# Print, Cut, Sew patterns for full dye sublimation



## SaberSport (Feb 24, 2012)

I am new to full dye sublimation (brand new). Can anyone tell me where/ how I can get the sew patterns for jerseys so I can use to design in c draw x5. Thanks in advance!


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

What kind of printer size do you have? What size press do you have?


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## Rooster Shooter (Nov 23, 2011)

If you find the patterns we would love them also.


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## FatboyGraphics (Sep 20, 2009)

cut apart a shirt
trace
scan
= template

or cut apart a shirt
take picture
import into graphic program
measure shirt 
trace graphic
make graphic same dimensions of shirt
= template


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## SaberSport (Feb 24, 2012)

i have a 65" printer and a 36"x47" heat press on thier way.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

SaberSport said:


> i have a 65" printer and a 36"x47" heat press on thier way.


Suggest you contact Vapor Apparel as they sell raw material for this. 

You might not be getting much advice here from those that are currently doing cut and sew as they may not want to help potential competition and won't reveal "trade secrets". 

I'm sure Vapor would want your business, so that would be my starting point.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

mgparrish said:


> Suggest you contact Vapor Apparel as they sell raw material for this.
> 
> You might not be getting much advice here from those that are currently doing cut and sew as they may not want to help potential competition and won't reveal "trade secrets".
> 
> I'm sure Vapor would want your business, so that would be my starting point.


Correct - people in cut and sew are protective of their patterns. It took us over a year of creating, getting feedback, recreating, getting feedback, to get where we are today. 

FYI - Vapor does not do cut and sew but great customer service. They may know of a vendor who will part with their patterns.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Riderz Ready said:


> Correct - people in cut and sew are protective of their patterns. It took us over a year of creating, getting feedback, recreating, getting feedback, to get where we are today.
> 
> FYI - Vapor does not do cut and sew but great customer service. They may know of a vendor who will part with their patterns.


Makes perfect sense what you say. Note that I didn't state Vapor as doing cut and sew, they sell raw material and blank shirts.


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## JaeAmera (Dec 25, 2006)

FatboyGraphics said:


> cut apart a shirt
> trace
> scan
> = template
> ...


^^^ EXACTLY!!! 
We have a large format scanner so we can make a template / pattern for just about anything. Tedious but well worth it.

Jae


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

There are companies providing pattern making and grading services - you can take a garment you need replicated to them, they will create a pattern and supply you with digital version for your graphics over-lays and cardboard pattern for fabric cutting. At least that's the way it works here, Down-under. 

No-one will part with their patterns for free. We print fabric and work with a few manufacturing facilities that assemble the garments for us - they all have dosens of patterns for different garments hanging around, but you can say to them - "I've got a client that wants the same jersey done - can I have this pattern please so I can place their design on it?" The patterns don't belong to them, but their clients.

If a client comes to me with some specific garment style they want done - they pay for pattern development/grading and it becomes their property, not mine to offer other clients. 

Then there are garments many customers asking for - like basic unisex polo-shirt or t-shirts - I got the patterns made and graded for me and offer them as "stock" patterns.


There are a few websites out there like Burda that offer inexpencive or even free patterns - not sure if they have jerseys, though.


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## SaberSport (Feb 24, 2012)

Thanks for the insight all!


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## jfish (Feb 26, 2010)

If I had the Templates for Jerseys I wouldn't have a problem sharing them. Why? Because there's enough business out there for buyers that sharing with a dozen people isn't going to hurt my business nor yours. 

Were all small small fish in this market against Pearl Izumi, Garneu, etc we are appealing to a completely different demographic as well. I don't think anyone is going to loose sleep over a template being shared. 

The fabric and thickness of their poly etc will make a huge difference from one to another and more importantly for marketing the design of the jerseys artwork etc will make a huge difference as well. 

Could whoever has some of these templates that is willing to share please PM or email me? And whoever is not willing to share free but trying to sell them could you PM or email me with pricing on what you want. Chances are I wont pay much as this would be just for me and a couple riding buddies as I only have a 13" width dye sub setup and a 15x20 heat press so I can't really do full jerseys anyways just segments etc. 

