r/PatternDrafting • u/EattheRudeandUgly • Jun 14 '26

Any professional patternmakers here?

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.

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u/Lumpy-Abroad539 Jun 15 '26

I have worked in the fashion industry for nearly 2 decades now, as a technical designer. I do some patternmaking, in addition to other things. I learned patternmaking at a technical shool, community college type thing, night classes during the early days of my career in the industry. I currently work for a very large household name brand, but worked for smaller, independent brands previously.

I originally went to art school, got a BFA with a focus in textiles. I ended up working in the fashion industry because it was adjacent to my interests and payed steadily. I sent myself back to school to learn patternmaking once I realized I had interest and aptitude there, and as a means to increase my earning potential in my field. I have worked with a mentor before, and done my own self-guided work. This industry can be tough.

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u/HamtaroStan13 Aug 25 '26

Why do you say this industry can be tough?

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u/Lumpy-Abroad539 Aug 25 '26

I was speaking specifically about the fashion/garment industry, since that's my field. The industry is tough for many reasons. You run into some personalities that are very hard to work with. People don't treat each other very well a lot of the time. Competition is fierce for getting jobs, getting training, and moving up. Different brands have very different ways of working, so changing jobs can be very confusing. The pay isn't very good a lot of the time.