Basic Course for a Young Fashion Designer - Who is this course for?

Today, many young designers start with the thought: “I want my own brand.”
But few people truly understand what stands behind that word.

A brand is not a logo, not a social media account, and not just a beautiful idea. 
A brand is responsibility, a system, and the work of many people.

Making clothing is not magic and not “mood-based” inspiration. 
It is technology, precision, and respect for the work of other specialists.

A designer is the one who sees the image. 
A patternmaker is the one who turns that image into a shape.
A seamstress is the one who brings that shape to life.
A technologist (garment technician) is the one who connects all of it into a real, repeatable
process.

If a designer doesn’t understand how a garment is made, they will draw impossible things 
and then feel offended that “the patternmaker didn’t understand the idea. «To create a
brand means understanding how production works: what can be made, what cannot, what is expensive, and what is truly justified. 

It means being able to speak the same language as the patternmaker, knowing which 
questions to ask, and respecting the people who help bring an idea to life.

• it may stretch or shrink;
• it may pull at the seam or fail to hold its shape;
• it may require lining and interfacing.

• a creative concept,
• patternmaking and construction methods,
• materials and production, so that an idea becomes a garment, not just an image.

Lesson 1. From an Idea to a Technical Brief

Lesson 2. Materials and Resources

Lesson 3. Patternmaking Basics for Designers

Lesson 4. Production

Lesson 5. Costing and Pricing

Lesson 6. Professional Etiquette and Working Culture with Makers

Course Goal

• understand the garment development process step by step;
• see the difference between an idea, patternmaking, and production technology;
• be able to write a clear technical brief for a style;
• know what documents and stages are needed to launch a product into production;
• realistically evaluate timelines, costs, and your expectations;
• take your first conscious steps toward creating your own brand — not just “pretty pictures.

What You Will Get

After completing the course, you will:

• understand the full development path of a garment: from the idea and the technical brief (technical specification) to marker making and launching production in the workshop;
• know who is responsible for what: the designer, patternmaker, technologist (garment technician), seamstress, and the production team;
• be able to write a clear technical brief, instead of just saying “I want a dress like in the photo”;
• understand why a mock-up/toile, fitting, technical description, grading, etc. are necessary;
• learn how to evaluate the complexity of your ideas and how they affect cost;
• save time and money—both yours and your makers’—through proper preparation.

How to use the course

Don’t try to skip the difficult parts

If you don’t understand what a basic block, a technical brief, a TOM (technical style

description), or grading is, real work with a patternmaker will be even harder.

Use the courses as a reference book

Return to specific topics: 

• before a meeting with a patternmaker — review the lessons on the technical brief and basic patternmaking concepts;
• before launching a style — review the lesson on production and the minimum required documentation;
• before calculating your price — review the lesson on costing

Write down the terminology for yourself 

Create a separate file or notebook: 

• “Basic block,”
• “style/model,”
• “Grading,”
• “Technical brief,”
• “TOM,” etc.
  This is your new working vocabulary.

Use the course when communicating with makers

You can directly rely on the wording from here:

• in your technical brief,
• in messages with your patternmaker,
• when discussing alterations after a fitting

What the course does not do

The course does not teach you how to:

• draft patterns “from scratch” using formulas;
• work in specific software programs;
• sew on industrial equipment.

Its purpose is to give designers a professional understanding of the process and teach them how to set clear tasks for the people who do this work.

CONCLUSION

This course — about turning the dream of a brand into a clear, workable process. 

A brand — is not only inspiration and beautiful sketches.

It also includes:

• understanding assortment planning and silhouettes;
• knowledge of fabrics, trims/notions, and fusible materials;
• a basic understanding of patternmaking, patterns, and grading;
• respect for productions and its limitations
• the ability to calculate costs and avoid working at a loss
• a professional communication culture with specialists: the patternmaker, seamstress, technologist, and the workshop.

A designer who understands all these things stops being “a client with a picture” and becomes an equal partner to the people who help bring an idea to life.

And these are exactly the designers people want to work with— carefully, attentively, and for the long term.

Important Add-on

This course provides constructing knowledge about the garment development process — from idea to production. It will help you speak the same language as professionals and avoid many common mistakes.

If you want:

• dive deeper into patternmaking and grading
• understand fit mock ups/toilets and working with pattern in details
• review specific cases from your own practice
• work in person with a patternmaker and ask all your questions face to face;

If the “basics” are not enough for you… the next step is a live format, in Greece.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do I need a mock-up? Why can’t I sew straight from good fabric?

A mock-up is a way to test the pattern without risking expensive fabric.

With a mock-up you can see:

• whether the patternmaker understood you correctly and whether the garment matches your idea;
• the garment balance, the size, and the placement of small details;
• whether the length and silhouette work for you.

Mistakes on a mock-up are cheap.

Mistakes on the main fabric mean ruined material, extra work, and a conflict about “who

pays for it”.

