Both beginners and those looking for a career as a clothing designer will need to start somewhere in learning how to design clothes. I discuss some specific tips in my article on designing clothes, but this article is designed as a step-by-step how-to guide for those who wish to begin the process from scratch. Each step will help you develop the tools you need to become a professional or amateur fashion designer.
Step One: Get the Right Equipment
If you intend to design clothing, you’ll need to have the right equipment. The first option is to get some proper drafting paper and tools that you can use for drawing your own designs from scratch. Get some proper drafting paper, preferably some smaller pieces for developing your original sketches. This paper should include a grid so that you can be sure that everything is symmetrical. In addition, get rulers and also a compass, so that you can have straight lines and curves. In order to draw ovals, use your compass some distance from where you wish to draw the neckline, for example. Then, you’ll need to get some full-sized graphical
Alternatively (and since you’re on this website, this is probably what you are looking for), you can purchase some fashion design software that will enable you to design your clothes on your computer. You can combine this with the drafting equipment, as most of this software will enable you to scan patterns, or you can start from scratch right on the computer. These programs allow you to design your clothing right on the pattern, or you can design them on a paper doll and then the programs will automatically generate the patterns for you.
Step Two: Find a Course
There are numerous courses available online or in the brick-and-mortar world. Some of these courses are free, so you can learn the basics of designing clothing without actually spending any additional money. There are courses available that include a number of articles that will help get you started on producing your own appealing clothing (including some of the articles on this site). Another option is to watch clothing design video courses, many of which are available online, including on such sites as Youtube. The advantage of video design courses is that you can actually see the process, something that will help you avoid the difficulties of trying to visualize what an article is trying to say.
You may also find a professional design course, available either at a community center (usually fairly inexpensive) or at a local technical college (generally more expensive). These programs will usually provide beginner courses that will teach many of the basics of producing clothing that you can wear or distribute yourself. You may also take an entire course in clothing design, similar in breadth to any other technical program.
Step Three: Find Capital
Even if you are designing clothes on your own, designing clothing can be expensive. On top of the cost of equipment and education, there is also the cost associated with producing the clothing itself. If you intend to make your own clothes, then you will need to purchase the materials and potentially the actual tailoring (if you don’t plan to do it yourself). On the other hand, if you are going to produce your own line of clothing for production, you will need to find a distributor, arrange for advertising or at least meeting with prospective sellers. All of these things cost money.
Entering the world of clothing design is exciting, and I wish you the best of luck.