Mastering the Art of Creating Fashion Flat Sketches
Mastering the art of creating fashion flat sketches – or just fashion flats – is an indispensable skill you need to succeed as a garment maker. This is because fashion flats are the backbone of any garment design process. You will certainly need one whether you intend to create a tech pack or just want to flesh out your design ideas.
Also known as technical sketches or technical flats, fashion flats are detailed flat sketches that illustrate a garment’s technical aspects from a neutral perspective, typically front and back.
In this post, we will explore, in detail, what a fashion flat is all about, why you need one, and how to go about creating one.
What Are Fashion Flats?
Fashion flats are sketches you create to communicate your ideas and specifications to pattern makers, tailors, and garment manufacturers.
What details should you include in your flats? That largely depends on the purpose of the flat. But more often than not, flat sketches contain details such as measurements, stitching lines, hardware placements and material specifications.
One common characteristic of technical fashion flats is that they are, well, technical in nature. This is unlike fashion illustrations that are stylized and artistic, filled with vibrant colors.
This then begs the question: what’s the difference between a flat sketch and an illustration?
What's The Difference Between an Illustration And a Technical Flat?
The main purpose of an illustration is to give viewers a feel of your design ideas. Fashion designers often use it to give prospective customers a feel of how their designs will look when worn in real life.
A technical sketch, on the other hand, is a blueprint of a garment design, containing technical design details and measurement specifications. As their name implies, they are flat, consisting of mostly lines and colors in some instances. This is in contrast to illustrations which can be 3-dimensional.
The overarching purpose of flats is to convey stitch and construction ideas to your garment manufacturer. They are an essential component of tech packs, which are design documents that furnish apparel makers with all the details they need to produce your designs.
What Are The Benefits of Creating Fashion Flats?
Though it can be a bit time-consuming to develop, creating fashion flat sketches for your designs is important for many reasons, and they are as follows:
Clarity in Communication
To begin with, creating technical drawings for your fashion design ideas fosters smooth communication with your tailor or manufacturer. These drawings provide a clear, unambiguous representation of a garment to pattern makers, seamstresses, and manufacturers.
Creating one enables you to map out where you want every stitch and seam to be, reducing production errors, which can be expensive to rectify.
Ensures Consistency During Production
Another reason why creating fashion flats is important is that they ensure consistency in production. If you have multiple manufacturers working on the same design, flats serve as a standard reference that they can follow. This consistency is crucial for maintaining quality control and brand integrity, ensuring that every piece meets the same high standards, regardless of where it is made.
Speed and Efficiency
In an industry that moves at breakneck speed, efficiency is key. Fashion flats can speed up the production process by providing quick references during the assembling of a garment. They allow your production team to foresee and address potential issues before they become costly mistakes, ultimately speeding up time to market.
A Tool for Documentation and Archiving
Fashion flats also play a vital role in documentation and archiving. They serve as a historical record of a design, useful for referencing in future collections or for legal purposes, such as copyright documentation. In an era where designs are often revisited and reinterpreted, having a detailed archive of fashion flats is invaluable.
How to Create Fashion Flats
You don’t necessarily need to be a savvy technical designer to create cohesive flat sketches that convey your ideas.
You can choose to create one manually by hand using technical drawing paper and pencil, together with all the measuring instruments you can lay your hands on. Better yet, you can use Adobe Illustrator, which is the industry standard software for creating fashion sketches.
How to Draw Fashion Flats By Hand
Drawing fashion flats by hand gives you a lot of flexibility and costs less, even though it might take longer. Here are the tools you will need to create hand-drawn technical sketches:
Drawing paper – specifically a grid paper.
Marker pins and pen
Pencil and eraser
Ruler and curve guide
When you have all that in place, watch the video below to learn how to draw a fashion flat by hand:
How to Create Flats With Adobe Illustrator (AI)
Although using AI to create flats will take some getting used to, it can speed up your drawing process, making you more efficient.
Watch the video below to learn how to create fashion design sketches using AI:
Essential Tips and Tricks for Creating Effective Fashion Flats
1. Start with the Right Tools
Software: Invest in quality design software like Adobe Illustrator. This software is industry-standard for creating professional-looking flats. It offers precision and versatility in editing, which is crucial for making detailed adjustments.
Tablet and Stylus: For more fluid sketching, consider using a graphic tablet and stylus. This mimics the hand-drawing experience and can speed up your design process.
2. Focus on Accuracy and Detail
Proportions: Ensure your flats are proportionally accurate. Use grid lines in your design software to align elements perfectly.
Stitching and Construction: Include detailed notes on stitching, seams, and any construction specifics. This information is crucial for the manufacturers and helps avoid any confusion about how the garment should be assembled.
3. Keep It Clear and Simple
Clean Lines: Use clean, clear lines for your sketches. Avoid unnecessary details that might clutter the drawing and lead to misinterpretation.
Minimal Color: Stick to minimal coloring. Use colors strategically to denote different materials or parts only if necessary. Often, black and white are sufficient.
4. Multiple Views Are a Must
Front and Back Views: Always include both front and back views in your flats. If a design has unique side details, consider including side views as well.
Detail Shots: For complex features like embroidery, prints, or intricate closures, create close-up views or expanded details to ensure clarity.
5. Consistency Is Key
Template Use: Develop templates for different types of garments to ensure consistency in your drawings. This not only speeds up your workflow but also ensures all necessary details are included every time.
Standardize Your Style: Whether it’s the way you draw buttons or stitch lines, keep it consistent across all your designs. This standardization will make your work look professional and cohesive.
6. Annotate Wisely
Clear Annotations: Use clear, concise language in your annotations. Specify materials, dimensions, and any other pertinent information.
Placement of Text: Position your annotations outside the main drawing to avoid overcrowding. Use arrows and lines to connect the text to specific parts of the drawing.
7. Utilize Layers for Organization
Layer Management: Use layers in your digital sketches. This allows you to easily edit parts of your flat without redrawing the entire sketch. For instance, you can have separate layers for the outline, details, and text annotations.
Conclusion
Whether you are a fashion designer or an apparel brand looking to up your game, it’s important to master the art of creating detailed flat sketches that embody your design ideas. Your sketches should be easy to interpret and should be void of distractions, such as flamboyant colors and bogus illustrations.
We hope that with all you’ve learnt in this post, creating a cohesive sketch shouldn’t be much of a problem.
