DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Resources & Supplies

Instructor Website Supplies

Suzy Furrer is the founder and director of Apparel Arts in • Awl
Oakland, California, where she teaches patternmaking • Drafting curve
and fashion design. Visit the website at • Gridded ruler, 2" x 18"
apparelartsproductions.com. • Muslin
• Pattern paper
•
Recommended Reading •
Pencil
Pins
Building Patterns: The Architecture of Women’s Clothing by • Red pencil or pen
Suzy Furrer (Apparel Arts, 2008) • Scissors for fabric and paper
• Transparent tape
• Tracing paper and wheel

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Design Exercises

Complete these six design exercises at the beginning of each design season (or at the very least, once a year) to help
define your design aesthetic and the wardrobe needs of you or your customer/client. Get a large sketchbook and com-
plete the exercises within its pages; having a book where you can house these exercises is a good way to see how your
design aesthetic changes and grows over time. To get the most out of these exercises, approach them in an open, fun
and playful way.

Shapes (Black & White) Texture

Goal: Identify shapes you are attracted to.
• Find 10 to 12 images in black and white that speak
to you. Black-and-white images allow you to see
shape without being distracted by color.
• Place the images as a collage or one or two images
to a page. Use only 10 to 12 images — no more! This
will help you learn to edit.
• Use images found in nature, architecture,
typography, markets, travel, sculpture, art, furniture,
car design, anything at all, as long as the images do
not show fashion. No clothed people! You do not want
to be influenced by other fashion design at this point.
You want to figure out who YOU are as a designer.
• As you select images and discover the shapes
you're attracted to — shapes with a lot of volume or
movement, hard edges, soft edges, organic shapes
— you may start seeing a mood come through.
Color
Goal: Find a color story.
• Find 10 to 12 images in and of color that speak to you.
As with the Shapes exercise, limit yourself to 10 to 12.
• Collect the images on one page or side-by-side
pages so you can see a color story emerge.
• These images can be things that speak to you or
images you select for the color alone. Try not to
think too much; just include what brings out an
emotion in you. A mood will start to come through
with the colors you choose.
• You can find images found in nature, architecture,
typography, markets, travel, sculpture, art, furniture,
car design — anything at all as long it the images do
not show fashion. No clothed people! You still do not
want to be influenced by other fashion design. Again,
we are trying to figure out who YOU are as a designer.
Goal: Identify your texture preferences.
• Find examples of texture.
• Limit yourself to filling a full page in your
sketchbook. As long as the page is full it does not
matter how many examples you include.
• Texture can be fabric such as faux fur, napped
fabrics, fabric flowers, beading, sequins, jewels,
leather, suede, pleating or other types of fabric
manipulation, zippers, buttons, or trims. You can
also use pictures such as the textures found
in nature — perhaps later you will find a way to
recreate those natural textures in fabric.
Mood Board
Goal: Develop a design theme
• Fill a page in your sketchbook with design
inspiration.
• With this exercise, start including images of
fashion and people.
• You can also include postcards, quotes,
photographs, findings such as jewels, small toys,
buttons and trims and objects found in nature.
• Your board can be very organized or controlled
chaos — approach it anyway you like. The only
requirement is that it fits on one page or two side-
by-side pages. You want to be able to look at it as a
whole and figure out a theme for your collection.
• The theme might come from one object on your
mood board or from the vibe the entire mood board
is giving off.

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer
Design Exercises
Muse
Goal: Discover your inspiration.
• Include a picture of your muse(s).
• Your muse should be someone whom you, your
customer or client aspire to look like. Who looks
really pulled together to you? Whose style do you
admire?
• Your muse can be someone you know, a celebrity, a
character in a movie or show or even someone you
saw walking down the street. Try to notice who looks
exciting and effortless with their style.
Target Market Questionnaire
Goal: Explore your wardrobe needs, or those of your cus-
tomer or client.
• What is the age range of your customer/client?
• What are your customer/client’s physical
characteristics?
• What are their best features?
• Are there any features your customer/client would
like to de-emphasize? Think about fit and sizing.
• What season(s) are you designing for?
• Where does your customer/client live? In a hot
climate, cold, temperate?
• What is your customer/client’s lifestyle?
• How often do they dress up each month?
• Do they need business attire? Casual attire?
Travel clothing? Clothing that helps them feel
pulled together when they run errands or pick
up the kids?
• Examine your customer/client’s lifestyle needs.
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• What is your customer/client’s fashion attitude?
• Are they fashion forward or conservative in their
dress? Perhaps in between?
• Does your client/customer go for fads or do
they dress in a more classic manner?
• How much disposable income does your customer
have or want to spend on clothing each year?
• Do they shop monthly, seasonally, special
occasion only?
• What is the range of spending on one garment?
End Result
Goal: Integrate these elements to create a cohesive plan.
• Boil down all this information (some of it you will
use and some you will not) and come up with a
theme, an idea of silhouette and fit, a color story, a
texture addition, your target market and your muse.
• A successful small line has four to six colors, one
texture, one print, and something that ties one
garment to the next (this could be a color, a trim,
a silhouette). Try to have three tops to one bottom
and a great coat or jacket to throw over most of the
pieces.
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Notches & Awl Punches

