We can guide you and teach you every step of the way.
We like to think of ourselves as a fashion business laboratory, where small businesses, new brands, and individuals can try out and develop their ideas on an a small scale at an economic price.
In order to keeps costs as low as possible for our clients, we encourage them to learn to do as much of the work themselves as is practical and cost effective.
At the same time we provide them with support, practical skills and advice where needed. All our specialists are able to offer classes and workshops to pass on their specialist skills to our clients.
We have worked for many big fashion brands, and thousands of startups. Above all we love helping small fashion businesses by bringing their ideas to life, using highly experienced but affordable professionals.
Our Fashion Business Associates.
Our associates offer a range of specialised skills and knowledge to our clients. We have apparel designers, pattern cutters, graders, tech pack makers, sample machinists, and fashion business advisers.
We have experienced professionals available for sportswear, swimwear, equestrian wear, lingerie, streetwear, bra making, bespoke tailoring, denim, etc.
Each associate is very experienced within their specialist field of expertise, but most will also be able to provide a variety of services, including pattern cutting, sampling, grading, and tech packs.
The Pattern Cutter.
Well cut patterns made by the best pattern cutters is essential to the success of any clothing brand. Professional patterns ensure efficient sample development and production runs. It also limits very expensive returns.
A good pattern cutter will make a massive difference to your success, and save you lots of time and money. Pattern making is one area that you really don’t want to cut corners on if you are a fashion startup brand on a restricted budget.
If you are looking for a freelance pattern cutter, you need a very experienced freelancer – Preferably one who is specialised in your genre, whether that is swimwear, lingerie, sportswear, tailoring, evening wear, or streetwear.
Just look at any designer brand outside the very top luxury labels. You will find well made, high quality garments, using the best fabrics. But the pattern making is often poor – especially with the more technically challenging designs, and specialist areas of apparel.
Small designer brands will often cut costs by using more affordable generic pattern makers who are not sufficiently experienced. Or use the factory pattern cutters, who are often not really pattern cutters at all.
Poor pattern cutting result in poor fitting garments with no hanger appeal, and are disastrous for any fashion label. This can really hits sales dramatically, inviting ruinous returns, and discouraging brand loyalty.
The aim for any new brand should be to increase sales, avoid returns, and build brand loyalty through the highest affordable quality. And that starts with the pattern making.
Smaller brands cannot afford to make multiple samples for each style as the big brands do. To keep costs to a minimum, each style needs to be right at the first attempt where possible. Otherwise costs can soar. A good pattern cutter will get it right first time.
Bill has been a freelance pattern cutter for forty years and is a specialist in multiple fields of pattern cutting. After forty years he has earned the title of a Master Pattern Cutter.
Do You Really Own Your Patterns ?
This is a very important point fashion startups need to be aware of – Many factories do not charge specifically for patterns and samples. They give you an overall price that may include the sample development, but the patterns remain their property – Not yours.
They recover the pattern costs through higher production prices, and consequently keep ownership of the patterns and samples. If you decide to go elsewhere for production, you will have to start from scratch.
Once a pattern is made, as long as you own the pattern, it becomes part of your pattern library, available for you to use as is, or adapted to other styles for years to come. It contains a template for the size and shape that your customers become familiar with, and trust.
It is often advisable to keep your sample development separate from production. A good freelance pattern cutter or sampling room should be able to offer patterns, samples, grading, and tech packs as a minimum. You can then choose your own factory.
If you are interested in clothing production we can assist you with small production runs through our various associate specialist UK factories. We believe strongly in supporting British manufacturing, and recommend that our clients use UK factories, even if they appear more expensive at first sight.
Complete Beginners Welcome.
Whether you are looking to start a new fashion business, or just want to learn fashion skills like pattern making and dressmaking, we welcome complete beginners with no fashion or business experience.
We will advise you of the most suitable cost effective solution for your needs. Each of our associates has their own specific areas of expertise, but are experienced with dealing with beginners.
