How to hire fabric and apparel patternmakers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Compute dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material.
• Create a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, or grading devices.
• Draw details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes, and other features, using computers or drafting instruments.
• Draw outlines of pattern parts by adapting or copying existing patterns, or by drafting new patterns.
• Input specifications into computers to assist with pattern design and pattern cutting.
• Make adjustments to patterns after fittings.
• Mark samples and finished patterns with information, such as garment size, section, style, identification, and sewing instructions.
• Test patterns by making and fitting sample garments.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong critical thinking, active listening, active learning, mathematics, monitoring and reading comprehension skills
• Working knowledge of design, mathematics, English Language and production and processing
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $30.17 an hour ($62,750 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for fabric and apparel patternmakers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to compute dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to create a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, or grading devices. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to draw details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes, and other features, using computers or drafting instruments. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to draw outlines of pattern parts by adapting or copying existing patterns, or by drafting new patterns. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
7. Tell me about something new you had to learn quickly for work. How did you learn it?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What fabric and apparel patternmakers do

• Compute dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material.
• Create a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, or grading devices.
• Draw details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes, and other features, using computers or drafting instruments.
• Draw outlines of pattern parts by adapting or copying existing patterns, or by drafting new patterns.
• Input specifications into computers to assist with pattern design and pattern cutting.
• Make adjustments to patterns after fittings.
• Mark samples and finished patterns with information, such as garment size, section, style, identification, and sewing instructions.
• Test patterns by making and fitting sample garments.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningActive LearningMathematicsMonitoringReading ComprehensionDesignMathematicsEnglish LanguageProduction and Processing

Education, experience and outlook for fabric and apparel patternmakers

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 2 to 4 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -15% over ten years, declining · about 200 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay fabric and apparel patternmakers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See fabric and apparel patternmakers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
• Sewers, Hand
• Patternmakers, Wood
• Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers
• Fashion Designers
• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
• Sewing Machine Operators
• Etchers and Engravers
• Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.