The CLO3D feature nobody talks about enough

One of the hardest things about being a new designer, Reader, is learning about fabric.

Unless you went to fashion school, where do you even find that information? There aren't a lot of classes out there. And most of what you learn ends up being through trial and error which usually means expensive mistakes at the sampling stage.

This is one of the reasons I really appreciate CLO3D, and I think this benefit gets overlooked.

In CLO you can choose fabric from an extensive library, update the physical properties of an existing fabric, create your own fabric with the fabric generator, or download fabric from the CLO marketplace. And then you get to see exactly what that fabric does to your design on a body. Before you buy a single yard.

For emerging designers especially, that's huge. Fabric is expensive. Sampling is expensive. Finding out at the sample stage that your fabric choice isn't working the way you imagined? That's a painful and costly lesson.

I'll be honest. I often design before I even have my fabric. Not all the time, but often enough that people think I'm crazy. The thing is, I still have a fabric in mind. So when I go to the fabric store I have a plan for what I'm looking for. And part of the reason that plan exists is because I've already been able to test the idea in CLO first. It takes so much of the guesswork out of it.

Now, 3D doesn't replace touching fabric. I'm never going to tell you to skip the swatching process. But being able to test your ideas digitally before you commit to cutting and sewing saves time, money, and a whole lot of frustration.

This is actually one of the things we get into in my CLO3D for the Fashion Designer course. Not just how to use the software but how to use it to make better design decisions before you spend a dollar on sampling.

I just relaunched the course this week after shutting it down for a while to give it a serious update. If you've been curious about CLO3D or tried to learn on your own and hit a wall, the door is open. Sign up today!

Talk soon,

Mikelle