2. Why do you charge separately for the basic block, modeling, and grading?

These are different stages of work:

• the base (basic block) is a clean construction and fit;
• modeling is turning the base into a specific style (lines, details, silhouette);
• grading is converting the style into a full size range.

Each stage requires time, knowledge, and responsibility.

If you don’t separate these in pricing, you pay once but expect three different services.

3. Why is grading needed? Why can’t you just “adjust” the sizes?

You can “adjust” one size on one body.

A brand works with different customers and sizes.

Grading:

• provides a complete set of patterns (40, 42, 44, 46, etc.);
• keeps the balance and proportions when the size changes;
• allows production to sew a series without “adjusting”.

Without grading, each garment turns into near-custom tailoring —

it is expensive and not cost-effective.

4. Why do I need a technical brief if I brought a picture?

A picture is mood.

A technical brief is a specific task for the patternmaker:

• garment type, silhouette, length;
• fabric, fit, purpose;
• construction details, fasteners, pockets.

Without a technical brief, the patternmaker has to guess, what you meant.

Then phrases start: “I imagined it differently”.

That’s exactly why a technical brief is needed — so “differently” doesn’t happen.

5. Why do I need a technical style description (TOM)? Aren’t patterns enough?

Patterns show the shape of the pieces.

A technical description explains:

• how the garment is constructed;
• what materials it is made from;
• how the main operations are finished;
• where and what finishing is used, the types and placement of fasteners.

Without TOM, every workshop sews “their own way”.

With patterns and TOM, the style can be reproduced a year later, in another place, with the

same result.

6. Why is it so expensive? “It’s just a dress…”

The price includes not only fabric and the seamstress’s work.

It includes:

• basic block development;
• modeling;
• mock-up and fittings;
• adjustments;
• grading;
• technical description;
• production preparation.

If you count only “fabric + sewing”, you get the illusion of “just a dress”.

If you count the whole path, it becomes clear where the price comes from.

7. Why can’t I do the fitting on myself if I’m a different size?

If the fitting is done not on the base size, the result will be distorted:

• somewhere it will be tight, somewhere loose;
• the patternmaker will have to adjust the patterns to your figure;
• the base construction for the size range will “break”.

For a brand, what matters is standard fit on a size mannequin or a model of the required

height and measurements.

Trying it on yourself “to save money” means losing quality in all the other sizes.

8. Why can’t everything be fixed “from a photo”?

A photo shows only the appearance at one moment and pose.

What matters to the patternmaker is:

• the garment balance (in motion, in profile, from the back);
• placement of darts, armhole, shoulder;
• fabric behavior.

From a photo you can make an approximate analysis, but not a full pattern correction.

For serious work, you need a fitting and a real mock-up.

9. Why test the fabric? The seller said it’s “great”.

The seller is responsible for the sale, not for your customers’ reviews.

A fabric test shows:

• shrinkage after washing and pressing (wet-heat treatment);
• seam behavior (fraying, puckering);
• reaction to ironing;
• stretch and recovery;
• colorfastness.

One test sample is cheaper than a production run that shrank, twisted, or faded on

customers.

10. Why do you ask about the quantity if I want “just one piece for myself first”?

Developing the base, modeling, and preparing patterns is an investment in the style.

If you sew one piece “for yourself”, the entire development cost falls on a single item.

If the style goes into a series, development is spread across the whole quantity.

As a brand, it’s important for you to understand in advance:

• is it a one-off garment,
• or are you planning a collection/line.

The approach and price depend on this.

11. Why don’t you make patterns “like Zara / a mass brand”?

Mass-brand patterns:

• are built for their size standards, fit, and fabrics;
• are designed for their technologies and equipment;
• are protected as part of commercial development.

Copying “one to one” is illegal and unprofessional.

We can take the fit and silhouette as a reference,

but we create our own construction for your brand, your fabrics, and your size chart.

12. Why are there so many documents: technical brief, TOM, tech card, pattern list?

Because production is a system, not “sewing by inspiration”.

• The technical brief answers the question: what needs to be done.
• TOM — what the garment is and what it is made of.
• Tech. card — how to sew, in what sequence, and with what.
• Pattern list — which pieces (or products) to cut and how many.

All these documents are not “for show” — they are needed so that:

• the same result is repeated;
• different makers work the same way;
• you can sew styles for more than one season, long-term.

13. Why are the basic block and the style two different services?

Client question:

“Why do I have to pay separately for the base and for the style? I just need a dress.”

Answer:

A basic block and a style are two different tasks.

• The basic block is a clean construction with correct fit (without style or finishing).
• The style is work based on the block: dart transfers, princess seams, hemline, collar, sleeve, pockets, etc.

The block is needed so the garment fits correctly.

The style is needed so it looks the way you want.

That’s why the work is priced separately:

first we create the base, then we make a specific style on that base.

