Your Guide On How To Make Sewing Patterns Step By Step

Making your own sewing patterns is a fun and rewarding skill. It lets you create clothes that fit you perfectly or bring your unique design ideas to life. Can you really make your own sewing patterns? Yes, absolutely! Anyone can learn the steps involved in drafting sewing patterns. This guide will walk you through the process, from taking measurements to designing your own patterns.

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Grasping the Pattern Making Basics

Making a sewing pattern is like creating a blueprint for your garment. It’s a flat paper shape that represents a 3D body part, adding extra room for movement and seams. Sewing pattern design is the art of translating your fashion vision into these flat shapes. It takes practice, but the steps are logical.

Sewing patterns tell you where to cut fabric. They have lines, symbols, and notes. These guide you when sewing. Learning how to read patterns is step one. Making them is step two.

Tools You Will Need

You need certain tools to make sewing patterns. Gather these things before you start.

Paper: Large paper is best. Pattern paper rolls are good. You can also tape together printer paper or use craft paper.
Pencils and Erasers: For drawing lines. Keep them sharp.
Rulers:
- A long straight ruler (like 18 inches or more).
- A curved ruler (like a French curve or a hip curve). These help draw smooth body lines.
Tape Measure: A flexible one for taking body measurements.
Scissors: Paper scissors. Don’t use your fabric scissors!
Tracing Wheel and Paper: For copying existing patterns or transferring marks.
Pins: For holding paper or patterns.
Weights: To hold paper flat.
Calculator: For simple math.
Notebook: To write down measurements and notes.

Deciphering Measurements for Patterns

Getting the right fit starts with accurate measurements. Measurements for patterns are taken on your body. It is best if someone else measures you. Wear clothes that are close-fitting, like a slip or yoga wear. Stand up straight.

Here are key measurements you need:

Bust: Around the fullest part of your bust. Keep the tape level.
Waist: Around the narrowest part of your torso.
Hips: Around the fullest part of your hips/seat.
High Bust: Around your chest, just under your armpits and above your bust. Useful for fitting the upper chest and shoulders.
Back Waist Length: From the bone at the back of your neck down to your natural waistline.
Shoulder to Bust: From the highest point of your shoulder (at the neck) down to the fullest part of your bust.
Front Waist Length: From the highest point of your shoulder (at the neck) down to your natural waistline in the front.
Shoulder Width: From the tip of one shoulder to the tip of the other shoulder across your upper back.
Arm Length: From the tip of your shoulder down to your wrist (with your arm slightly bent).
Upper Arm: Around the fullest part of your upper arm.
Neck Circumference: Around the base of your neck.
Inseam: From your crotch point down to where you want the hem of your pants to be.
Rise (Front/Back): From the waistline down to the crotch point (while sitting on a flat surface).

Write all these numbers down. Keep them in your notebook. These numbers are the base for your pattern.

Tips for Good Measurements

Do not pull the tape measure too tight or leave it too loose. It should lay flat against your body.
Measure several times to be sure.
Ask a friend for help. Measuring your own back is hard.
Wear the type of undergarments you plan to wear with the finished garment. A different bra can change your bust size.

Fathoming the Sloper Pattern Definition

Before you make a pattern for a specific dress or shirt, you often start with a sloper. A sloper pattern definition is a basic, fitted pattern without any design details, seam allowances, or ease (extra room for movement). It fits your specific body measurements perfectly.

Think of a sloper as your personal blueprint. You will use this sloper to create other patterns. It’s like a starting point for sewing pattern design. Slopers are sometimes called “blocks” or “foundation patterns.”

There are different types of slopers:

Bodice Sloper (Front and Back)
Skirt Sloper
Pants Sloper
Sleeve Sloper

These slopers fit close to the body. They represent your exact size and shape. They are not meant to be worn as clothes. They are tools for pattern making.

A Simple Block Patterns Tutorial: Making a Basic Bodice Sloper

Let’s go through a block patterns tutorial for a basic bodice sloper. This is a common starting point for learning drafting sewing patterns. This example will be for a basic, darted bodice.

This tutorial is a basic example. Full sloper drafting systems are more complex. They use many more measurements and specific formulas. This gives you the general idea.

Step 1: Prepare Your Paper

Tape together large pieces of paper. Draw a large rectangle. The height is your back waist length plus a few inches. The width is half your bust measurement plus a few inches. This is your workspace.

