At the time of writing (October 2026), AI pattern makers such as Ourlette draft the garments that come from standard flat-pattern blocks: skirts of every shape, dresses with any bodice and skirt, T-shirts, woven tops and shirts with a collar on a stand, sweatshirts and hoodies, trousers from pull-on to fly-front jeans and chinos, jackets and coats from a denim jacket to a lined bomber, and accessories such as bags, hats and cushion covers. Those are the tested garments, because each type was programmed as a block with its own rules and checked by people. Some tools, Ourlette among them, now also draft tailored blazers with notched lapels, corsets, lingerie and swimwear with an AI pattern maker, but as new patterns that have not been sewn and tested on real bodies: sew a toile first, and expect very structured tailoring, underwired bras and boned corsetry to need adjustments by an experienced sewist. Knitting patterns are a different craft and out of scope.
How does an AI pattern maker decide what it can draft?
Most tools work in two stages. The AI reads your photo or words and recognizes the garment: a knee-length A-line skirt, a boxy blouse with puff sleeves, wide pull-on trousers. Then a drafting engine, which is ordinary pattern-making code, draws the pieces from a pattern block with your measurements and the right ease. The engine only knows the garment types someone has written rules for, so in a catalogue-only tool the AI picks the closest one from that library. On its Maker and Atelier plans, Ourlette sends anything outside its catalogue to an AI pattern maker that drafts each piece on the same blocks and checks every seam in code; its Free plan suggests the closest tested models and Community patterns instead.
That is why the honest answer to "can it draft X?" has two parts: is X in the tested list, and if not, how is a new draft checked? The two-stage drafting process post explains both routes in detail; the list below is what a library of this kind covers today.
Which garments are in the library?
The library below is Ourlette's tested catalogue: 36 garment types, four of them builders that combine parts freely. Other tools have longer or shorter lists, but the categories are similar, because they follow the same blocks taught in pattern-making courses.
| Family | Garments | Options you can ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Skirts | A-line, circle, gathered and tiered, pencil, wrap, build your own | Length from mini to maxi; full, three-quarter, half or quarter circle; tiers; waistband with zip or elastic |
| Dresses | Shift, fit-and-flare, slip, shirt dress, build your own | Neckline or collar, sleeves of any length or straps, A-line, gathered, circle, pleated or tiered skirt, pockets, back zip, keyhole or button front |
| Tops | T-shirt and tank, woven top and blouse, button-up shirt, camp shirt, build your own | Fit from fitted to oversized, neckline or collar (shirt collar on a stand, camp, Peter Pan…), sleeve length and shape, cuffs, yokes, button, zip or wrap front |
| Sweats | Sweatshirt and hoodie | Crew neck with ribbing or lined hood, kangaroo pocket, fit, length |
| Trousers | Pull-on trousers, pull-on shorts, jeans, chinos, build your own | Wide, straight, tapered or jogger leg; length; elastic waist or fly front; patch, slant or welt pockets |
| Jackets | Kimono, trucker, chore and bomber jackets, trucker vest, waistcoat, build-your-own jacket or coat | Collar, buttons, snaps or zip, set-in, raglan or two-piece sleeves, patch, flap or welt pockets, lining, length down to a coat |
| Objects | Tote bag, drawstring bag, zip pouch, bucket hat, scrunchie, headband, cushion cover, apron | Dimensions, lining, handles, inside pocket, reversible hat |
Within each type the options are what make the difference between a plain shift and a dress that looks like the one in your picture. Browse the pattern pages to see every option of every garment with its drawing.
Which garments are still hard for AI pattern makers?
Be clear-eyed about these, because they are exactly the garments people most want to copy, and the ones where a new, untested draft is most likely to need work.
- Tailored blazers. A blazer needs a two-piece sleeve, a collar with a stand and fall, a lapel with a roll line, chest shaping, canvas or fusible structure, and a lining drafted to match. Two-piece sleeves and linings are in Ourlette's tested catalogue for jackets and coats; the notched lapel with its roll line and the canvas are not, so an AI-drafted blazer is a starting point to test in a toile, and a canvassed coat may need adjustments by an experienced sewist.
- Corsets. Boning channels, a busk or lacing, many close-fitted panels and negative ease at the waist make a corset a different draft from a fitted bodice, and boned corsetry may need adjustments by hand.
- Lingerie and swimwear. These need stretch-specific blocks with negative ease, elastic application rules and cup shaping. Underwired bras are the hardest and may need adjustments by hand.
- Knitwear. A knitting pattern is a different craft; a sewn garment in a knit fabric (a T-shirt, a sweatshirt) is fine.
When you upload one of these, a careful tool tells you which route it took. A catalogue-only tool offers the closest garment: a blazer becomes a lined jacket with a jacket collar and no lapels, a corset top a fitted top with princess seams. On the Maker and Atelier plans, Ourlette drafts the blazer itself with its AI pattern maker, in 4 to 8 minutes, checking every seam on three sizes and having a second AI pattern maker review the draft. Either way, knowing before you start saves the fabric: a toile tells you whether a new draft works. The what AI cannot do in sewing post goes through the other limits, such as fit checks and fabric behavior.
Can an AI draft a garment with an unusual detail?
It depends on whether the detail is an option or a new construction. Length, neckline, sleeve length, fit, skirt fullness and pockets are options: changing them redraws the pattern. A yoke, a collar with a stand, a bound buttonhole or a welt pocket is a construction that must exist in the block of a catalogue garment. If it does not, the garment is drafted without it and you add the detail yourself, using a technique guide such as how to sew a yoke or the welt pocket tutorial, or you ask for a new design that includes it, which Ourlette's AI pattern maker drafts as an untested pattern.
A good test before you rely on any tool: describe the detail in words and see whether the pattern changes. If nothing moves, the detail is not supported.
Is the list growing?
Yes, in two ways. Adding a tested garment still means writing a block and sewing it, so catalogues grow a few garments at a time, usually the ones users ask for most. And AI pattern makers now draft garments outside the catalogue directly, as new patterns that need a toile. If you want a tested pattern for a garment that is missing today, the practical options are to sew the closest one from the library and alter it, to draft that piece yourself from a book or course, or to buy a conventional pattern for that one garment. The comparison of AI drafting with drafting by hand weighs the time each takes.
What does "draft" mean in practice?
For the garments it covers, a drafting engine produces the full pattern: every piece with seam allowances, grainlines, notches and cut counts, plus the fabric quantities and the order of construction. Ourlette, for instance, includes 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowances on wovens and 1 cm (3/8 in) on knits by default, and prints at true scale on A4, Letter, A3, A0 or to a projector file. That is the same output you would get from a traditional pattern, drafted to your measurements rather than to a size chart. What it does not do is fit the garment on your body; a toile remains your job.