How to Find and Hire a Patternmaker

You have your idea and your fabric sourcing is underway. You have tech pack, sketches or original garments to start from- or any other supporting documents and materials together. Time to find and hire a patternmaker!

man drafting an apparel pattern on paper

Now let’s get one thing straight, this isn’t your Wikihow article that will tell you step by step. I mean, I’ll try. However, I want to give it to you from my point of view as a patternmaker. Hiring a patternmaker and vice versa- me taking on new clients, is a big step. Money will be spent, discussions must be had. We want a common ground and feel like visions align. 

If you’ve had to collaborate on anything before, like a website or graphic design then you will know that sometimes the people that you meet may work and may not. Styles and personalities can differ. 

The best thing you can do is be professional, humble and prepared to start your search. I get a lot of bizarre and rude inquires so please don’t be that person! 

Where to Find a Patternmaker to Hire

The obvious place to start is online. Start Googling “patternmaker” and see who you run into. I mean, you found me so there must be something to it. Check out websites and see what kind of services you need and if they match from that. Professionals are busy people so websites may not always be up to date or content could be lacking. 

You can find and hire patternmakers on social media, but I would use it more as a starting point. We are going to have to discuss a lot of details and this platform isn’t always the best to bring your vision to life. 

Trade shows are also a good place to start. Shows like the DG Expo are a great place because some patternmakers set up booths here and/or you will be able to talk to other professionals such as consultants for factories that can refer to you to someone to hire for your project. 

Don’t be shy! It’s totally ok to ask other designers who there patternmaker is. It may be their prerogative to share their resource, but mostly people are happy and willing to share who they work with and the bonus is they can give you some insight before you get in contact so you know how they work.

Expect to pay for services

Patternmaking is not a cheap investment. As an example we are all in search of that perfect hair stylist that automatically knows how to give us the look we want and look fresh and trendy at the same time. We put creative interpretation in their hands. It’s a big order to fill and the same goes for patternmaking. 

When you hire a patternmaker, you are not only requesting a service be rendered, but you are paying for experience and expertise. For instance, my rates may seem like a lot, but I work very quickly vs the patternmaker that charges half the amount but takes double the time.

For more information you can check out this post- how much does patternmaking cost. 

Jobs overlap

Some sourcing services offer pattern development, some patternmakers offer sourcing. Some patternmakers do grading and markers. Some patternmakers make only patterns. We all have our specialities and capabilities so it may be worthwhile to see what other services you can have done by the same provider. 

Your Idea is safe

Would you want to agree to work on something that you are not allowed to see until you are officially hired?

No, I don’t either and I’ve gotten myself in trouble for taking people on their words. In one case someone was all about these “basic” vests so I was definitely game. I got the sketches, ready to start the project and they were total couture items that required intense tailoring and were not well thought out. It was a massive, massive project that I grossly underquoted because I only had a description. If I had an image to start with things could have gone better. 

Patternmakers don’t want to steal your ideas or hawk them to others who may be interested. We are much more profitable as service providers. Do you think anyone would want to work with us if we stole your ideas? Yes, there are horror stories out there, but more than likely these were moonlighting semi-professionals found on Craigslist that offered their services for a steal. 

So yeah, you want to show you are serious, show me your sketches and then we will talk if it is something I can do and how much it will cost. 

For more information on service providers stealing ideas check out this post- NDA’s

How to get in touch with a Patternmaker

Filling out an online contact form and then only including one single sentence is not much to go on for any professional to help you out.

This is an important step to the process. Professionals are busy people, probably with a full client list already and want to know if you are serious and organized. You need to sell yourself and know that you are being judged based on a single email.

How to ensure you are not contacted back

Message: “I need a t-shirt. How much is this?”

That’s it. It’s as though this were a text message.  How should someone respond to this? Those kinds of inquiries are usually junked. It shows that you cannot be bothered or have nothing more to add to the conversation. Why should I take time from my busy day to think of all the additional questions that I have to ask you or try to set up a phone conversation, meanwhile putting aside work that is already assigned.

How your inquiry should look: 

Contacting a Patternmaker: 

Hello!

I am excited to be in touch about bring my project to life. I am new to the industry and fit the bill for a brand new startup. I don’t know a lot but I am trying to learn what I can. I am looking to hire a patternmaker that can help me to meet my goals.

I am looking to develop styles for a contemporary women’s clothing line. The attitude and price point will be similar to Rag and Bone and Vince. 

I can provide some rough sketches and original garments that I would like to build from and I know that I would like to develop patterns and samples as a size small, but I’m not quite sure what to do with my sizing in general, so maybe you can help with that?

Fabric sourcing is underway and I already have a pretty good idea of what I want to work with so I feel confident in proceeding with development. 

I would be interested in knowing if your services align with my budget.

I look forward to hearing from you!

The takeaway from a patternmakers point of view: you have a definite vision, know your sample size, and have supporting documents for the product development process. If your fabrics were more solid it would be fantastic, but it’s a good start and should be an easy project since the groundwork is in place. 

What Happens When You Get a Reply 

For each inquiry I have to set aside what I am working on, consider your email and compose a thoughtful reply that could lead us to a point of starting your project. You are asking for my time for free in order to get started.

It’s rude to receive a reply and then ghost the service provider. If it’s not a good fit that’s fine. The correct reply would be: “Thanks for your reply, but I don’t think it’s a good fit at this time.” It’s a small industry so consider yourself warned about burning bridges. 

Agreements and Confidentiality

Once the project cost and timing is agreed upon, most providers have an agreement for your review or to sign indicating the terms of the project before the official hire. For my own, within a nutshell- basically all work is owned by you, everything we discuss is confidential, payment terms and terms of service, to name the big points. 

Once you’ve made the hire, where do you start?

Patternmakers exist in this weird realm of creativity and engineering. Unfortunately psychic/intuitive abilities are not generally part of the job. Yes, we can take your idea and make it real and better than you envisioned, but we still need your help and input to make it work. Just because you hire us for our ability to produce doesn’t mean that you are now exempt from the project.

There is a whole lot of information on this, but the short answer for you is to download the Pre-Patternmaking Checklist. In fact, do it before you even start your search to hire a patternmaker. It’s all the info you need to be prepared with so your project can go smoothly and efficiently.

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3 Options for Getting Your Patterns Printed

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How Many Garments Should be in Your First Fashion Collection?