Producing a variety of products from clothing and fashion items to leather goods, soft furnishings, marine and medical textiles.
Occupational Profile
A pattern cutter working within the clothing and textiles industry can be employed by a large, medium, small or micro size business, producing a variety of products from clothing and fashion items to leather goods, soft furnishings, marine and medical textiles. The role of a pattern cutter involves interpreting a product design brief and drafting patterns that reflect the design and technical specifications. They can use various pattern cutting methods to create the patterns such as, adjusting and shaping a standard pattern ‘block’, modifying a non-standard pattern base taken from the company library, or creating a pattern using ‘modelling’, which involves draping and pinning fabric over a mannequin and hand-cutting the fabric to form the pattern base. Pattern production software packages are also commonly used to create sewn product patterns, though in smaller businesses pattern cutters still produce patterns manually or use a combination of both manual and computerised systems.
Initially, a pattern cutter will work autonomously drafting the prototype pattern. They will work closely with a sample machinist to produce a made-up sample of the design, using the prototype pattern. They will then work as part of the production team to review the sample. The team involved will depend on the size of the company and may include designers, garment technologists and sample machinists. The team will analyse the sample and discuss and agree any changes required. The pattern cutter will then make adjustments to the pattern and produce the master pattern to be used in production, incorporating technical data such as balance marks, notches, seam allowance, grain lines, cutting instructions, size and component name. The role of a pattern cutter typically includes:
- Interpret given sewn product design briefs
- Drafting prototype patterns that meet specifications and reflect given designs
- Working with the sample machinist to produce product samples
- Reviewing and assessing the product samples
- Adjusting prototype patterns to meet required design and fit specifications
- Creating the final master pattern ready for production
- Supporting the cutting and production process
Summary of Standard
Full Standard
