Online Pattern Grading Class

Basic Pattern Grading Course.

Pattern grading is one of those skills that is easy to learn with online tuition.  It can be tremendously useful to understand grading, whether  for clothing professionals, fashion students, or  home dressmakers. And  yet it remains a bit of a mystery to many, including professional pattern cutters. Our manual grading online classes hope to rectify this.

Most experienced pattern cutters and garment technicians have a working knowledge of grading, and understand the basic principles involved. Often they are self taught, either through text books, or learning  online.

But it takes time to find all the information you need on the internet, and when you find it, there is often a problem of understanding the information given. Sometimes we dont quite understand the instructions, or we have further questions we need to ask.

Because so much grading is done digitally rather than manually  today, professional pattern cutters and domestic hobbyists tend not to become familiar with the basics of pattern grading, although it is such a valuable skill to know.

Grading The Bust Dart.

How to grade  the bust dart is something  that confuses many inexperienced graders. When the dart is positioned in certain directions it is quite a simple procedure, but often it takes some experience and knowledge to figure out how to grade the dart when it is in  different positions, or if the suppression is within the style seams.

With bust suppression you need to increase the front length while keeping the side seam as it is. Confusingly, depending on your grading method, the front length will remain the same when grading up, while the side seam and back length will decrease slightly.

Online Classes.

Our online manual pattern grading classes are live, intereactive, one-to-one classes. There is no set course. We can start from the basics, and move on to intermediate level grading when you are ready.

We can  cover any aspect of grading and sizing you want. If you just have a series of questions to ask, then that is fine too.

There is no reason to complete a full grading course if you just want a small amount of information. We charge by the day, and are very flexible re times. E-learning is the easiest way to learn how to grade.

Grading For Fashion Graduates.

Most fashion schools do not teach grading at all, and consequently  fashion graduates tend to have little knowledge of the subject, even though  it is a skill much valued by employers.

If you can tell a potential employer  that you have learnt how to cut patterns AND grade, then your value to them  increases dramatically. Sometimes it is just a matter of grading one size up or down from your present pattern, and it is quicker to grade manually than to send to the grader.

Most fashion companies outsource grading to dedicated grading companies, although some do still grade manually in-house. The fewer the sizes graded the more economic sense it is to grade in-house.

Sometimes it is necessary to grade a pattern up or down just one or two  size. To outsource that to a digital grader would be expensive, as half of the work is just in the digitising of the pattern.

Grading For Dressmakers.

Although most home  dressmakers buy  their patterns online, they still need to have a good knowledge of patterns and grading in order to alter  those patterns for  custom sizes.

It is not easy to find a  pattern grading class in the UK, especially if you live outside London. That is where online classes come into their own. You can learn at a time to choose, from your own home.

Grading Rules.

Grading rules are the formula you decide to use for any specific grading project. For most beginners, or home dressmakers, grading rules just mean where you are putting the increments.

Ladieswear grading and menswear grading are almost identical, except for the complication of a bust dart in ladies grading. For most grading, this just means a slight increase in the front body length and width of the dart.

Childrenswear grading is far more complicated at first, but actually quite easy and forgiving, as there are  no definitive grading rules for childrenswear. This makes it easy to teach online.

How Much Does It Cost ? 

Our  online pattern grading classes are charged at £45 per hour. We recommend  two hour  sessions at a cost of £90.

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