Any communal help would be appreciated and I will return the favor someday when I have something you can use that I have. I always do and always will because thats how we should be in this community help each other! Stick together and build something great with out resources and hardwork not bicker and let the huge manufactures keep dominating the market charging way too much and sending all the work to China I proudly make everything I do in the USA!


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## SaberSport (Feb 24, 2012)

JFISH- You are so right, we are all SMALL FISH and there is tons of business out there. If you get any info or insight on this PLEASE share with me. It would be HUGELY appreciated!!!!


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Why is it people who do not have patterns consider them worthless and something to share yet people with professional patterns value them just as they value their artwork? 

We "small fish" do not compete with the big boys at all. We compete against each other. Surely there is plenty of business in the cut and sew market just as there is plenty of business in the t-shirt market. The difference is anyone can by some ink, a printer, a press and be in the t-shirt business causing there to be a flood of people doing it as a home based business and eroding margins to virtually nothing. Cut and sew takes a higher level of expertise, a higher level of equipment and a higher level of commitment thus the competition is far less and the margins far greater. 

The more noobies jump into cut and sew the more the margins get eroded. It has already happened in specific sports like softball. If you are not willing to create patterns using suggested methods on this thread or paying someone to create professional patterns for you surely do not expect someone to hand over their work that in most cases took a significant amount of time and/or money.


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## Rooster Shooter (Nov 23, 2011)

We elected to go with a professional pattern maker.


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## jfish (Feb 26, 2010)

Hey, if you don't want to share that's fine, I get it! But I have no problem giving advice, tips, and feedback from what I have learned. 

There are those friends that offer to drive when plans are made and there are those friends that ask for gas money or opt out and don't want to go anymore...


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## kathleen f (Mar 21, 2006)

Riderz is spot on and sooner or later (if you make headway in this business) you'll see it [emphasis is mine]. 


Riderz Ready said:


> Why is it people who do not have patterns consider them worthless and something to share yet people with professional patterns value them just as they value their artwork?
> 
> *We "small fish" do not compete with the big boys at all. We compete against each other.* The difference is anyone can ... be in the t-shirt business causing there to be a flood of people doing it as a home based business and eroding margins to virtually nothing. Cut and sew takes a higher level of expertise, a higher level of equipment and a higher level of commitment thus the competition is far less and the margins far greater.


The two most important points (imo) are the value of patterns (even the wall street journal has said that the patternmaker is the single most important person in the factory once management decisions have been made) and the ease of entry into the tees business leading to the creation of a commodity market. Tees are largely a commodity because of the low barre to entry. There's a lot of competition *specifically because* it is easy and low cost to get into. It's a double edged sword.

Commodity problems mean low selling prices because there is a lot of competition and some people are hungrier than others and seeking to reduce the amount of their losses (and exit the business) rather than recover their costs or generate a profit over and above. 

Another issue with commodities means they're readily interchangeable between companies -substitutions are frequent with little customer loyalty between brands (brands aren't differentiated in the consumer's minds).

Another matter with commodities is the concept of *value added* being rather low. Typically commodities are products like corn and grain -but also gold and copper and prices for raw goods depend on demand. Most of the money in commodities comes from processing it into something useable for the consumer who buys a final product. Processing means value added. The greater profit comes from processing ore into necklaces, pipe, breakfast cereals etc. The analogy with tees is that there is little value added and many products can be substituted with each other in the consumer's mind. Most of the tees value was added before the tee producer got a hold of it (fabric knitting, pattern, cutting & sewing etc). It's hard to build a profit margin into a product like tees if someone is only adding value at the last leg (dyeing, applying designs). 

The profit generated in commodities is usually related to scale -high volume because the profit margins are so small. This is similar to tees too. You have two choices in tees if you want to make money. One is to have such scale or business development that you can pick up some additional profit margin by doing the cut & sew yourself to recoup that margin from there, or to invest heavily in branding so your raise the perception of your tee to be of value so it is less able to be substituted with a competitor's tee. Either way you're going to spend some money (time is money). 

*Disclaimer:* I'm a pattern maker with 30 years experience and if it's not obvious, I majored in economics . Btw, this is not a solicitation, I don't work with knits for the most part. This article may be useful to help you determine whether a pattern maker is a good fit for your job. Also, the best way to get into the cut and sew side is through a pattern maker.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

jfish said:


> Hey, if you don't want to share that's fine, I get it! But I have no problem giving advice, tips, and feedback from what I have learned.
> 
> There are those friends that offer to drive when plans are made and there are those friends that ask for gas money or opt out and don't want to go anymore...


