Chile to Canada, Language Instruction to Pattern Making

Daniela Gutierrez-Diaz has immersed herself into design. Getting there, however, has been a journey from Chile to Mission, British Columbia, Canada.
Gutierrez-Diaz is originally from Chile, but has lived in Canada since 2009. She started her work life not in design, but in language instruction. “I have a BA in Education and I used to teach English as a Foreign language. After a few attempts in the ESL area, I decided to move into something more creative, something that I can do at home because I was expecting my first child.”
Making clothes and selling them on Etsy became a focus for Gutierrez-Diaz. That was only the beginning. “Soon, I realized I wanted to create different things and challenge myself in the design area more than in the manufacturing process of making a garment. That is why I started On the Cutting Floor, an online pattern store in which I provide free sewing patterns for beginners and intermediate level sewists.”
Before PatternMaker, Gutierrez-Diaz used Inskape, an opensource program that emulates illustrator capabilities. But, says Gutierrez-Diaz, “I always know that in order to professionalize my work and make my patterns stand out in the crowd I needed to invest in a pattern making software.”
That led Gutierrez-Diaz to PatternMaker. Of the change, Gutierrez-Diaz said “It was very easy to adapt my work to PatternMaker.”
She has found several benefits from PatternMaker. “It speeds up the process about three times what it was before, plus I know for sure the patterns are up to industry standards. That gives me the confidence to start selling my PDF patterns on the market and increase my income through it.”
“PatternMaker helps me with the way the pattern pieces are put together. The way it is tiled and easy to print in different paper formats makes it easier for my customers to understand and use.”
For design, Gutierrez-Diaz says “PatternMaker has opened new possibilities to me. It presents an easy way to create the basics and add to them in any way you want. It has helped me to understand the process of designing a garment faster than ever before.”