Slit Notches for Wovens V-Notches for Knits

Notches are used to show where to clip and match piec- The V-notch is most commonly used with knits, extend-
es when sewing. The slit notch is most commonly used ed outside of the edge of the pattern.
with wovens.
• You can use a single slit notch or double slit A V-notch is ¼" wide with a ¼" extension:
notches.
• Double notches are usually used on center back
pattern pieces, with the two marks either ¼" or ½"
apart.
• You can also use triple notches, but it is better to A double V-notch, called a castle notch, is two V-notches
vary the positioning of the single or double notches; merged together, and is also used for knits. The width
too many clips in your fabric may weaken it. on the pattern edge is ½" and the width of the extended
If your seam allowance is ½" or more, the leg will be a area is ⅜":
maximum of ¼" with a ⅛" bar across the top:

If your seam allowance is ⅜" or less, the leg will be ⅛"

with a ⅛" bar across the top: Awl Punches
Awl punches are called drill holes once the pattern gets
to the cutter and the sewing factory and there will be a
large production run of the garment. In sample making
or making a one-off garment, it is called an awl punch
(because you use an awl to make the punch). Always
mark awl punches/drill holes in red.

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Pattern Standards

Pattern standards vary with each individual apparel company, so it's best to come up with your own standards that
work for your product. Consistency in pattern standards will help to keep production running smoothly. These stan-
dards might work for you (or are a good place to start):

SEAM ALLOWANCES

All seams (knits) ⅜"

Seams behind zippers (knits and wovens) ½" - ¾"

Side seams, princess seams and other interior seams (wovens) ½"

Side seams on garments that might need altering through the bust, waist and hips ¾"

Seams on necklines, collar pieces and facings at neck and armhole (wovens) ¼"

Seams on casing edges and button placket edges, or any seam edge tucked under (wovens) ¼"

Seams on armholes and sleeves when attaching sleeves (wovens) ½"

Seams on pocket openings ¼"

Seams around pocket bags ½"

Seams on patch pockets ¼" - ⅜"

HEM ALLOWANCES

Knits ½" - 1"

Linings ½"

Flared garments 1"

Pants, skirts and dresses 1½"

Tailored jackets and coats 2"

Sleeves 1" - 1½"

EDGE/TOPSTITCHING

Edge stitching ¹/ 16" from the finished edge

Topstitching ⅛" or more from the finished edge

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Pattern Standards

AWL PUNCHES

Darts Mark ½" from the vanishing point of the dart within the dart bulk.

Double-pointed or fish-eye darts Punch the top and bottom of the dart as for a regular dart and mark the sides of
the dart at the waist, ⅛" inside the widest part of the dart bulk.

Pocket openings Mark ⅛" inside each end of the opening.

Corners and points Mark directly on corners and points (some designers punch 1/16" away in the
seam allowance)

STITCHES PER INCH (SPI)

Sheer or lightweight fabrics 14, 16 or 18 SPI

Medium-weight fabrics 10, 12 or 14 SPI

Heavyweight fabrics 8, 10 or 12 SPI

Edge stitching Use the same SPI that was used in construction

Topstitching Use a longer SPI than was used in construction (start with three to four stitches
less than the construction SPI and adjust as necessary for the desired look)

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Production-Ready Pattern Requirements
1. True the working pattern one last time.
2. Trace each pattern piece onto a clean sheet of
pattern paper. No patterns pieces are on fold. All
pieces are full pieces (cutters will not cut on fold for
you). Some cutters require a separate right side and
left side even when the pieces are mirror images.
3. Square the edges of each pattern piece ¼" to ½" if
possible. This will help the pieces come together
smoothly rather than creating peaks and valleys
at connections. Some pieces cannot be squared
because you will lose the integrity of the shape of
the piece.
4. Add seam and hem allowances (see Pattern
Standards, page 5).
5. Cut each pattern piece with a border of about 1"
outside of the seam and hem allowances. Fold back
all seam and hem allowances (the way they will
lay after pressing) so they are flush with the sewn
pattern edges.
6. Cut out the pattern pieces just inside the pencil
outline (if you cut outside the pencil outline, the
pattern will be too big).
7. Include notches. Mark notches in red.
8. Awl-punch dart apexes (see Pattern Standards,
page 6).
9. Notch the beginning or end of each seam allowance
on the perimeter of each pattern piece, or show the
seam allowances in each corner with ½" to 1" angles.
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10. Draw the grainline in red. Draw grain lines
thoughtfully — not freehand. Your choices are length
grain, cross grain, bias grain and partial bias grain.
11. Stamp each pattern piece with the following
information:
a. Season
b. Style (name or number)
c. Piece
d. Size
e. Cut
f. Very small pieces that don't have enough space for
this information should be placed into an envelope,
and the outside of the envelope labeled with the
necessary information. I suggest having a pattern
stamp made; the stamp I use looks like this:
Season
Style
Piece
Size
Cut
Fill out the Pattern Record Card (see page 8) and
include a technical sketch of the front and back.
12. Punch the pattern and hang it on a pattern hook.
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Pattern Record Card