Our range of one-to-one classes and workshops are open to professionals and non-professionals alike. We welcome dressmakers, pattern cutters, and home sewers.
Sampling And Product Development.
Whether you have a functional clothing product that requires extensive sample development, or have an entire collection of fashion designs, we can provide the expertise to help bring your ideas to life.
Our high quality sampling services operate in tandem with our fashion business classes and workshops. So, you can learn how to run your new clothing business every step of the way.
As experts in all aspects of apparel sample development, we aim to get it right first time round, by following tried and tested procedures.
We work with several fully equipped sampling units , using highly specialised machinery for all types of clothing, including swimwear, sportswear, and lingerie.
Clothing product development is the pre-production process, starting from the design concept, and ending with the approved sample.
We try to ensure that this stage is as easy and straight forward as possible, by ensuring that you understand exactly what we need in order to get it right first time.
Mentoring For Your New Clothing Business.
When you start a new clothing line, it is important to realise that you cant go it alone if you want to be successful. You need an affordable mentor you can call on, who you can trust to guide you every step of the way.
Your mentor can take many different forms, but needs to have immense experience in the fashion business. Each of our fashion experts can provide affordable mentoring and advice for their clients.
The pattern cutter provides a pivotal role, with the unique ability to bring all the elements of the fashion industry together. The best and most experienced pattern cutters understand the workings of the clothing industry inside out.
Whoever you choose, your mentor can be your project manager, your adviser, and your go-to guy for all your queries. They will help and advise you, and at the same time, help make your vision a reality.
Some Of Our Fashion Services.
For anyone starting a fashion business, but with no experience. This is by far our most popular workshop, and an important step to learning how to start and run your own fashion business.
A short but intense workshop for beginners. Available either face to face, or online.
Mainly for those who are new to the fashion business. If you have your design ideas, feel that you know what you want, but dont know how to get those ideas across, then bring what you have to us.
We will discuss them with you, give you our expert feedback, suggest possible improvements to design and construction. If you want a critique of your existing designs, we will be happy to provide that. Available either face to face, or online.
One-to-one pattern cutting classes, custom made for your own unique requirements. Flexible learning. Learn how to cut patterns with our experienced tutors. Most classes available either face to face, or online. We also run very popular computer pattern cutting classes using Gerber.
Some clients just want a sample. Others want a pattern cutter and sample maker. Still others want a sampling development service, or a one-stop-shop, including small production runs.
Our highly experienced tech pack designers can provide your tech packs, or teach you how to design your own.
Clothing Manufacture For Startups.
Small fashion startups are poorly served in the UK. The corporates have gradually taken over where once small brands ruled. We want to re-introduce the idea that small brands can achieve success by giving their customers what they really want.
Apart from the usual fashion industry services like manufacturing, designing, pattern cutting, grading, sampling, and tech pack design, we try to provide you with the knowledge and expertise to succeed – One to one fashion courses, workshops, and mentoring are all provided for you.
Please check our page on small quantity manufacture for fashion startups.
EMAIL [email protected]
Just Start.
We at The London Pattern Cutter, really thought our tagline should be “Just Start”. Nothing else seems to quite express what we stand for.
We believe that the best way to learn how to start and run a fashion business is to forget all the endless expert advice requiring endless research – And just start.
The thing is that while the success rate for fashion startups is low, it does not cost a fortune to start a fashion business. With good guidance, you are limiting any potential risks dramatically.
But use a little caution. Start slowly, with a small collection, and small runs. Test the market and at the same time, learn how the fashion industry works.
One-To-One Fashion Workshops And Courses.
Our fashion industry experts run a range of one-to-one fashion industry workshops that run in tandem with our other services. We have workshops for each stage of the process from design through to manufacture.
Our one-to-one fashion courses include pattern cutting, grading, tech pack creation, Adobe Illustrator, and designing. We tailor each workshop and class round your own specific needs.
Fashion Business Consultancy And Mentoring.
