About
Made-to-measure basic blocks, drafted from your measurements
Tailor Base Patterns generates bodice, sleeve, and skirt basic blocks (slopers) drafted to your own body measurements, or to a standard size if you prefer, so you don’t have to guess a size and fix the fit afterwards. It’s built for people who sew and draft patterns: home sewists, tailors, pattern makers, and students.
How it works
1
Enter measurements
Type in your own body measurements, with an illustrated guide for each one, or start from a standard size (XS–XL).
2
Choose the settings
Pick the garment type, fit level, fabric thickness, and shoulder padding.
3
Generate
The drafting engine builds your basic block (sloper) in seconds, adjusted to your posture.
4
Download and print
A4 PDF for home printers, plotter PDF for wide-format printers, or SVG for cutting machines.
The drafting method
Based on the EMKO CMEA method
Yes. The drafting engine is based on Единая методика конструирования одежды СЭВ (ЕМКО СЭВ), known in English as the EMKO CMEA method — a garment pattern-drafting system developed in the USSR between 1975 and 1985 by the Central Research Institute of the Garment Industry (CNIISHPI) for standardized mass-production clothing manufacturing across the Eastern Bloc. Tailor Base Patterns uses it as the base for bodice, sleeve, and skirt block (sloper) generation, which is why precise, accurate input measurements matter so much for the result. See the full history of the method.
How our pattern construction works
Most home-sewing pattern generators start from a small handful of measurements (bust, waist, hip) and scale a standard block to fit. Our drafting engine takes a more detailed path:
- Extended bust measurement set. Instead of one bust circumference, the method uses four separate bust-level measurements — taken through the armpits, through the bust points, at bust height, and at the under-bust — so the draft accounts for bust projection and shape, not just overall girth.
- Automatic posture correction. Before drafting begins, the method compares your front and back waist lengths and classifies your posture (upright, forward-rounded, or erect/arched), then shifts the neckline and center-back/front lines to compensate — a correction most basic block methods skip entirely.
- Level-based construction geometry. The pattern is built level by level — chest, waist, hip — with the back, side, and front sections constructed in relation to each other at every level, keeping the whole block internally consistent rather than drafting each panel independently.
- Proportional ease distribution. Fabric ease at the waist isn't dumped into a single dart — it's split proportionally across the back-center seam, back side dart, side seam, and front dart, producing a more balanced, wearable shape.
- Low-bust and hip corrections. Additional automatic corrections re-balance the armhole when the bust point sits low, and cut-and-spread the hip line when the drafted hip width doesn't match your actual hip measurement — refinements that are typically manual, fitting-stage adjustments in other methods.
The result is a first-draft block tailored to your actual body shape and posture — not a generic size adjusted after the fact.
History of the method
In short: this is a real, decades-tested industrial drafting standard — not something we invented — which is why getting your measurements right matters so much for the result.
The method used to construct patterns comes from the USSR era, and is called Единая методика конструирования одежды СЭВ(ЕМКО СЭВ), which translates to the "Unified Method of Clothing Design of the CMEA" (EMKO CMEA). It is historically one of the most significant, scientifically grounded, and comprehensive methods for mass-production garment pattern making.
About the method
The method was developed with the primary goal of unifying and standardizing industrial clothing manufacturing. Its core characteristics include a scientific approach — the draft construction is based on extensive anthropometric studies and precise mathematical calculations — and universality — it provides a single algorithm, notation system, and approach for any type of clothing.
The creator
The method does not have a single individual author; it is the result of a massive collaborative scientific effort developed between 1975 and 1985 by specialists from the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) member countries. The development and technical management were spearheaded by the Central Research Institute of the Garment Industry (CNIISHPI) under the Ministry of Light Industry of the USSR. Professor Valentin Medvedkov (Валентин Медведков) is historically recognized as one of the chief editors and coordinators of the methodology.
Distribution and usage
Historical distribution: the methodology was introduced as the mandatory standard for mass clothing production across the entire Eastern Bloc (USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, etc.). All large-scale apparel factories in these regions utilized these principles.
Current usage: although the CMEA and the USSR dissolved in 1991, EMKO CMEA remains one of the fundamental methodologies taught in universities and technical colleges across Eastern Europe and CIS countries. It is still used in large-scale manufacturing due to its unmatched precision in size grading for mass-market body types. However, professional pattern makers note that for bespoke, made-to-measure tailoring, its formulas can be overly complex and time-consuming.
Tailor Base Patterns uses this method as the base of the bodice, sleeve, and skirt block (sloper) generation — precise measurements are extremely important for this method to produce an accurate draft.
Features
What you can make
- Bodice (front and back pieces)
- Bodice + Sleeve (one-piece sleeve)
- Skirt (front and back pieces)
Built for accuracy
- Detects your posture (Normal, Hunched forward, Hunched back) and adjusts the pattern
- Illustrated guide for every measurement
- Works in cm or inches
Save your measurements
- Save and reload named measurement sets, e.g. one per client
- Try the built-in Sample Person
- Start from a standard size (XS–XL; skirt XS–L). Standard sizes may not fit as well as your own measurements.
Print-ready output
- A4 PDF: tiled pages with an assembly guide and a print-check square
- Plotter PDF: one continuous sheet for wide-format printers
- SVG: scalable vector file for cutting machines
Free to try
New accounts get 1 free pattern generation (A4 PDF). Paid credits unlock all formats: A4 PDF, plotter PDF, and SVG. No credit card is needed to start.
Create free account →Contact & feedback
Questions, ideas, or something not fitting right? We read every message.