There’s something meditative about the rhythm of cutting, taping, and piecing together a sewing pattern. This week for Slow Stitch Sundays, I wanted to share my process of creating patterns digitally in Clo3D and Adobe Illustrator, then bringing them into the real world where fabric, scissors, and imagination meet. 

Designing in Clo3D

Clo3D is a powerful tool for digital fashion design. It allows me to draft, drape, and refine patterns on a virtual model, which means I can test proportions, fit, and silhouettes before I even touch fabric. The 3D view makes it easier to visualize how a garment will move and drape, and I can tweak details like seam lines and darts until everything feels just right. 

Refining in Adobe Illustrator

Once the base pattern is ready, I transfer it into Illustrator. This is where I clean up the lines, add grainlines, seam allowances, notches, and text. Illustrator is excellent for creating a professional-looking, printable pattern because it ensures precision - every notch lines up, and every piece is perfectly labeled. 

Printing the Pattern

There’s something satisfying about hitting "print" and watching the digital design come to life. Since most home printers are standard letter or A4 size, patterns usually come tiled across many pages. I’ll begin the process of taping them together, like piecing a giant puzzle. 

Taping & Cutting

This step is slow, but in the best way. I take my time aligning registration marks, smoothing out tape, and making sure every line flows cleanly across the pages. Once the full pattern is taped together, I carefully cut each piece out, scissors gliding across the paper, following the lines I drew on screen days before. 

Why I Love This Process

In a world that’s constantly speeding up, there’s something grounding about the patience this process requires. Translating a garment from a digital dream into something you can hold in your hands is deeply rewarding. It reminds me that slow fashion is as much about the making as it is about the wearing. Whether you’re drafting your own designs or printing a PDF pattern from an independent designer, the ritual of preparing your pattern is a gentle, mindful practice that sets the tone for sewing something truly special.

Until next Sunday,