Most fashion designers only really want to design. But when they start their own brand, they suddenly realise that there is a lot more to building a brand than just designing. It is virtually impossible for a start-up to succeed without some mentoring and guidance.
They cant afford to learn through trial and error. They must learn fast – And they need to learn from experienced professionals, rather than through their mistakes.
Our team offers a professional fashion business consultancy service to clients who want to start their own brand, but dont have the time or knowledge to do so.
We have devoted a considerable amount of time researching such things as specialist factories and fabric suppliers so that you dont have to.
Most new fashion businesses need affordable professional help and advice. Most small businesses lack the finances to get the help they need, and will almost certainly fail without.
There are other services that offer support for new fashion businesses in London, but they tend to be aimed at established businesses with considerable financial backing.
These services can be prohibitively expensive for small startups. The services and advice they offer fail to meet the requirements of the small fashion businesses we love to work with.
The London Pattern Cutter specialises in assisting and mentoring small to medium sized clothing businesses and startups on limited budgets.
Many of these apparel startups are run by people who are passionate about the clothing business and designing, but who may have little or no experience of the clothing industry at all.
They often have no idea where to start, or are wary of making costly mistakes. Sometimes they have already had bad experiences with the clothing industry.
Startups desperately need good patterns, good processes and good advice. Our affordable mentoring services are very popular, and easy to access.
Expert Advice.
The clothing industry is notoriously poorly run at the independent level – Just try to get a bank loan for a fashion startup! If you have access to good advice it is not necessary to have any experience, or fashion design or sketching skills.
All you need are your ideas and some common sense. If you would like to discuss your project with us, with absolutely no obligation, just send us an email.
Fashion Design.
Our fashion design services are provided by our team of experienced fashion designers. We can either design your range from scratch, according to your brief, or help and advise you on creating your own designs.
If you require help in providing professional fashion sketches, drawings, or technical flats, we can help you there too.
“If you think its expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur” RED ADAIR
Size Grading.
We provide both a manual grading service and computer grading with CAD. If you would like to learn either of these, we provide classes and workshops for you, either face to face or online.
For most startups manual grading is fine, although you will have no backup computer file. If you intend to manufacture abroad, or you have a lot of sizes, then computer grading may be the better option.
If you have a lot of sizes, and / or you need a special grade, then it is advisable for us to provide you with a grading chart. Often the graders will ask you for a grading chart anyway.
If you are using a foreign factory to provide your grades, you need to be extremely careful, as they may not be using professional graders. Or they may not understand UK sizing.
Childrenswear grading in particular requires specialist knowledge to do correctly. Very few graders are familiar with grading childrenswear.
Tech Pack Design.
Our tech pack design service is provided by highly experienced fashion industry experts. Tech packs need to be completed by very experienced experts, otherwise they are a waste of time and money. many factories insist on a tech pack before they will manufacture your designs.
Project Management.
Although each of our services is available individually, we also provide a full project management service. From design, through to final production, and beyond.
Sportswear And Swimwear.
Sportswear and swimwear are both specialist genres of clothing that require a great deal of experience, knowledge, and specialist machinery to ensure professional results.We provide all the expertise you need.
Services We Offer Include :
- Fashion Startup Workshop
- Fashion Design
- Sample Development
- Pattern Cutting
- Pattern Grading
- Classes And Workshop
- Tech Pack Design
- Sourcing
- Costings
- Spec Sheets
- Size Charts
- Quality Control
- Mentoring
- Production
Overseas Production.
Offshore production for startups is generally NOT recommended by us, but we are happy to offer our expert help and advice for any clients looking for this option, but wanting to be shielded from the possible drawbacks.
Sometimes it is necessary to manufacture overseas, either because you need large volumes at low prices, or because special skills or machinery are needed that the UK does not have.
Dont even think of doing this without expert help and advice. We can work with you to help everything go smoothly. Foreign factories may have great prices, but they can prove disastrous, without expert knowledge and experience.
EMAIL [email protected]
“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it” JOHN C. MAXWELL