Company
Date
Season
Style No.
Style Description
Size Range

KEY: (1) Self (2) Contrasting (3) Pocketing (4) Lining (5) Interfacing (6) Underlining

PATTERN PIECES 1 2 3 4 5 6

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Pattern Record Card

TRIMS

TECHNICAL SKETCH: FRONT & BACK VIEW SWATCH

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Sample Pattern Record Cards

 
Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Shell 
Size Range:   
Yardage  44" sequined net ­ 1 yard (polyester net/plastic sequins) SILVER 
44" silk charmeuse ­ 1 yard SILVER 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:          1        2          3          4           5             6  
Front  1           
Back  2           
Front Lining        1     
Back Lining        2     
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
 
 
 
 

 
Trims: 
 
1 x ⅜” button 
3⅝"  x 1" bias strip for button loop (x1) 
1¾  yards stay tape (silk organza) for neckline and armholes 
 
 

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Sample Pattern Record Cards

 
Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Shell 
Size Range:   
Yardage  44" cotton print ­ ½  yard GREEN/GOLD 
44" cotton chambray ­ ½ yard BLUE/WHITE 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
Front   1           
Back  2           
Front Facing  1        1   
Back Facing  2        2   
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
 

 
Trims: 
14" invisible zipper (x1) 
⅜"  button (x1) 
3⅝"  x 1" bias for button loop (x1) 
14" fusible stay tape for center back (x2) 
 
 

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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Sample Pattern Record Cards

Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Shell 
Size Range:   
Yardage  44" silk ­ 1 yard  PRINT 
 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:                1   2             3   4             5            6  
Front  1           
Back  2           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
 

 
Trims: 
1¾  yards bias tape for neckline and armholes 
⅜” button (x1) 
3⅝” x 1” self fabric strip for button loop 
 
 
 
 

 
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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Sample Pattern Record Cards

Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Woven Peplum Top 
Size Range:   
Yardage  44" cotton ­ 1 ¾” yard ­ MINT GREEN/GOLD/BLUE PRINT  
44" Rayon Lining ­ 1 yard ­ BLUE;  1¼ yard 44" silk organza ­ BEIGE 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
CF Panel  1      1    1 
Front Side Panel  2      2    2 
CB Panel  2      2    2 
Back Side Panel  2      2    2 
Front Peplum  1      1    1 
Back Peplum  2      2    2 
             
             
             
             
Swatch 

Technical Sketch 
 
Trims: 
24" invisible zipper (x1) 
1¾ yards stay tape for neck and armholes 
24" fusible interfacing strips for behind zipper (x2) 
 
 
 
 

 
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Sample Pattern Record Cards

Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Knit Peplum Top 
Size Range:   
Yardage  60" ponte knit ­ poly ­ 1½ yards ­ GREEN  
 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
CF Panel  1           
Front Side Panel  2           
CB Panel  2           
Back Side Panel  2           
Front Peplum  1           
Back Peplum  1           
Sleeve  2           
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
 

 
 
Trims: 
10" clear elastic for shoulders (x1 cut in half) 
30" x 1" self fabric neckline trim 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pattern Record Card 

 
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Sample Pattern Record Cards

 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Asymmetrical T­shirt w/ ¾ length sleeves 
Size Range:   
Yardage  60" wool  jersey knit ­ 1¼ yard ­ BLUE 
 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
Front  1           
Back  1           
Sleeve  2           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
   
 

 
Trims: 
20" x 1" neckline finish (x1) (primary fabric) 
8" clear elastic for shoulders (x1 cut in half) 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Sample Pattern Record Cards

Pattern Record Card 
 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Loose T­shirt w/ long sleeves 
Size Range:   
Yardage  60"  wool  jersey knit ­ 1¼ yard ­ BLUE 
 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
Front   1           
Back   1           
Sleeve  2           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
   

 
 
Trims: 
20" x 1" neckline tape (x1) primary fabric 
8" clear elastic for shoulders (x1 cut in half) 
 
 
 
 
 
Pattern Record Card 

 
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 DESIGNING YOUR WARDROBE: DRAFTING TOPS with Suzy Furrer

Sample Pattern Record Cards

 
Company:  Apparel Arts 
Date:   
Season:   
Style No.:   
Style Description:  Knit Wrap 
Size Range:   
Yardage  60" Polyester/Nylon/Lycra knit ­ 1½ yards ­ ORANGE 
 
 
Key: (1) Primary  |  (2) Contrasting  |  (3) Pocketing  |   (4) Lining  |   (5) Interfacing  | (6) Underlining  
 
Pattern Pieces:               1  2   3   4   5            6  
Front  2           
Back   1           
Sleeve  2           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
Technical Sketch  Swatch 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trims: 
10" clear elastic for shoulders (x1 cut in half) 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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