Sewing patterns for clothing entrepreneurs
Starting a clothing brand rarely fails for lack of ideas: it fails because capital gets tied up in things you do not yet know will sell. Digital patternmaking is the part of the business where you can avoid that, because a pattern is a small fixed cost that you pay once and use forever.
Where to start
- Four straight-fit patterns —t-shirt, sweatshirt, jogger, and shorts— cover a line that sells all year.
- Get those four in the full size range before adding new styles. Customers do not buy variety: they buy their size.
- Try a free pattern first: you print it, sew it, and check the fit without investing anything.
How much the pattern weighs in the cost of a garment
Almost nothing, and less and less. A $10 pattern spread across 50 garments adds 20 cents to the cost of each one; across 200, five cents. What determines profitability is the fabric, the trims and notions, and the sewing, not the patternmaking.