Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers
US occupation · SOC 51-6092
Job titles people report: Cutter, Designer, Fabric Cutter, Pattern Designer, Pattern Maker, Pattern Technician, Production Pattern Maker, Sewing Pattern Layout Technician, Technical Designer
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $62,750
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $42,620 – $93,930
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 2,950
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -15%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 200
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Draw and construct sets of precision master fabric patterns or layouts. May also mark and cut fabrics and apparel.
Main tasks
- Create a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, or grading devices.
- Input specifications into computers to assist with pattern design and pattern cutting.
- Draw details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes, and other features, using computers or drafting instruments.
- Make adjustments to patterns after fittings.
- Compute dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material.
- Mark samples and finished patterns with information, such as garment size, section, style, identification, and sewing instructions.
- Draw outlines of pattern parts by adapting or copying existing patterns, or by drafting new patterns.
- Test patterns by making and fitting sample garments.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
- Apparel and Textile Manufacture
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
$58,000 median · -22.8% projected
- Patternmakers, Wood
$49,630 median · -2% projected
- Fashion Designers
$80,960 median · +0.1% projected
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
$63,870 median · -3.4% projected
- Etchers and Engravers
$43,310 median · -0.7% projected
- Commercial and Industrial Designers
$83,910 median · +2.4% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk