Patternmaking Glossary: 40+ Terms for Garment Production

This glossary collects the terms used every day in industrial patternmaking, cutting and sewing, each defined in one to three sentences, so you can read a tech pack or talk to a workshop, a plotter print shop or a marker maker without ambiguity. It is organized by topic: pattern, sizes, fabric, cutting and marker making, sewing and costing, and digital formats, as they appear in Modeltex product listings.

Modeltex production guide. Updated on Sep 6, 2026.

Pattern terms

What is drawn on each piece and what defines how the garment fits.

Base pattern (block): the basic pattern of a garment (bodice, sleeve, pants) drafted from a size chart, with no design or details. All styles are derived from it by transformation.
Pattern transformation: the process of converting a base pattern into the pattern of a specific style: moving darts, adding style seams, changing necklines, lengths and ease.
Balance mark: a reference mark showing which point on one piece has to match another when sewing, for example the center of the sleeve cap with the shoulder seam.
Notch: a small cut in the edge of the pattern, generally 3 to 5 mm, that makes a balance mark physical or marks the seam allowance, the center of a piece or the length of a dart.
Seam allowance: the extra fabric between the sewing line and the cutting edge. In knits it is usually 0.7 to 1 cm and in wovens 1 to 1.5 cm; industrial patterns come with it included.
Ease: the difference between the body measurement and the garment measurement. A loose t-shirt can have 10 cm or more of chest ease; leggings have negative ease because the fabric stretches.
Shaping (fit): how closely the garment follows the shape of the body, especially at the waist. More shaping means less ease and more need for darts or style seams.
Dart: a sewn, triangular fold that adds volume or fits the fabric to the body, typical at the bust and waist of woven garments.
Yoke: a horizontal piece at the top of the back, the front or a skirt, joined by a seam. It gives shape without darts and is widely used in shirts and jackets.
Raglan sleeve: a sleeve that runs up to the neckline with a diagonal seam and no shoulder seam. It is the typical sleeve of sweatshirts and sports jackets.

Sizes and grading

How a single-size pattern becomes a full size range.

Size range: the set of sizes a style is produced in, for example XS to 4XL for adults or 2 to 18 for kids. Producing the full range or part of it is a commercial decision.
Grading (or scaling): the method of generating all the sizes from the base size by applying increments at defined points of the pattern, according to a size chart. In CAD it is done with grading rules.
Size chart: a list of body measurements by size (chest circumference, waist, hip, lengths) that serves as the reference for drafting, grading and checking the finished garment.
Sample: the first garment sewn from the pattern to verify fit, construction and fabric consumption before producing. Approving the sample with a fitting is what validates a pattern.
Sizing standard: a system for identifying garment sizes by standardized body measurements. One example is Argentina's Law 27.521 (2019), which created the Uniform Standardized System for Identifying Apparel Sizes (SUNITI).

Fabric terms

What to look at in the fabric before making the marker and cutting.

Grainline: the direction of the warp in woven fabric or of the wales in knit fabric, marked with an arrow on each pattern piece. Cutting off-grain distorts the garment.
Bias: the direction at 45 degrees to the grain. Strips cut on the bias stretch and are used for piping, necklines and curved edges.
Pattern repeat: the unit of repetition of a print or a check. When the design has to be matched at the seams, fabric consumption goes up.
Fabric weight: the weight of the fabric in grams per square meter (g/m2, also written gsm). A lightweight jersey is around 140 to 160 g/m2 and a heavy fleece exceeds 300, as a guideline.
Shrinkage: the percentage a fabric shrinks when washed or exposed to heat. In cotton it can be 2 to 5% (a guideline); it is compensated by prewashing or by enlarging the pattern.
Knit and woven fabric: knits (jersey, fleece, rib, piqué) stretch and the pattern carries less ease; wovens (gabardine, poplin, denim, linen) do not stretch and need ease and darts.
Nap (directional fabric): fabrics such as polar fleece, corduroy or sherpa have a visible direction; all the pieces are cut in the same direction, which lowers marker efficiency.
Usable width and selvage: the selvage is the woven edge of the roll; the usable width is the real width available for the marker, without selvages or tenter-pin holes, and it is the figure the marker maker needs.
Dye lot: a batch of fabric dyed in the same bath. Shade varies between lots, which is why a single garment is cut from a single lot.

Cutting and marker making

From the pattern to the cutting table.