What you seem to be missing is I am not your friend. I am a potential competitor. It would be like you wanting to open a bakery business and posting you want other bakers recipes because there is enough business for everyone.


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## VTG (Dec 16, 2010)

Riderz Ready said:


> It would be like you wanting to open a bakery business and posting you want other bakers recipes because there is enough business for everyone.


lol ... that's a good analogy.

jfish, I follow the Dye Sub threads pretty closely and Mark (Riderz) shares a great deal of knowledge and information on a regular basis ... for free.

I completely respect the views he (and others) have on protecting their Patterns. Please keep in mind, excellent patterns, like excellent artwork & graphics, are a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace ... and therefore, they should be "held closely" (or protected) in order to maintain that advantage. Sharing is one thing, but giving away your trade secrets is a completely separate issue (and not a very wise thing to do).

Peace.


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## SaberSport (Feb 24, 2012)

How can I get in touch with you to get some patterns made? My email is [email protected]


Anthony


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## Fulldye1 (Dec 7, 2011)

I currently do work for a customer that prints and then sends to me. I turn around and cut and sew for him. Less head aches for him on the long run. I do not do any printing just cut and sew. The workers i have make patterns for me based on a simple photo. They are very good and have over 30yrs experience doing this work. This family business i have was made after large compaines closed down and left experienced workers with out jobs. We then picked up an elite few and began to do cut and sew for a sublimation company that offered me the work. Lucky for me the ladies I had new what to do and are teaching me so much that requires a specialty. Riders, makes a very good point that cut and sew is not as easy as it seems especially when its full dye jerseys. Try pricing that after all the errors. Many errors were made when eperience was not there, but now all seems to be running smooth. I plan to move foward in the cut and sew business. We started as a small tailore business now adding a new demand to our list. Working on childerns cheer leading uniforms for the upocoming month of August because football is big in my area.


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## jfish (Feb 26, 2010)

Yeah Riderz I understand your point and am not going to argue that because I understand where your coming from. I have no intentions to get into cut and sew and I know there are 2 really good shops locally that offer just that for dye sub etc. 

I am looking at doing some cycling jerseys and potentially some shirts but for me to professionally offer this would be years down the road as I am nowhere near the skill level of this craft. 

I will be cutting up a cycling jersey in the next week or few and making a template of it, but again this is more for personal use and a team of buddies possibly. 

What do businesses charge for this? How are the rates broken down? Ive never ordered cut and sew sublimation or had them made but I am curious if anyone has a general breakdown for the midwest?

Thanks


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## XcelCanada (Apr 22, 2013)

I'm 4 months into learning how to make patterns, sublimating, cutting and sewing way up here in Northern Ontario. I'm within weeks of having a full cut and sew operation going. I wouldn't part with my patterns for nothing, since I've worked extremely hard to convert what patterns I did have to digital, then modify, modify modify until I have the perfect product. Its like (although different) digitizing for embroidery, or any of the other job functions I've done in the garment decorating industry over the past 7 years, these things may look easy but they take a great deal of skill to get right, produce efficiently, and professionally. Why would all that work be worth nothing? You pay for digitizing, artwork, and the clothing that you purchase to print on has development costs worked right into it. 

Once operational I plan on being open to product development for clients as requests pop up, but since I'll be the one putting the time in on development, they'll be my property to sell later as well, to recoup costs. If they want to own the pattern, they can pay for that time.


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## Noah Saldivar (Aug 18, 2016)

Willie unidad, u still sell your templates?


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## UCDISPLAY (Mar 19, 2016)

where you locate at? we are doing everything you need in Phoenix, AZ.


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## bodan63 (Feb 5, 2010)

Copy that. Create your own. Trace a good pattern.


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## kathleen f (Mar 21, 2006)

bodan63 said:


> Copy that. Create your own. Trace a good pattern.


Copying a pattern by tracing an existing one is not "making your own". To do so is exactly like me copying the graphic design work you put on your tee and putting it on my own product. I think most people would call that stealing.


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