Hey lovelies, I get asked a lot how to make patterns. And I wanted to clear up a few misconceptions before I show you how. Stay to the end and you can watch the free training!
Myth: I need previous drafting experience to make patterns.
No, you don’t. All pattern designers started with zero experience. And the less experience you have, the better. In fact, if you’re starting from zero, you can set a strong foundation from the start! Don’t let your lack of experience stop you from trying a new skill.
Myth: I need expensive, fancy software to draft patterns.
Umm, no. When we first learn how to draft in school, all we use are rulers, paper and pencils. Basically, just those three things. Yes, there is a way to draft with computers, but it helps if you already know how to draft on paper. Pattern drafting can be as low-tech as you want when you’re starting out.
Myth: I should only learn drafting if I want this as a career.
No, you can have other goals besides turning this into a career. Say you want to learn how to draft for your family or yourself, or your hard to fit relative. There are a million other reasons to want to learn how to draft, and all of them are valid. A lot of my students draft for themselves.
Myth: It’s too hard, I’m not smart enough.
Here’s a big secret. If you can connect the dots literally, then you can draft patterns. It’s basically just connecting the dots on the paper. I mean, yeah a little bit of math is involved but that’s why calculators were invented. I still use my calculator when I’m drafting.
Myth: My patterns won’t turn out right and they won’t fit anyone.
If you can connect the dots, you can draft. The only time you run into problems is when you start altering your patterns sometimes and try new things. But this happens to the best of us. That’s what testing is for! That’s why we have prototypes. Even big name brands go through testing and make sure the design is the way they want it before mass-producing it. So, you’re in good company if you make a mistake when you’re trying new ideas.
Myth: Patternmaking is dead, no one does that anymore.
Uhh… no. It’s very much alive and well. Look around you, do you see people wearing clothes? Yeah, it’s so integrated into our day to day lives we don’t even realize it’s there. And it’s not going away anytime soon. Okay, stay with my little rant… even if we all ended up wearing the same spacesuit, guess what, someone would have to design that. So yeah. Patternmaking is the thread that ties us all together. It’s not going away.
Myth: It takes too much time to learn how to draft, I’ll never be able to do this.
Do you have 30 mins a day? Could you skip one episode of your favorite show to try? Because it really doesn’t take that much time. And once your learn how, it’s pretty much practicing and expanding on those skills after that.
Also, you’re going to learn how to draft a hat pattern in 10 minutes, right now. Go grab some paper, ruler and a pencil and I’ll see you in the training!
You really can do this.
