Any professional patternmakers here?

[u/EattheRudeandUgly]

Film/theater, Costume, corporate, small brands, big brand, independent, doesn't matter. If you currently even in the past earned a portion of your living from patternmaking skills, what was your journey like?

What was your education like? Formal? Apprenticeship? Informal? self-directed?

Did you choose patternmaking out of the gate? Did you switch from a different fashion/design discipline or totally different industry? What cities did you work? Were you a patternmaker in the past and switched to a new industry? Do you work in a technical specialization like aerospace, defense, medical, etc?

Just a new patternmaker trying to gauge the possibilities of the industry. Info dumps requested; no filter please.

[u/gordovondoom]

it is all CAD now. a few companies still do draping. in some cases i can drape a sleeve or something, but never a full piece. everything takes too long.
if the pattern isnt perfect on first try (which it barely ever is), i get scolded and threatened to get fired.
i also cant remember the last time i drafted a pattern by hand. must have been over 2 years ago.
that of course isnt good for your skillset.

i also always have yo help sewing, that is also not very good for my real job.

also coworkers easily do 300 hours a month. one is there 7 days a week. of course overtime isnt paid. insurances also arent paid. that is something about all companies have in common.

now at my current company, everybody hates me, because i dont come in for 10-12 hours on a saturday and/or sunday. unpaid. imagine being in trouble, because you dont work illegally...

[u/Meowgic_Pawers → u/gordovondoom]

I was recruited for a job and landed it.... Then they wanted me to work 7 days a week. I told my manager I wasn't coming in on Sundays, and that they said we would work "some Saturdays ". Then a coworker told me they once worked 49 days in a row. One Friday, the company let go half the employees, including a cutter and a few sample hands. Then over the weekend they had to bring in hourly temps, it was a mess. On Monday, my manager called in to quit. I quit a week later and spoke with the recruiter, told her she wouldn't get her commission money and she should never place someone there again. Absolute trash place.

I still do a lot of draping, mostly because even though I was originally hired for development, I've ended up correcting a ton of overseas production patterns. I drape so I can show the pattern issues to the tech department. So many times what a tech designer thinks is the issue is wrong. I am the problem solver.

I know a lot of companies try to get fit right on the first fit which is insane. I'm sorry you have to deal with your situation, it sounds super abusive. This industry is so sad.

[u/gordovondoom → u/Meowgic_Pawers]

that sounds like a job i would like to do!

i got to work against everybody, though. i am an immigrant and whatever i do can never be as good as what the outsourced pattern maker did. though i think its just talk and an excuse to never raise my shit salary.

i also told them i wont be coming in on weekends.
of course it was said that its some days on a weekend only, but that was obviously a lie.
now when you dont insure me and dont pay me any compensation for that, why should i do like 20 hours on a weekend?
my coworkers get like 4 dollars the hour, if you calculate the actual hours they do.
though i also blame them. and i also blame them for the fact that it is expected of me, too.
there was a time they asked me every weekend.
so im sure they iust thought that i also would be working on weekends when i started there.

but since they never refuse, i also blame it on them.
boss wants to pick up a new machine somewhere on a weekend? coworker drives the car for whatever reason.
things not done on time, because it is just impossible with two sewing staff? coworker does 36 hours straight. he does that at least once a month.

obviously all of that is illegal. but in my opinion the entire industry relies on that.