Translating your idea to a finished garment

All too often when I talk to a client about them wanting to launch a brand/get a sample made/make their ideas in their head become a tangible product, they often all say the same ‘I’m not any good at drawing’.

And here is the thing you don’t need to be any good at drawing to get your lingerie produced, I’m going to show you how I would go about (or what i would advise you) to get your idea from your head to get a sample or garment.

I usually advise to start with mood board and annotate it. What you do like, what you don’t like, any ideas, what you are looking for, what ideas are rolling around in your head so is maybe.

You will stating things like what finish you like, the shape of the lingerie, if there is any stitching detail, the fabrics you like, any colours you want, how low or high the brief is etc.

You do not need to know the the details about stitch finish unless you have a preference from the beginning. Things like that how I work is that I would contact you and show you examples of both and give you the pros and cons of the finish, so you are learning as you go along.

So, I had an idea to do a satin range, and if I were to go to a manufacture or designer to get the idea into a technical drawing, a tech pack and a finished garment I would present the following.

So this board is really simple, I covered that I don’t want the satin really rouched, I covered that I want the neckline sleek with not stitching visible and supportive so this indicates to the designer that the tecehnical drawing will not show any stitching but the tech pack will outline that the neck line is bagged out with elastic hidden.

You don’t need to know those details, but by showing those images and requesting what you do want the designer/manufacturer would be able to interpret what you want into a technical drawing, a tech pack and a pattern.

Regarding the brief I have given clear images and requested rings at the side of the brief so the designer knows what I am looking for.

I have also included that I want a visible stitch detail on lingerie and have referenced where I have been inspired by, so the designer can look up Sahiko if they don’t know much about it and know where I am coming from.

Your job is to get your ideas down and explain them, by including shapes, fabrics, colours and any details you need to add.