You’ve realized your paper skills still apply, and the tools are just a little different. But now you’re looking at the screen and wondering: Where do I actually start? What does this process look like from beginning to end? Which slopers do I need? Which program should I use?
That’s exactly what this post is about. By the end, you’ll have the full roadmap, so when you sit down to start digital drafting, you’re not guessing. You know where you’re going.
In the last video in this series, we talked about why going digital feels so hard. It’s not because you’re bad at this. It’s because nobody gave you a bridge between your paper knowledge and the digital world. Today, I’m giving you the map.
First: what a sloper really is
A sloper isn’t just a pattern piece. It’s a foundation block fitted specifically to your body, with:
- No design details, or as few as possible (like basic darts)
- No ease beyond what’s needed for movement
- No seam allowance
When your sloper fits you perfectly, every pattern you make from it fits so much better the first time. You’re building a tool that makes everything you create after it easier and better fitted.
Part 1: Which slopers should you draft?
I recommend drafting both wovens and knits, and here’s why, because it confuses a lot of people.
- Woven slopers are drafted for fabric with no stretch. Your bodice, sleeve and skirt are the foundation for structured garments like dresses, blouses and tailored pieces.
- Knit slopers are drafted differently, because knit fabric stretches. The ease is different and the shape is a little different.
If you use a woven sloper for a knit garment (or the other way around), it won’t work the way you want without a lot of alterations.
In my course, the complete digital sloper library includes:
- Women’s wovens: bodice, sleeve and skirt, plus a no-waist-seam bodice
- Knits: bodice block, hip foundation, sleeves, pants, leggings and a t-shirt
- Men’s: bodice, sleeve and pants (the pants work for women or men), plus bodice foundation, hip foundation and sleeves, which are much more unisex to start
Once you have these, you can make almost any pattern you want.
Want to see everything that’s included? The Draft Your Digital Slopers sales page has the full sloper list and course details.
Part 2: Which program should you use?
This is the question I get asked the most. My honest answer: it depends on you. It depends on what you already have access to, what you want to do with your patterns long-term, and honestly, how your brain works.
CLO3D is 3D garment simulation software. You draft in 2D, but you can simulate your pattern on a 3D avatar and see how it fits before you ever cut fabric. It’s also built for pattern making, so it has a lot of pattern tools that make drafting much faster than a vector program.
Illustrator, Affinity Designer and Inkscape are vector-based design programs. They’re very precise and widely used in the industry. If you already know Adobe products, the learning curve may be gentler, and they’re more budget-friendly for a lot of people.
Neither one is wrong. That’s why my course covers both. Draft your slopers in the program that makes sense for where you are now, and if that changes, you can draft them in the other program too.
Part 3: What does the process look like?
Here’s the roadmap at a high level:
- Measurements. Whether you use CLO3D, Illustrator or anything else, your measurements are the foundation of everything. Get them right and the rest builds on solid ground.
- Draft your sloper pieces. Draw the lines, shape the curves, and place your darts. This is where your paper drafting knowledge really kicks in. You already know what these shapes need to look like. You’re just drawing them with a different tool.
- True your seams. Make sure all connecting edges match up cleanly. On paper you might fold or hold pieces up to the light to check. Digitally the process is a little different, but the concept is identical.
- Your finished sloper. A clean, precise digital pattern that lives on your computer and can be duplicated endlessly.
It never gets crumpled, lost at the bottom of a drawer, or covered in spilled coffee. Honestly, that’s a big part of why I love working with my digital slopers!
Start with just one sloper
I’ve seen it so many times: someone comes into digital with years of hand drafting, and the first thing they want is to recreate their entire paper sloper library. I get it. It’s what I wanted to do too!
But the students who make the fastest progress start with just one sloper. They:
- Get familiar with the tools.
- Get their measurements dialed in.
- Draft that first block and true it.
- Print it, fit it and make the alterations on screen.
Then they look at it and say, “I made that.” Once you’ve done one, everything else can follow.
You’re a pattern maker choosing a new tool
Here’s the shift I want you to make before you open the software: stop thinking of yourself as someone who’s just learning a program. Start thinking of yourself as a pattern maker choosing a new tool. Your knowledge is already there.
And you don’t have to know everything about CLO3D or Illustrator before you start. Both programs are changing so fast that mastering everything first is actually impossible. Learn the tools as you need them: enough to draft your first sloper, then the next one. You’ll build on what you learn every single time.
Free guide to make the roadmap click
If you haven’t grabbed it yet, my free Hand to Digital Pattern Making Translation Guide shows you exactly how your paper tools relate to the digital ones. It’ll help the whole roadmap click a little faster.
Ready to draft your slopers? My Draft Your Digital Slopers course walks you through every block step by step, in CLO3D or Illustrator.
Next in the series: 3 Mistakes That Keep You From Drafting Your Digital Slopers. The most common mistakes people make when they start, why they happen, and how to avoid them. If you’ve already tried going digital and hit a wall, this one will make a lot of sense.