Step 2: Draw Base Lines

Draw a horizontal line near the top. This is your shoulder line.
Draw a horizontal line lower down for the bust line. This is usually a few inches below your armpit level. You can use your shoulder to bust measurement.
Draw a horizontal line for your waistline. This is your back waist length measurement down from the shoulder line.
Draw a vertical line down the left side. This is your center front/back line.
Draw a vertical line down the right side. This is your side seam line.

Step 3: Plot Key Points

Use your measurements to mark points on these lines. This is the start of drafting sewing patterns.

Neck Point: Measure across from the center line for your neck width. Go down a bit from the shoulder line for neck depth. Connect these points with a curve for the neckline.
Shoulder Point: Measure across from the center line for half your shoulder width. This point is on the shoulder line.
Armhole: Draw a point out from the side seam line at the bust line for your armhole width. Draw a curve from the shoulder point down through this point to the bust line. This is the armhole curve. This is a tricky part and often needs practice and adjustment. A French curve helps here.
Bust Point: For the front bodice, measure across from the center front and down from the shoulder to bust measurement. Mark this point. This is important for dart placement.
Waist Points: Measure across from the center line at the waistline. This measurement depends on your waist size and dart amounts.

Step 4: Add Darts

Darts are folds sewn into the fabric. They shape the flat fabric to fit body curves (like the bust and waist).

Bust Dart: For the front bodice, draw a dart shape pointing towards the bust point. The amount of the dart depends on the difference between your bust and high bust measurements. More difference means a bigger dart.
Waist Darts: You often add darts at the waist on both the front and back bodice. These shape the waist. The amount removed by the darts makes the waistline fit your waist measurement.

Step 5: Connect the Points

Connect the marked points with straight or curved lines. Use your rulers.

Connect neck points to form necklines.
Connect shoulder points to armhole points.
Connect armhole points down to side seam points at the waist.
Connect waist points across.

Remember, this is a basic sloper. It’s very fitted.

Step 6: Walk the Pattern

“Walking” the pattern means checking if the seams that will be sewn together are the same length. For example, the front side seam must match the back side seam. The front shoulder seam must match the back shoulder seam. Put the paper pieces together along the seam lines and pivot them. Adjust if they don’t match.

Step 7: Make a Muslin

The best way to test your sloper is to make a test garment from cheap fabric (muslin). Sew the muslin together. Try it on. See where it is too tight, too loose, or does not hang right. Pin adjustments on the muslin. Then, transfer these changes back to your paper pattern. This step is crucial for getting a good fit. This is a form of how to alter patterns early in the process.

Table: Basic Bodice Sloper Draft Key Points

Measurement Area	Location on Pattern	Purpose
Neck	Top, near center line	Neckline shape
Shoulder	Top line	Shoulder seam position
Armhole	Side, below shoulder	Arm opening shape
Bust	Horizontal line	Bust fullness and dart
Waist	Bottom line	Waist fit and darts
Center Front/Back	Vertical side edge	Garment center
Side Seam	Vertical side edge	Connects front and back

This block patterns tutorial gives you a feel for the process. Making accurate slopers takes time and practice. Many pattern making books and courses go into much more detail.

Designing Your Own Patterns from a Sloper

Once you have well-fitting slopers, the fun begins! Designing your own patterns becomes much easier. You use your sloper as a base and change it.

Here’s how you might turn a basic bodice sloper into a new design:

Copy the Sloper: Trace your sloper onto fresh paper. This is important. Do not cut your original sloper.
Add Design Lines: Draw new style lines onto the traced copy. Want a princess seam? Draw the princess seam lines on the bodice. Want a yoke? Draw the yoke line.
Slash and Spread/Pivot: To create fullness (like gathers or pleats) or change darts into style lines, you cut along your new design lines (slash) and spread the pattern pieces apart. Or, you pivot parts of the pattern around a point (like the bust point) to move dart fullness to a new seam. This is a key technique in sewing pattern design.
Redraw Lines: Smooth out any jagged lines created by slashing and spreading. Use your curved rulers.
Add Seam Allowances: Your sloper has no seam allowance. You must add room for seams (usually 1/2″ or 5/8″) around all the edges where pieces will be sewn together.
Add Hem Allowances: Add room for the hem at the bottom of the garment pieces.
Add Notches and Marks: Mark notches on seams that need to line up. Add dots or other symbols for dart points, pocket placement, buttonholes, etc. Write notes on the pattern pieces (e.g., “Cut 2,” “Center Front,” fabric grainline).

