STM Article Repository

The purpose of the study was to compare pattern cutting skills taught in Teacher Education
Universities in Ghana with what were used in local small scale garment industries. Fifty small scale
entrepreneurs in six regions of Ghana were purposively selected to demonstrate how to take body
measurements and cut patterns for a lady’s fitting dress. Measurement and pattern cutting procedures
used by the garment producers were found to be different from what were taught at the Universities.
All the demonstrators marked the measurements on their fabrics and cut the garments direct without
paper patterns (freehand cutting). Their allowances for seams, hems and openings were larger than
those in instructions for teaching at the Universities. Reasons for the demonstrators’ use of freehand
cutting method were that: Cutting instructions were fewer and easier to commit into memory, making
the process fast and the best option for the Ghanaian market’s increasing demand for new and
fashionable custom-made garments; the pattern drafting method entailed a lot of work which attracted
high charges their clients could not pay; drafted patterns did not produce fitting garments for many of
their clients; freehand cutting was the most cost effective option; deep turnings for hems and seams
were allowed in freehand cutting for future changes in design, figure and use. To the garment
producers, making and keeping patterns of their clients for future use was not necessary, because
girth measurement changes of Ghanaian women were very frequent. To bridge the gap between skill
training in pattern cutting in the University and industrial practice, it is recommended that the
University should involve entrepreneurs in the Garment Industry in their curriculum development and
skill training.