The success of your collection and your brand depends on the perfect fit of each and every garment.
A wrong dart here or tight armhole there could be your undoing as a designer.
These garments will either go unsold or be returned by unhappy consumers. Either way, poor fit is bad for business.
By testing out your prototype samples on real people (fit models) we can nip any potential issues in the bud.
The garment fitting process ensures that your collection is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also comfortable and functional.
As a fashion designer, you design garments for real people. Those people need to be able to bend, sit, drive a car and dance.
A mannequin can’t do any of these things. So while they’re useful up to a certain point, they aren’t the ideal candidates for this job.
During your consultation, we will ask the fit model to do all those things and more. They can provide helpful feedback on comfort and fit, but only express an opinion about the look of your design if you ask their opinion.
It’s crucial that the samples be made in a fabric similar to what you intend the final garment to be made out of.
Calico is not a good idea, as it doesn’t give you the same draping and overall look and feel. We can recommend a cheap alternative for your sample maker to use, just ask us.
Having a professional pattern maker with a decade of experience there for the fit consultation makes all the difference.
While you may be able to quickly and easily see if a hem needs to be altered, other fitting problems are not so simple to address.
We can quickly identify the problem and solution, saving you time and hassle going back and forward between pattern maker and sample maker.
This is your chance to use our knowledge and ask us questions.
Maybe you want to change the proportions or make something more comfortable without changing the look. We can help you.
If no changes are required, or they are minimal, we can adapt the pattern for you to send off to your manufacturer of choice.
Occasionally, you may decide to drastically alter some of your garments at this stage. In this case, it’s best to have those garments resampled.
“Chelsea is a fantastic pattern maker that I have enjoyed working with for many years now. She is highly skilled at interpreting and translating designs and I am always impressed by the end result. She is a pleasure to work with and someone I would highly recommend.”
— Ruby Smallbone