This process of changing a basic block into a design is called “pattern manipulation.” It’s the core of sewing pattern design. You can add collars, sleeves (using your sleeve sloper), facings, closures (zippers, buttons), and more by changing your basic blocks.

Example: Making an A-Line Skirt from a Skirt Sloper

Your skirt sloper is usually a straight skirt. To make an A-line skirt:

Trace your front and back skirt slopers.
Keep the waistline the same.
At the hemline, add width to the side seams. Decide how wide you want the A-line flare.
Draw a new side seam line from the hip level down to the new wide hem point. This angle creates the flare.
You may reduce or remove waist darts by pivoting or changing them into seam lines.
Add seam allowances and hem.

This shows how a simple change to a sloper creates a whole new style.

How to Alter Patterns You Already Have

Maybe you bought a sewing pattern, but it doesn’t fit perfectly. Learning how to alter patterns is a very useful skill. It saves you from making new patterns from scratch every time.

Common pattern alterations include:

Lengthening or Shortening: Most patterns have lines marked for this. You cut the pattern along the line, spread the pieces apart to add length, or overlap them to remove length. Then redraw the side lines smoothly.
Adjusting Width:
- At side seams: To make a garment wider or narrower, add or remove width at the side seams of the front and back pieces. This is common for bust, waist, and hip adjustments. Spread or overlap the pattern along the side seam lines.
- Full Bust Adjustment (FBA): A common alteration for bodice patterns. It adds needed room at the bust without making the shoulders or neck too big. It involves slashing and spreading the pattern piece from the armhole to the bust point and down to the hem.
- Small Bust Adjustment (SBA): The opposite of an FBA. You overlap sections of the pattern to remove width at the bust.
Adjusting Shoulder/Back: Alterations are often needed for sloped or square shoulders, or for a rounded upper back. These are more complex and involve changing the shoulder seam angle or adding length/width to the back piece.
Pants Fitting: Pants are tricky. Common alterations include adjusting the rise, changing the angle of the back crotch curve, or adding width/removing width at the hips, thighs, or waist.

Tips for How to Alter Patterns

Always make changes on a copy of the pattern piece.
Use the ‘slash and spread’ or ‘slash and overlap’ method.
Redraw lines smoothly after altering.
Remember to make the same change to all connecting pattern pieces. If you widen the front bodice, you usually need to widen the back bodice side seam too.
Make a muslin (test garment) after altering to check the fit before cutting your main fabric.

Learning how to alter patterns lets you make store-bought patterns fit like custom garments.

Exploring Pattern Grading Techniques

Pattern grading techniques are used to create a range of sizes from a single base size pattern. This is how clothing companies make patterns in small, medium, large, etc.

Grading involves increasing or decreasing the pattern dimensions in specific ways at key points. It’s not just scaling the pattern up or down. Bodies don’t just get bigger evenly. For example, the difference between a size 8 and a size 10 waist is less than the difference at the hip.

Manual grading uses rulers and formulas to “jump” from one size to the next. You add or subtract specific amounts at the seams, necklines, armholes, etc.

Common grading points:

Side seams
Center front/back (a little bit)
Shoulder seams
Armhole curves
Necklines
Hemlines

Grading rules are often expressed as amounts to add or subtract at each point per size jump. For example, “add 1/4 inch at the side seam at the bust point for each size up.”

Pattern grading techniques require precision and a good understanding of how patterns fit bodies across sizes. It’s a specialized skill.

Using Sewing Pattern Software

In modern pattern making, many people use sewing pattern software. This can make drafting, designing, and grading patterns faster and more accurate, especially for complex designs or multiple sizes.

Sewing pattern software lets you:

Draw patterns directly on a computer screen.
Input measurements and generate basic blocks.
Manipulate lines and curves easily.
Add seam allowances automatically.
Grade patterns across sizes using built-in tools.
Print patterns on large format printers or tiled on home printers.
Store and organize your pattern library.

Some popular types of sewing pattern software include:

Professional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) systems (like Optitex, Gerber Accumark – these are very expensive and used by big companies).
Mid-range software for small businesses or serious hobbyists (like Valentina, Seamly2D – often free; Wild Ginger Software, PatternMaster – paid).
Simpler web-based tools or apps for basic pattern drafting.

Using sewing pattern software has a learning curve. But it can be a powerful tool for designing your own patterns and managing your pattern projects.

