Pattern Blocks
Make Your Own Clothing Pattern Blocks.
(030). Make your own basic pattern blocks for menswear or ladieswear with live expert help as and when you need it at a very affordable price.
- Do you find it difficult to get to grips with drafting pattern blocks ?
- Do you get confused with the instructions you find in pattern cutting books ?
- Do you have all sorts of questions you need answered ?
- Do you get frustrated when your attempts at drafting dont work out as they should ?
- Do you want to make a block to exactly fit your own mannequin ?
Well, we are here to help you. We run online and face to face pattern making and block making tuition in which we can guide you to make your own perfectly fitting blocks, custom made for your own mannequin.
After an initial one day trial at a reduced rate, you will then be able to access our expert pattern cutters as and when you need them. We will be there to instruct you and to answer all your questions.
You can send us images of your patterns, or your toiles, so that we can advise on improvements. We can help you construct your own clothing pattern blocks, whether for your own personal use, or for professional use.
What Are Pattern Blocks ?
Your pattern blocks provide the foundation for each and every garment design that you make. It is important to take time to perfect each block to your own requirements. Professional pattern cutters will have a block for each type of style they intend to make.
Bespoke Patterns.
As well as providing fully bespoke patterns made exactly to your requirements, we can also offer basic clothing pattern blocks, or slopers, for many different styles for mens,ladies and childrens garments. Pattern blocks are like templates that can be used as a base for many different designs.
It means that all your styles should have a similar feel and fit. Types of pattern blocks include :- Tailored jackets and trousers, casual jackets and trousers, shirts, coats, swimwear, sportswear, dresses, etc..
The Importance Of Basic Blocks.
Pattern blocks are the starting point for each design. If your blocks are wrong, then all your patterns will also be wrong.
How Often Are Pattern Blocks Updated ?
Blocks can be used year after year, with few if any changes. While fashion and design may change rapidly, the basic shapes that the designs are made from tend to change only very slowly.
Every now and then there is a major change which requires a whole range of drastically different templates. Some brands are more fashion sensitive than others. Naturally younger brands are more likely to change than older, more conservative brands.
Clothing pattern blocks
Blocks can be cut either with or without seam allowances. They do not include design details such as pockets or style seams, but they do include sleeves and collars.
A block should be well balanced and fitted for its intended purpose, ready for you to add your own design details.
Most professional Pattern Cutters work from basic blocks if they do not have a similar pattern in their library to use as a starting point. From time to time they will update their blocks to take account of current trends or small changes that they wish to make – Maybe a slightly wider shoulder or a more fitted waist for example.
Pattern Library.
Any established fashion brand would have an extensive library of patterns available to use in order to make new styles from. For most brands it would be rare to begin a pattern from scratch. All styles of a similar shape would be based around the same block, although during the sampling and fitting process, this shape may be refined. In this way the blocks may be refined over time.
A designer will normally suggest that any new style is based on an existing style from the library. If a different fabric it may be that the new fabric does not react in the same way as the previous fabric, so there may need to be a new block for a different fabric.
Sometimes a designer will want to replicate an existing style, while adding their own design details to make a new style. In this case, the pattern cutter may just transpose the details of the garment onto their own block pattern, so that they can be confident that the fit and balance are still in keeping with their own brand.
Uniformity Of Fit.
Normally startups do not have a library of patterns to work from, and they need to have some sort of uniformity of fit so that their customers can be confident that all garments will have a similar fit. Once a company develops a significant library they can then begin to use previous patterns with various changes to styling.
Types Of Pattern Blocks.
Potentially there are hundreds of different types of pattern blocks that can be used for any clothing company. There are menswear blocks, ladieswear blocks and childrenswear blocks. Then each genre can be broken down into further divisions.
A ladies tailoring company may need a trouser block, skirt block,jacket block, and maybe blouse and dress blocks. A mens denim brand may need a jeans block and a denim jacket block to start with.
Sleeve Blocks.
Even experienced pattern cutters can find sleeve patterns a problem. Each body block needs a sleeve block custom made for that armhole. Its not just a question of using any sleeve pattern that fits, because each armhole is different. A sleeve needs to be in keeping with the type of garment. A tailored sleeve block is no use in a shirt armhole, even if it fits.
FAQ Page.
Check out our fashion classes FAQ page.
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