Marker: the arrangement of all the pieces of one or more sizes across the fabric width, to cut with the least waste. It can be done by hand on the fabric or on a computer (MRK file).
Spreading: laying many layers of fabric one on top of another on the cutting table, to cut several garments at once with the same marker.
Marker efficiency: the percentage of the fabric area occupied by pattern pieces. It generally runs between 70 and 85% depending on the garment, the size mix and the width; the rest is waste.
Fabric consumption: the meters of fabric one garment takes. It is calculated by dividing the marker length by the number of garments it contains and it is the basis of costing.
Waste allowance: fabric lost to marker waste, defects, shrinkage and lay ends. In costing it is added as a percentage on top of consumption, a guideline of 3 to 8%.
Cutting: separating the pieces from the lay with a straight-knife machine, a round-knife machine or an automated cutting table. Clean cutting depends on a clear marker and well-marked notches.

Sewing and costing

Workshop and cost-sheet terms.

Contract sewing: sewing work paid per garment to an outside workshop, which receives the cut pieces and the trims and returns the sewn garment. The contract sewing price is one of the main costs.
Trims: everything a garment carries besides the main fabric: thread, zippers, buttons, elastics, labels, interfacing, drawcords, knit collars.
Tech pack: the document that describes the garment for production: technical flat, fabrics, trims, measurements per size, seam types, print or embroidery placement and fabric consumption.
Lockstitch, overlock and coverstitch: the three basic machines of a workshop. The lockstitch machine makes straight stitching in wovens, the overlock sews and finishes the edges of knits, and the coverstitch machine makes stretch hems on t-shirts and leggings.

Digital formats and tools

How a pattern travels between software, print shops and cutting machines. These are the formats in which Modeltex delivers its patterns; the one that suits you depends on how you cut.

Textile CAD: digital patternmaking software such as Optitex, Audaces, Gerber AccuMark and Lectra, which lets you draft, grade, make markers and export patterns.
DXF/AAMA: the standard patternmaking exchange format that almost every CAD system opens. It is the safe format to request a pattern in when you do not use your program's native one.
PDS: the native Optitex pattern file, with pieces, grading and editable rules.
MRK: the Optitex marker file, ready to plot or send to an automated cutting table. It is built for a specific fabric width and size combination.
ADS: the native Audaces format, the most widely used CAD in Brazil and very common in Argentina.
PLT and CDR: PLT is the plot file that plotters and CorelDRAW understand; CDR is the native CorelDRAW file, used to design over the pattern in sublimation.
PDF A4 and PDF plotter: the A4 PDF splits the pattern into numbered sheets to print at home and tape together; the plotter PDF has the pattern at true scale in 90, 120 or 150 cm widths to print at a plotter print shop.
Plotter: a large-format printer that prints patterns and markers at true width on a paper roll. There are also cutting plotters that cut the pattern out of paper.
Test square: a square of known size (for example 5 x 5 or 10 x 10 cm) included in the pattern to verify with a ruler that the print came out at 100% scale.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a balance mark and a notch?

A balance mark is the reference: the point on one piece that has to match another when sewing. A notch is the physical mark, a 3 to 5 mm cut in the edge of the fabric, that shows that balance mark, a center, an allowance or the length of a dart. In practice many workshops use the two words as synonyms.

What does grading mean in patternmaking?

It is the process of generating all the sizes of a range from the base size, applying defined increments at points of the pattern according to a size chart. In CAD it is done with grading rules and checked by measuring each size; an industrial pattern is sold already graded.

What is a marker and how is it different from spreading?

The marker is the arrangement of the pattern pieces across the fabric width to cut with minimum waste; spreading is laying many layers of fabric on the table to cut them all at once with that marker. First you make the marker, then you spread and cut.

What is contract sewing in garment production?

It is outsourced sewing paid per garment: the workshop receives the cut pieces and the trims and returns the sewn garment. Working with contract sewing lets you produce without your own machines or staff, and the per-garment sewing price is one of the main cost components.

Which digital pattern format opens in any CAD program?

DXF/AAMA, the standard patternmaking exchange format. Optitex, Audaces, Gerber AccuMark and Lectra, among others, import it. If you use a specific program you can request the native file (PDS for Optitex, ADS for Audaces), but DXF/AAMA is the safe option.

What is grainline and why does it matter when cutting?

It is the direction of the warp (or of the wales in knit fabric) and it is marked with an arrow on each pattern piece. Cutting with the arrow parallel to the selvage makes the garment hang straight and stretch where it should; cutting off-grain twists seams and distorts the garment.

More guides

Sewing patterns ready for production, with the full size range, in the Modeltex catalog.