SEWING PATTERN: WHAT IS IT?

A sewing pattern is a paper template usually white or brown in color from which the part of a garment-style are traced onto another working-paper before being used to cut out the fabric and assemble together by sewing.

There are two major types of sewing Patterns in the Garment Construction Field which are the foundational patterns such as a block pattern (used in industrial production) or Sloper pattern (used in Bespoke/DIY home sewing) and the Commercial Patterns(A finished graded garment pattern).

BLOCK VS SLOPER PATTERN?

A Block pattern (used in industrial production) is a foundation pattern constructed to fit an average figure. The average measurements of women/men/children are obtained by clothing manufacturers from sizing surveys while A Sloper pattern (used in Bespoke/DIY home sewing) is a custom-fitted, foundation/basic pattern constructed to fit an individual personal size. It has enough ease-allowance for you to be able to breathe.

A designer/Tailor/Dressmaker/Home Sewer's uses a block/Sloper as a basic tool for making the pattern for a design or an apparel. It serves as the basis for all adaptation. The block/Sloper pattern is traced or wheeled onto a plain pattern paper to produce the working pattern where the basic style line of the apparel and design features are mark out for the finished pattern or to be further adapted if it is a complicated design. The finished pattern is the pattern from which the fabric will be cut from; It usually contain a seam allowance and other information required to sew the apparel/garment such as notches, button-hole placement, Zipper allowance est.

In regard to bespoke Tailoring/Dressmaking (which is the most popular fashion service in the country) a sloper pattern must be made for each client/Customer using their own body measurement while in Commercial production(a.k.a ready to wear clothing) a block pattern will be made to fit several standard body sizes.

COMMERCIAL SEWING PATTERN

Commercial Envelope & Pattern Sheet

A commercial sewing pattern is a finished garment-style/style-garment sewing pattern graded into standard body sizes, made with Traceable white/brown pattern paper with pattern instruction mark on it and usually come with a sewing guide inside the Pattern envelope.

They are sold to end-user consumers such as a DIY dressmaker, Sewing Lovers/addicts, Fashion students est. who will use the sewing pattern to cut and sew at home for their wardrobe clothing project or for profit making clothing project.

In the commercial sewing pattern market; we have popular conventional brand such as Butterick, Simplicity, Vogue, McCall &  Burdastyle est. and also many Independent pattern brands also known as Indie's pattern.

DMA sewing pattern is an Indie pattern brand that create stylish and easy to understand commercial sewing pattern which is inspired by the West Africa fashion-culture and the 1960's Fashion Silhouette. Our commercial sewing pattern is straight forward to use and free of jargon busting technical instruction common to most conventional sewing pattern brand. You can place order for a block/Sloper pattern which you can use as a tool for basis adaptation for any style of garment you want to sew or you can opt for a finished graded style-garment pattern(a.k.a commercial sewing pattern) to start sewing  right away.

One of the basic benefit of a commercial sewing pattern is that it is a finished product that will save you the time & technical knowledge required in adapting block/sloper pattern to make/create a garment-style. In my many years of teaching and training expertise's; I have realized that most people including students ain't that passionate about wanting to stuff their heads with pattern drafting formula's and procedures that can be truly boring to learn and easy to forget except you are passion-drive about it and determined to learn. Most people just want to go straight to cutting and start sewing their dresses without worrying about how to draft a sewing pattern to use. If you fall in this category then I'll recommend you get a commercial sewing pattern that suit your fashion style to kick start your sewing project. It is that easy.   

I hope this information have help you to understand what a sewing pattern is and the difference between a foundational pattern and commercial sewing pattern; use the comment form below if you have any questions or contributions.

Thanks for reading.