Custom sewing patterns
When the pattern you need is not in any catalogue, it gets drafted from scratch. Development costs
00 and includes the complete graded size range.When a custom pattern is worth it
- When your brand has its own size chart and you need every garment to fit consistently against it.
- When the design is not a variation on a shape that already exists.
- When you need to reproduce the fit of an existing garment that already sells well.
- When you produce in volume and a point of fabric yield is worth more than the development cost.
What to send
Three things, and the first draft usually lands right:
- A visual reference: a photo, a tech pack, or the physical garment.
- The size chart you want respected.
- The fabric you will produce in — ease is not the same in a woven as in a knit with elastane.
The cheaper route first
Most of the time a catalogue pattern plus a small modification does the job. You are allowed to modify any pattern you buy: change lengths, adjust ease, combine pieces. Start there, and commission a custom draft for the two or three styles that turn out to drive your sales.
Questions
- How much does a custom sewing pattern cost?
- 00, including the full graded size range, against 0 for a catalogue pattern in PDF A4.
- Can I just modify a catalogue pattern instead?
- Yes, and often that is enough. The licence allows you to modify patterns to suit what you are producing — change lengths, adjust ease, combine pieces.