How to become a Garment Pattern Maker
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 服装制版师
Also called: Cut and Sew Pattern Maker, Knitwear Pattern Maker
Makes garment patterns with tape measures, scissors, dress forms and computer software, or writes knitting programs for fully fashioned knitwear.
Main tasks
- Setting the measurements for patterns from design drawings and sample specifications
- Making style patterns with tape measures, dress forms, scissors and special software, or writing knitting programs for samples
- Adjusting base patterns or knitting programs to how the sample actually looks
- Checking and marking making up requirements on patterns and making patterns or programs for mass production
- Grading patterns to each size with special software to make full sets of production patterns or programs
Ways in
- Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Fashion Design and Technology (480402). Vocational major 480402 Fashion Design and Technology (服装设计与工艺), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Fashion Visual Merchandising.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Garment Making and Production Management (680406). Vocational major 680406 Garment Making and Production Management (服装制作与生产管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Fashion Visual Merchandising.
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥54,900 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥44,200 to CN¥68,600. One in ten earn less than CN¥35,600 and one in ten more than CN¥87,300.
- This is the figure for the mid group Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products Workers, not for this job alone.
- National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
- Guangzhou only: median CN¥73,005 a year (2025), middle half CN¥63,662 to CN¥100,463.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- The census group Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products Workers holds 2.43% of everyone employed in China; 64.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 36% are under 35, 57% are 35 to 54 and 6.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
- Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Garment Pattern Maker?
Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Fashion Design and Technology (480402); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Garment Making and Production Management (680406).
How much does a Garment Pattern Maker earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥54,900 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥73,005 a year (2025).
Will AI change the work of a Garment Pattern Maker?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
- Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.
Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.
Updated 5 October 2026