Flat Sketchng

• Flat sketches are blueprints. Flats, as they're called, are scaled-down drawings of how the clothing looks laid flat on a table. A front and back is drawn. Flat sketches involve a visual language. Straight lines are seam lines while dotted lines are stitching. A zipper is indicated by a zipper head followed by a dotted line. Most clothing edges are drawn curved, but fullness is represented with straight edge lines.
  
  

Fashion Sketching

• Fashion sketching is a portrait of the clothes as they'd look on someone. It's a figure drawing and, often times, the figure is moving. The clothes are expressed in three dimensions and the sketch tries to portray a feeling. If the clothes are for winter, there may be a hint of blue in the background or snow flakes falling.
  
  

The Process

• There's no standard for which sketch comes first in the creative process. Some designers will imagine the clothes on people and start with a fashion sketch. Other designers will work with the blueprints first and may outsource their fashion sketch. The creative process might be strained by the budget, forcing the designer to work with the flat sketch first. This way he knows the exact dimensions, materials and cost.
  
  

Purpose

• Commercially speaking, both the flat and fashion sketches are integral. A designer will have to sell a manufacturer on the clothes she's designed. The manufacturer can be drawn in by the allure of the fashion sketch, then reference the flat sketch for cost. Both sketches are important when it comes to producing clothes.