What will you do?
You analyse sketches and models, draw a basic pattern, adjust it and grade it digitally into all sizes. As a pattern drafter or CAD grader you work precisely with specialised software, and you prepare a technical file for production. You find this job mainly in the leather and textile industry, where creativity and production come together.
- Analyse sketches and models
- Draft a basic pattern
- Adjust patterns
- Grade a basic pattern digitally
- Create a digital cutting pattern and cutting plan
- Prepare a technical file for production
Skills to develop
- Comfortable with CAD software for patterns and grading
- Precise and patient drafting work
- Spatial insight and a feel for fit
- Knowledge of textiles and garment-making techniques
- Structured in building technical files
Your foundation for this occupation
Patternmaking translates a design into components that create the intended shape and can be manufactured repeatedly. It needs construction, fit and sizing knowledge alongside CAD skills. Look for training with samples and fitting corrections; software operation alone does not produce a usable production pattern.
From preparation to your first day
Develop the practical skills
Develop a design into pattern pieces with clear marks, grain lines and matching points. Check how pieces join and review the sample with its maker. In grading, learn which points change across sizes and which design features remain deliberate constants. Applying one arbitrary scale factor is not proper size development.
Check your work
Check pattern pieces, revisions and the technical file together. Do the component list, marks and assembly details reflect the latest fit correction? Ensure the cutting layout respects grain and prints. A digitally efficient layout is unusable if visible pieces face the wrong direction.
How can you grow?
Specialisations include product categories, digital grading, technical development and fit management. Coordination requires keeping design, purchasing and production on the same revision. A portfolio showing an initial pattern, sample and explained corrections demonstrates more than final drawings alone.
Frequently asked questions
Is a ready-to-wear pattern the same as a bespoke pattern?
Not entirely. Ready-to-wear needs repeatable size ranges for a target group, while bespoke work adapts to one person. Both require fit knowledge, but grading and production decisions differ. Ask which sizes, product groups and production quantities the role covers.