Drafting Sewing Patterns: The Creative Process

Drafting sewing patterns is not just technical drawing. It’s part of the creative process of bringing a design to life.

Here’s a typical flow when designing your own patterns from scratch or a sloper:

Idea/Sketch: Start with a drawing or a clear idea of the garment you want to make. Think about the shape, fit, details (collar, pockets, sleeves), and fabric type.
Choose Your Method: Will you draft from scratch using measurements, or start with a sloper?
Draft the Base: Create the basic pattern pieces (bodice, skirt, pants, sleeve) based on your measurements or slopers. This is where you are drafting sewing patterns.
Add Design Details: Change the base pattern to match your sketch. This involves pattern manipulation techniques like slashing, spreading, pivoting, and drawing new seams.
Add Fit & Ease: Decide how much ease (extra room) the garment needs. A close-fitting dress needs less ease than a loose jacket. Add this ease to your pattern pieces.
Refine and True: Check all seams that sew together to make sure they match in length and shape (“truing”). Walk the pattern pieces.
Add Seam Allowances & Markings: Finish the pattern by adding seam allowances, hem allowances, grainlines, notches, and labels.
Muslin Fitting: Make a test garment in cheap fabric. Fit it on your body. Mark changes on the muslin.
Pattern Revision: Transfer the changes from the muslin back to your paper pattern.
Final Pattern: Your pattern is ready to cut fabric from.

Designing your own patterns takes practice. Each garment type has its own challenges. Start with simple projects like skirts or basic tops. Build your skills step by step.

Keeping Your Patterns Organized

Once you start making patterns, you will gather many pieces of paper! Keeping them organized is important.

Label each pattern piece clearly: Garment name, size, piece name (e.g., “Front Bodice”), how many to cut, fabric grainline.
Write the date on the pattern.
Store patterns flat or rolled. Avoid folding if possible, as creases can make them hard to use later.
Use pattern hooks, hangers, or file drawers.
Keep your measurement notes with the sloper patterns they were based on.
If you make adjustments (how to alter patterns), note these on the pattern or keep separate notes.

Good organization saves you time and frustration later.

Final Thoughts on Your Pattern Making Journey

Making your own sewing patterns is a rewarding skill. It opens up endless possibilities for your sewing projects. You can create clothes that fit you perfectly, copy favorite garments, or let your creativity flow into unique designs.

Start with the basics: Accurate measurements and making a good sloper pattern definition. Practice drafting sewing patterns for simple shapes. Use pattern making tutorial resources (books, online courses) to learn different techniques. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; they are part of learning.

Whether you use traditional drafting methods or modern sewing pattern software, the core principles remain the same. You are translating a 3D shape (the body) into a 2D flat shape (the pattern).

Learning how to alter patterns you already own is also a great way to improve fit and explore design changes without starting from scratch. As you get more skilled, you can explore pattern grading techniques if you want to make patterns in multiple sizes.

Enjoy the process of sewing pattern design! It connects the drawing board to the sewing machine and lets you truly make garments that are yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does it take to learn pattern making?
A: Learning the basics can take a few weeks or months. Becoming truly skilled and able to draft complex designs takes years of practice and study. Start simple and build your skills over time.

Q: Can I make a pattern from an existing garment?
A: Yes, this is called “rub-off” or “reverse engineering.” You can trace sections of a garment or use methods to measure it and create a pattern. It’s a good way to learn how garments are constructed but doesn’t replace drafting for a perfect fit from scratch.

Q: Do I need a sloper for every type of garment?
A: You typically need basic slopers (bodice, skirt, pants, sleeve). From these, you can draft many different styles. You might create new slopers for different fits, like a knit sloper (with negative ease) or a jacket sloper (with more ease).

Q: What’s the difference between a pattern and a block?
A: Often these terms are used in similar ways, but technically, a block (or sloper) is the basic, fitted foundation pattern without design details or seam allowance. A “pattern” usually refers to the final blueprint for a specific garment, including design features, ease, and seam allowances. This blog post uses “block patterns tutorial” to mean making the foundation shapes.

Q: Is it easier to use sewing pattern software?
A: Software can automate some tasks like adding seam allowances or grading. It offers precision and easy editing. However, you still need to understand the principles of pattern making. There is a learning curve for the software itself. It’s a different way of working, not necessarily “easier” at first, but often faster once you learn it.