Patternmaking in Fashion Design

Pattern Making

There is a shortage of patternmakers in the fashion industry. For anyone interested in having a career in the fashion industry, becoming a fashion patternmaker is a wise decision for a number of reasons:

-it's great pay
-you won't have much competition to deal with
-you could get to work closely with professional fashion designers
-you'll be doing the very important bricks and mortar work in fashion design

Without fashion patternmakers there would be no fashion designs being made into clothes. So if you're thinking about getting into the fashion industry by the way of patternmaking you can either teach yourself patternmaking following any of the methods below;

Buy designer clothing patterns at sewing supply stores and study the pattern blocks

Go to your local library, or bookstore online or offline and order the patternmaking teaching manuals such as Connie Amaden Crawford's 'Patternmaking Made Easy' she teaches you how to produce 22 of the most important pattern blocks, or 'slopers', that all other blocks are made from.

Get your hands on some fashion patternmaking software like the CAD kind from Etelestia or Wild Ginger's 'Pattern Master' software.

You can get started even faster with a low tech innovative product like the Lutterloh patternmaking system and easily learn how to use their 'Golden Rule' system. It's a great place to start because they've got a online free learning video on how to use the Golden Rule. Basically, how it works is you take your bust and waist measurements that you're making a pattern for and use those measurements to develop a 'connect the dots' outline based on one of the many interchangeable pattern block templates. To create your own unique fashion pattern blocks you would just customize the necessary pattern blocks Lutterloh provides in their pattern books.

You can take a quality online fashion patternmaking or online fashion design course that includes patternmaking. Both Etelestia and Epro fashion schools provide such courses.

Or you could go the most conventional route and take a complete fashion design course at the Art Institute, Vancouver Community College or any other local college that holds good repute in the fashion industry for the quality of their courses and turn out of industry ready fashion design graduates.

Either way, if you choose to learn or become a fashion designer/fashion patternmaker you'll get a chance to exercise your drive, determination and passion for fashion in doing so. Make sure you learn everything you can get your hands on, dream big and get to know people in the fashion indsutry. Once you've acquired the skills you can look into becoming an intern at your local or nearest fashion house to get your experience in. You can also provide your skills online as a patternmaker for fashion designers and clothing manufacturers.

Your Path to Fashion Design Success

When establishing a fashion-design career, it is crucial to make sure you are concentrating in on what you want to do with your career and what path is the best to take.

Your portfolio is the main thing to start on when setting up your fashion-design career. The portfolio will be the best chance for you to showcase your talents to prospective employers. Your portfolio must demonstrate extensive ability and creativity, showcasing your sketches, coloring and textual styles. The portfolio is an essential tool to help you prove your talents and peerless style. To present your expertise there is no better way.

Its imperative that you have a professional demeanor about you because fashion involves serious effort and application.

Work on your skills - Hone your talents at all times - Set realistic expectations - Get a proper education - Find a logical entry-level position

A fashion designer needs to have skills in more than the fabrication of clothing, including knowledge of clothes and expertise in sewing, but also in sketching and drafting their patterns. The clever fashion designer envisions/knows colouring and how to use it to catch the substance of their design.

Learning how to sew your own garments will put you one step ahead of your competition. Always be aware of present trends in the fashion world, also be ready for upcoming fashion trends and take advantage of them. You will have to be able to work well as a team player to be successful in fashion design. There is no limit on fashion knowledge because the field is always growing and expanding.

How to Become a Fashion Designer: School and Interning
The Right School

Becoming a fashion designer means enrolling in a prestigious school that teaches design, sewing, textiles, and the like. It's imperative that you study the basics of design before you add your own creativity and flair. Things to consider of the right online school include curriculum, area of specialization, cost, and ratio of teachers to students.

Check out LaSalle College International Jakarta. They have the best Fashion Design program, you can choose bachelor, diploma or certificate degrees.

The Right Internship

The working experience that you can attain working as an intern or apprentice in an established shop is even more crucial. It is incredibly important to work along side a fashion designer who can give you firsthand experiences and help you build your portfolio. It's all about experience. To become one of the best candidates for positions and advancements take all that you can from school but put your skills to use everywhere and anywhere that you can.

How Much Does a Fashion Designer Make? - Fashion Designer Salaries

Starting logically is the key behind starting a fashion-design career. Leverage your established talents and make sure you stick to attainable goals. Most of all it is important to always be creative and stay on the cutting edge. Be aware that salaries for a fashion design job can vary to a great extent. About 15,000 fashion designers are employed in the US and more than one out of every four designers is self-employed. The average annual salary was $55,840; overall the range is from $25,350 to $105,280.

Maria Pinto, The American Fashion Designer

Michelle Obama and Maria Pinto

If it's one thing Michelle Obama cannot be accused of is being selfish, as she has taken not only herself but a string of fashion designers to the white house with her. Maria Pinto is just another American fashion designer who has benefited from Michelle Obama's iconic fashion sense.

Obama started wearing Pinto's designs back in 2004 when her husband was running for the senate. Pinto's big moment came when Michelle Obama choose to wear a turquoise dress designed by Pinto to give her speech at the Democratic Convention in Denver at the Pepsi Centre on August 25, 2008.

Everything you need to know about fashion marketing

In a nutshell, fashion marketing is a profession that takes the latest trends and designs in clothing and communicates them to a target market in such a way that the consumer is not only aware of the product, but wants to and ultimately does buy the product. A target market is a sector of the consumer market to which a company wishes to sell (i.e. market) its clothing. To fully know what fashion marketing is, it is important to understand that marketing does not stop at ads in magazines or commercials on TV. The world of marketing is just as dynamic as the world of fashion. Marketing clothing includes elements such as determining which stores the apparel should be sold in, what price the clothing should be sold for--all the way to how the in-store displays should look. Fashion marketers often are as savvy about business as they are about fashion and popular culture.

Skills That Fashion Schools Don't Cover Nearly Enough

In fashion school, most of your time was spent learning to create fashion illustrations, draping, sewing, and flat patternmaking. While these are good skills to have, they aren't very practical when you're trying to land your first job in the fashion industry. In the real world you'll be expected to know how to create computerized flat sketches, develop garment specs, CADs, and presentation boards. And I know some of you are thinking "But I learned those things in school too!" To which I reply: You think you know, but you have no idea! Take it from experience: fashion schools don't focus on those skills nearly enough to fully prepare you for your first design position. In this article I will discuss each skill and its importance in the fashion industry.

Becoming a Fashion Designer

The field of fashion design is popular now with shows like Project Runway. These types of shows give a realistic view of what's expected from a fashion designer. If you are determined to make a career in this business, read on.

If you really want to become a fashion designer you must be able to take rejection. As a fashion designer you will receive more "No's" then you will hear the word "Yes." This cannot stop you. The field of fashion design is very competitive and requires hard work on your part. There are plenty of talented designers out there just like you, but you must know what makes you stand out from the rest.

The Basic Of Becoming Fashion Designer

Do you have what it takes to become a fashion designer? This is a question that many have asked themselves only to be discouraged when they found out what is really involved. Don't be discouraged. Knowledge is power and when you arm yourself with the knowledge needed to succeed in the fashion industry you will be prepared. Read as much as you can about the fashion industry. Simple but effective resources are fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle and Glamour. These are just a few magazines to get familiar with but there are tons more to use as research for treads and fashion.