Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Designing a Garment

The design:

Different designers work in different ways. Some sketch their ideas on paper, others drape fabric on a dress stand, pinning, folding and tucking it until the idea for a garment emerges. A third method is to adapt their own patterns from previous seasons.

Making a toile:
After making a rough paper pattern, or life-size 2-D plan, of the garment, a sample machinist then makes a trial version of the garment from plain-colored calico. The toile is put on to a dress stand to see how it fits and whether it hangs properly.

Making a card pattern:
When the designer is completely satisfied with the fit of the toile, they show it to a professional pattern maker that then makes the finished, working version of the pattern out of card. The pattern maker's job is very precise and painstaking. The fit of the finished garment depends on their accuracy.

The finished dress: Finally, a sample garment is made up in the proper fabric.

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