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Craft and related trades workers · code 7532

Garment and related pattern-makers and cutters

Garment and related patternmakers and cutters create precision master patterns for the production of garments and other textile, leather or fur products. They mark, cut, shape and trim textiles, light leather and other materials according to blueprints or specifications in the manufacture of garments, hats and caps, gloves and miscellaneous products. Tasks include - (a) creating a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers and/or grading devices; (b) creating the blueprint or pattern pieces for a particular apparel design with the aid of a computer; (c) calculating dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material; (d) drawing details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes on garments, decorative stitching on shoe parts or eyelets on canvas products, using computers or drafting instruments; (e) positioning templates or measuring materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, and marking fabric accordingly; (f) laying out the master pattern on fabric and cutting sample patterns; (g) testing patterns by making and fitting sample garments; (h) placing patterns on top of layers of fabric and cutting fabric following patterns, using electric or manual knives, cutters or computer numerically controlled cutting devices; (i) cutting fabric or fur pelts to make parts for garments and other fur articles; (j) trimming excess material or cutting threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of a finished product; (k) positioning leather on the cutting bed of machines, maximizing usage according to skin grain, skin flaws and skin stretch; (l) performing patternmaking, marking and cutting tasks in the manufacture of other products such as soft furnishings and canvas goods. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Fur patternmaker - Garment cutter - Garment patternmaker - Glove cutter Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Textile patternmaking machine operator - 8159

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 91 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • clothing product grader
  • wearing apparel patternmaker
  • leather goods patternmaker
  • clothing CAD patternmaker
  • clothing cutter
  • leather goods CAD patternmaker
  • digital prototyper

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

83.2
Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 16.8 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 16.8 = 83.2

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

52.4
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, averaged across 3 US jobs

33.7
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 44.6 · hand skill 42.9 · cramped spaces 13.7 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on 50+ · fiddly under 39.4 Hands-on, less fiddly work

Less fine handwork and fewer cramped spaces than a typical hands-on job. That clears one hurdle for machines. It doesn't mean machines are doing this work yet.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

This number is probably too high

This score only looks at AI tools like chatbots. It doesn't look at robots at all — and this job rates 52.4 out of 100 for how hands-on it is, which is exactly where robots come in.

Have a look at the tasks below and judge for yourself. The ILO scored them low because a chatbot can't do them. Whether a machine with hands could is a different question, and we can't answer it yet.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 25, while the average is 16.8. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 25

    Creating the blueprint or pattern pieces for a particular apparel design with the aid of a computer

    Low
  2. 25

    Calculating dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material

    Low
  3. 22

    Drawing details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes on garments, decorative stitching on shoe parts or eyelets on canvas products using computers or drafting instruments

    Very Low
  4. 16.5

    Testing patterns by making and fitting sample garments

    Very Low
  5. 15.3

    Positioning templates or measuring materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields and mark fabric accordingly

    Very Low
  6. 15

    Creating a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, and/or grading devices

    Very Low
  7. 15

    Performing patternmaking, marking and cutting tasks in the manufacture of other products such as soft furnishings and canvas goods.

    Very Low
  8. 14

    Placing patterns on top of layers of fabric and cutting fabric following patterns, using electric or manual knives, cutters or computer numerically controlled cutting devices

    Very Low
  9. 14

    Cutting fabric or fur pelts to make parts for garments and other fur articles

    Very Low
  10. 13.5

    Laying out master pattern on fabric and cutting sample pattern

    Very Low
  11. 13.5

    Positioning leather on cutting bed of machine, maximizing usage according to skin grain, skin flaws and skin stretch

    Very Low
  12. 13

    Trimming excess material or cutting threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of a finished product

    Very Low

12 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

One Australian job matches, but only partly: not everyone in it does this job. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you
60
AI does it for you
27

Helping wins by 33 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 3932

Compared with similar jobs

There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” group, averaging 83.5. This one is below that.