c.hadleydikeI love to quickly pattern in illustrator!!! See how quickly you can Patterning a new Cold Shoulder shirt with digital apparel patterning!!! It’s so exciting and refreshing. The inspiration starts flowing as soon as you start designing, which means that changes can happen at any time without having the need for long hours of experimenting All it takes is a new save name!!!
Designing a new Cold Shoulder Shirt
I love quickly patterning a new shirt in illustrator!!! There is nothing like the feeling of excitement that comes as you’re designing and then suddenly changing your mind.
When I started this pattern I knew I was working with only a yard of fabric. This meant that the pattern would be very limited and most likely have no sleeves. They are the easiest design feature to lose and still create an amazing shirt. However, halfway through the process I had the idea to create the brand design and had to hope that I could fit the sleeves on the fabric as I was laying out the patterns for cutting!!!
Patterning a new Cold Shoulder Shirt
I began by creating the front belt pattern. Next, I created the new neckline by dropping a point to where I wanted the two sides to cross over. Drafting a line from the shoulder through this point to the under the bust line. I finished tracing the upper front pattern. I knew I wanted a little more ease under my bust for a gathering detail, I added some into the side seam of the pattern.
Next, I traced what would become the front belt pattern and the bottom of the front pattern piece. Measuring out and adding notches on the back pattern piece so that during sewing I could easily have guidelines to follow is important.
I also added the guidelines to the upper front pattern pieces lining them up to the belt.
Finally, it was time to draft the sleeve. I had designed the sleeve in my head to be more of a cuff because I knew that I would be very tight on fabric and might not be able to cut out the extra pieces.
Now it is time to copy all the pieces over to a print board and print out my new Pattern for a new Cold Shoulder shirt!!!
Final look
Want to begin your own adventure in Digital Apparel Patterning? Enroll now in my course Set up Adobe Illustrator for Apparel Patterning
Enjoyed this project? Make sure to check out some of these other similar projects. See how I patterned a Neckline Lace Closed shirt and how I built the same shirt.