A patternmaker is a skilled worker who may produce patterns on paper or fabric for use in the clothing industry , or patterns (replicas) for use in the metalworking industry. In the 1930s to the '60s a patternmaker made more in wages than doctors and lawyers. Clothing Apparel patternmakers draft patterns based on a designer's sketch of a style. The designer gives the sketch to the patternmaker, who can ask questions to determine details the designer is looking for. Patternmaking is taught in conjunction with fashion design education, as it is vital for designers to understand the apparel development process. It is also taught as a major at certain trade schools. There are many books on the subject, but it is rare for a patternmaker to become a professional through teaching oneself. Apprenticeships are almost unheard of in modern America, but would serve well to improve the transition from student to professional status. Because this occupation is relatively unknown outside of the apparel industry, there is a serious lack of patternmakers who can accurately interpret designs in Los Angeles, and possibly other fashion capitals. Metal casting patterns used in foundries The patternmakers' workshop at the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, 1922%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Foundry patternmakers have historically been woodworkers with skills of a woodcarver, woodturner, and cabinet maker. When an object is made from cast iron, cast aluminum or any liquified metal the patternmaker is employed to make a wood model of the object. The original pattern has to be made slightly larger, as metal shrinks when it cools; and often the pattern is made in puzzle-like parts, as the sand mold must be "rammed up" in a certain manner and the parts of the pattern must be removed from the sand mold without altering the negative space which is left behind in the sand. Pattern makers may also cut negative spaces into blocks of steel where sheet metal will be pressed between two matching shapes. A dinner fork is a good example: a block of steel is made to mirror the back of the fork and a block of steel is made to mirror the top of the fork. See also United Patternmakers' Association
A patternmaker is a skilled worker who produces patterns on paper or fabric for use in the clothing industry . Apparel patternmakers draft patterns based on a designer's sketch of a style. The designer gives the sketch to the patternmaker, who can ask questions to determine details the designer is looking for. Patternmaking is taught in conjunction with fashion design education, as it is vital for designers to understand the apparel development process. It is also taught as a major at certain trade schools. There are many books on the subject, but it is rare for a patternmaker to become a professional through teaching oneself. Apprenticeships are almost unheard of in modern America, but would serve well to improve the transition from student to professional status. Because this occupation is relatively unknown outside of the apparel industry, there is a serious lack of patternmakers who can accurately interpret designs in Los Angeles, and possibly other fashion capitals. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% 
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may produce
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, or patterns (replicas) for use in the metalworking industry. In the 1930s to the '60s a patternmaker made more in wages than doctors and lawyers.
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Clothing
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Metal casting patterns used in foundries
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The patternmakers' workshop at the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, 1922
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Foundry patternmakers have historically been woodworkers with skills of a woodcarver, woodturner, and cabinet maker. When an object is made from cast iron, cast aluminum or any liquified metal the patternmaker is employed to make a wood model of the object. The original pattern has to be made slightly larger, as metal shrinks when it cools; and often the pattern is made in puzzle-like parts, as the sand mold must be "rammed up" in a certain manner and the parts of the pattern must be removed from the sand mold without altering the negative space which is left behind in the sand. Pattern makers may also cut negative spaces into blocks of steel where sheet metal will be pressed between two matching shapes. A dinner fork is a good example: a block of steel is made to mirror the back of the fork and a block of steel is made to mirror the top of the fork.
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See also United Patternmakers' Association