CLO for Freelance Patternmakers: Drafting, Grading, and 3D Review

A practical fit for freelance work with small labels

• Build patterns from measurement points or flat sketches.
• Set up a size table and grade patterns using measurements or grading increments.
• Review patterns and graphic placement across the size range.
• Keep pattern development and 3D garment simulation in the same workflow.

For freelancers working with small labels, CLO brings pattern drafting, grading, 2D review, and 3D garment simulation together. That can be useful when a client wants to look at both pattern measurements and how the garment appears across sizes.

Try the workflow with each client’s measurement chart and grading brief, and see whether it supports the reviews and handoff the job calls for.

Start with the work behind the grade

Begin with the client’s size information. The BS EN ISO 8559-2:2025 listing describes a size designation system based on body dimensions and specifies primary and secondary dimensions for garment types. For your own records, note whether the client’s chart lists body measurements or garment measurements.

If the chart gives body measurements, translate it into target garment measurements using the client’s agreed ease and style intent. If it gives garment measurements, use those as the comparison targets.

As you work through the job, consider four practical questions:

1. Input: Can you draft from the client’s measurements or a flat sketch?
2. Grading: Can you set the required sizes and apply the client’s chart or grading rules?
3. Review: Can you compare pattern dimensions and visual results across the range, including the sizes most likely to challenge the design?
4. Handoff: Can you deliver the pattern, technical information, or file type required by the client or factory?

A grading rule describes how pattern points or measurements change from one size to the next. For each client, check every required size against their measurement definitions and the agreed pattern behavior.

CLO: draft, grade, and review sizes with 3D garment work

CLO is worth considering when a client needs pattern drafting and graded pattern review as well as 3D garment simulation. It supports creating and editing 2D patterns alongside simulating garments in 3D.

According to CLO’s Pattern Drafter guide, you can create patterns from measurement points or flat sketches, then set up a size table for grading. That gives you a way to work with clients who bring different starting points, whether measurements or a sketch. The guide also explains how to edit Pattern Drafter patterns while keeping their original parameters.

If you open a CLO avatar first, Pattern Drafter’s Match to Avatar Size control adjusts the pattern measurements to match it.

On the official CLO features page, 2D Grading Review is described as a way to compare patterns and graphic placement across all graded sizes in one window. For a small label, that makes it easier to see how a pocket, print, or other graphic shifts across the size range while you review the 2D pieces.

Blender can be useful for making hard-surface assets such as trims and hardware, then bringing them into a CLO garment workflow. CLO’s support documentation lists OBJ, FBX, and glTF 2.0 among its import and export formats. Before handing off a file, test it to confirm the scale, materials, and receiving workflow all behave as expected. (CLO file-format guide; glTF 2.0 guide)

Validate the CLO workflow against each client’s chart

When clients have different measurement charts, fit goals, or handoff requirements, run a separate test for each one:

1. Write down the targets. Note the base size, requested sizes, measurement points, chart values, garment ease, and what the client means by each point. Keep body measurements separate from finished garment measurements.
2. Choose a representative style. Pick one that includes details the client cares about—a shaped armhole, sleeve, placket, or placement graphic, for example. Use the same base pattern and grading brief in CLO.
3. Check the whole size range. Start with the smallest, base, and largest sizes, then review the sizes in between. Compare each required point of measure with the client’s target garment measurements, and record any differences by size and point.
4. Look over the construction details. Check matching seams, notches, and grainlines, along with curve transitions where the pattern needs to hold its shape. If the brief includes visual drape or proportion, review a 3D simulation too.
5. Try the handoff. Export the file the client or factory expects. Then confirm that size labels, pattern pieces, annotations, and marker or technical information are still usable in the receiving workflow.

Save a test and chart record for each client. A familiar size label is no substitute for a documented fit target.

FAQ

Can Pattern Drafter set front and back pieces to half symmetry?

Yes. The CLO Pattern Drafter guide includes Symmetry and Half Symmetry settings for front and back patterns.

Can Match to Avatar Size work with any avatar?

It works with CLO avatars. Open a CLO avatar first, and Pattern Drafter adjusts the measurements to match it.