14. I have old patterns. Why is changing the style a separate service?

Client question:

“We already have patterns, just change the style — it’s easier. Why is there a separate

price?”

Answer:

Changing ready-made patterns is modeling, not “cosmetic tweaks”.

Even if you have old patterns, to change the style you need to:

• open/scan the patterns;
• analyze the fit and construction;
• make changes (lines, darts, length, silhouette);
• check that the new style assembles correctly and without errors.

This is a separate scope of work and separate patternmaker time.

Old patterns are a base, but a new style is always new work.

15. Why digitize paper patterns into digital format? Why is this paid?

Client question:

“Why digitize old paper patterns? Can’t you cut from them?

Answer:

With paper patterns you can work only:

• manually,
• without automated marker layouts,
• without quick grading,
• without accurate printing and repeatability.

Digitizing (scanning + processing in software): 

• allows you to preserve the patterns and not lose them if paper is damaged;
• gives the ability to conveniently grade and make changes;
• allows you to do marker layouts and printing without taping sheets together or tracing again;
• makes it easier to send patterns to production (by email, to a plotter).

This is real technical work: scanning, checking contours, placing lines and labels.

That’s why it is a separate service, not a “freebie”.

16. Why is pattern printing on paper charged separately and calculated by meters?

Client question:

“Why do I have to pay separately for printing patterns, and by meters? I thought it was

included.”

Answer:

Pattern printing is a separate cost:

• paper;
• plotter depreciation;
• time to prepare files for printing;
• actual meterage used.

We don’t charge “per pattern”, but per meter of paper, because:

• different patterns take different lengths;
• sometimes one meter fits one size, sometimes several pieces;
• printing a marker for cutting can take several meters.

That’s why the printing cost is calculated transparently, by actual meterage.

17. Why is pattern grading paid separately?

Client question:

“Why pay for grading if I already have base-size patterns?”

Answer: 

Patterns in one size are one construction.

For a brand, you need a size range.

Grading is:

• transferring all pieces to adjacent sizes using the measurement chart;
• keeping balance and proportions; 
• checking that all pieces in all sizes match correctly.

This is not an “automatic button” — it is technical patternmaker work.

That’s why grading is charged separately from developing the base size.

18. Why do you insist on a technical style description? Can we do without it?

Client question:

“Can we make patterns but skip the technical description to save money?”

Answer:

Without a technical description:

• every seamstress and every workshop will interpret the style in their own way;
• it is impossible to clearly fix the construction and finishing methods;
• it is hard to reproduce the style later or at another factory.

A technical description:

• connects patterns, technology, and the garment’s appearance;
• reduces mistakes and “improvisation” in the workshop;
• saves you money on rework.

That’s why it is a separate service and an important part of professional style development.

19. Why is changing the style after a fitting a separate job again?

Client question:

“At the fitting I changed my mind: let’s make a different neckline, length, sleeve. Why is

there an extra charge?”

Answer:

Fit correction (remove/add 1–2 cm)

and changing the style are different things.

• Slight fit tweaks after a fitting are included in the base package.
• Changing the style idea (different length, silhouette, new seam lines, different sleeve, collar, etc.) is new modeling, sometimes effectively a new style.

We document the changes and clarify the cost, so that you understand where “adjustment” ends, and where “a new style” begins.

20. Why don’t you recommend sewing the first style without a fitting?

Client question:

“Can we make patterns and sew right away, without a mock-up and fitting, to make it

cheaper?”

Answer:

Without a fitting:

• we don’t check the fit;
• we don’t see possible wrinkles and distortions;
• we don’t refine the length and neckline line “on a real body”.

Any construction error in this case will appear on the finished garment. Fixing it later is more expensive and takes longer than making a mock-up and fitting once.

21. Why do you sometimes need to start work from old patterns by checking the base?

Client question:

“I have old, proven patterns — just make a new style from them.”

Answer:

Old patterns:

• may have been made for different fabric, figure, or size chart;
• may have been “trimmed” and changed during sewing;
• are not always prepared as a full production set.

Before using them for a new style, sometimes we need to: 

• check fit and balance;
• make sure the base fits your current task;
• if needed, adjust the base.

This is done so you don’t end up with a new style that already contains old built-in

mistakes.

22. Why do I need marker layouts if I have patterns?

Client question:

“We have patterns, marker layouts are not needed, the cutter will lay it out.”

Answer:

Without a professional marker layout:

• fabric consumption is higher;
• the risk of mistakes with grain, nap, and print direction increases;
• in serial cutting it is difficult to control consistency of results.

A marker layout:

• allows you to calculate fabric consumption accurately;
• takes into account fabric width, grainline, print, paired pieces, “on fold” pieces;
• is convenient for printing the marker and industrial cutting.

For a one-off garment the cutter the cutter can still “lay it out by eye”. For a brand and a series a marker layout is part of standard technology.