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Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Pattern Making

Block

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/blɒk/nounCommon term

In fashion & textiles, block means: A basic pattern without style details, made from standard measurements, which pattern makers adapt to create new designs.

In Turkish: temel kalıp, baz kalıp

How it is used

Brands keep tested blocks for each product type: bodice block, skirt block, trouser block, jacket block. Using the same block keeps fit consistent across a collection. A new style usually starts from an existing block.

Example sentences

  1. Please use our trouser block, not the factory's own pattern.

  2. We updated the bodice block after customers complained about tight armholes.

Common collocations

  • bodice block
  • trouser block
  • basic block
  • fit block
  • adapt a block
  • patternA paper or digital template for each piece of a garment, used to cut the fabric; it also means a repeated decorative design on fabric.
  • gradingThe process of making a pattern in all the other sizes from the base size, by adding or removing set amounts at specific points.
  • dartA narrow, pointed fold of fabric stitched on the inside of a garment to shape it around curves such as the bust, waist or hips.
  • toileA test version of a garment made in cheap plain fabric, usually unbleached cotton, to check the pattern and fit before cutting the real fabric.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Pattern Making

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