Pattern cutting, from sketch or spec.
Where your design leaves the page. We turn drawings into precise, production-ready patterns for designers and brands across London and the South East — and we fix patterns that have gone wrong.
Pattern cutting is the first practical stage of making a garment, and the one that determines everything after it. It is where a design becomes three-dimensional for the first time. A pattern that is even slightly wrong will be wrong in every toile, every sample and every unit of the production run.
From a sketch
Send a drawing, a mood image or a photograph of something similar, with notes on how you want it to sit. We will come back with questions — where the waist actually falls, how much ease you want through the hip, whether that sleeve is meant to be set-in or dropped. Those questions are the job. A cutter who does not ask them is guessing.
From a spec sheet
If you are working with measurements and construction notes already, we cut to them directly. Send the spec, the size chart and any tolerance you are working to, and tell us the intended fabric — a pattern for a stable wool is not the same pattern for a bias-cut silk.
From an existing garment
We can pattern from a sample you already own, whether it is something you made, something you bought, or a much-loved garment you want reproduced. We take it apart or measure it off, depending on whether you need it back intact.
Fixing a pattern that is not working
A large part of what comes through the studio is other people's patterns that will not behave. Sleeves that pull across the back, collars that stand away, a skirt that twists on the body, a hem that dips. These are usually solvable in an afternoon by someone who has seen the fault before. If your pattern is broken, bring it in rather than starting again.
Manual cutting
We cut by hand, on the table. For the scale most independent designers work at, manual cutting is faster to iterate and better for the kind of shaping that does not come out of a library of blocks. Where you need digital files for a factory, tell us at the outset.
Who we cut for
Independent designers and new labels. Established brands needing overflow capacity. Fashion students working on final collections. Private clients having something made properly. Costume and theatre. We are equally comfortable with a single one-off and a full collection.
Things designers ask
Can you cut a pattern from just a sketch?
Yes, that is most of what we do. Expect questions from us about fit, ease and construction — those questions are how a drawing becomes a pattern that actually works on a body.
Do you work from spec sheets?
Yes. Send the spec, your size chart, your tolerances and the intended fabric. The cloth matters as much as the measurements.
Can you copy a garment I already own?
Yes. We can pattern from an existing sample either by taking it apart or by measuring it off if you need it back intact.
My pattern does not work — can you fix it rather than start again?
Usually, and it is normally cheaper than recutting. Bring the pattern and, if you have one, the toile that shows the problem.
Do you provide digital pattern files?
We cut manually, which suits the scale most independents work at. If you need digital files for a factory, tell us at the outset so we can plan for it.
Do you work with students?
Yes, regularly, including final-collection work. Tell us your deadline and your budget honestly and we will tell you what is realistic.
Other things we make and mend
Send us a sketch or a spec
We will come back with a price, a timescale and any problems we can see coming.