Patterns
A Pattern in GarmentFlow is the measurement and assembly intelligence behind a style. It's the document that says this is the shape we're cutting, these are the points of measurement, this is how much we expect each point to grow per size, and this is how the pieces go together.
The Pattern lives separately from the Tech Pack, and that's deliberate. A single pattern often serves many Tech Packs — the same body block, the same sleeve shape, the same fit — used across multiple styles in a brand's range. By keeping the pattern separate, a measurement change you make once propagates to every style that uses it.
Getting there
Hit Cmd + K on Mac or Ctrl + K on Windows, type pattern, and pick Pattern List (for the flat list) or Pattern Tree (to navigate by folder).
Open Desk → GarmentFlow → Design and the Pattern & POM card gives you Pattern, Pattern Folder, Pattern Modification Request, and Piece Import Profile all in one place.
How patterns are organized
Patterns live inside Pattern Folders, which form a tree the way warehouses do. A typical organization mirrors your design taxonomy: brand → division → fit, or season → category, or whatever makes the library navigable for your team. There's no right answer — pick a structure your designers will actually use, and grow into it.
What a Pattern record holds
The Pattern form is organized into a handful of sections and tabs. The important ones:
Settings. Display name, Pattern Folder, Type (linked to an Item Group), stretch power level, Size Chart, Base Size, and UOM (cm or in). This is the identity of the pattern.
Design & History. The design image attachment and the PMR activity history — every Pattern Modification Request that's ever been raised against this pattern, in order. The image is what your sample room looks at when they're cutting. The history is what tells you why the pattern is the way it is today.
Measurements. This is the Pattern POM table — the heart of the pattern. One row per point of measurement, with tolerance, base measurement, and growth per size. See Points of measurement and grading.
Size Chart. The displayed grading off the base size.
Operations. Assembly steps and the per-operation labor cost that feeds the pattern's total cost.
Pieces. The Pattern Piece table and the Pattern Assembly Template — what's cut from the cloth and how it goes together. See Pattern assembly and imports.
Data. Raw imported data and reference values.
Image: A Pattern record open on the Measurements section, with the Pattern POM table showing points, tolerance, base measurement, and growth per size
How a Tech Pack uses a Pattern
The link goes Pattern → Tech Pack. When you set the Pattern field on a Tech Pack's Design tab, the Tech Pack inherits the pattern's POM table, its size grading, and its assembly. When the Pattern changes, every Tech Pack using it sees the change automatically.
This is why most factories are conservative about creating new patterns. A new pattern is a new shape; a new style on an existing shape is just a new Tech Pack pointing at the same Pattern.
Changing a pattern the right way
Once a pattern is in use across multiple Tech Packs and has been through samples, don't edit it directly. Raise a Pattern Modification Request instead. The PMR documents what's changing, why, and (once completed) leaves a trail in the Pattern's Design & History section. Direct edits are how patterns silently drift away from spec.
What to do next
The three pages that round this section out:
- Points of measurement and grading — the Pattern POM table in detail.
- Pattern Modification Requests — how changes are made.
- Pattern assembly and imports — pieces, assembly templates, and the Piece Import Profile for bringing in pattern data from CAD.