Pattern Drafting Tools for Clothing Construction

PATTERN DRAFTING TOOLS

Pattern drafting tools are used for drawing the patterns. The common pattern drafting tools used are brown sheet, dress model, bell pin, pin cushion and wooden table (Figure 6.2).

Brown Sheet

Brown papers are simple unbleached papers. They are brown in colour. They are used for drawing paper patterns. This is then transferred on to the fabric. This helps to minimizes fabric wastage.

Dress Model

A dress form is a plastic or paper mesh duplicate of human figure. It is three dimensional form. Dress forms are avail-able for standard sizes in the market. It is used for drawing the patterns followed by draping technique. The fabric is kept on the dress form and by moving the fingers the wrinkles are removed and pinned. The outline is drawn to get the patterns.

Bell Pins

Bell pins are thin metal needle like struc-tures with a circular head on the top. They are available in different thickness and heights. Generally medium height thin pins are used for pattern and dress mak-ing. They help to hold the patterns in place while transferring the pattern details on fabrics. They are also used for marking patterns on slippery fabrics.

Pin Cushion

Pin cushions are small foam pads to hold pins. This prevents the slipping of pins while working on patterns, draping cut-ting and sewing. They are available in dif-ferent sizes and shapes.

Wooden Tables

Wooden tables are one of the most import-ant items needed for good pattern draft-ing and cutting. The width of table varies from 60 – 100 cm and the height is usu-ally 150 cm but the height varies depend-ing upon the height of the person who is drafting or cutting the patterns.