Our Poppy Pattern Testers

Pattern testing is one of my favorite parts of developing each pattern – it’s the first time anyone outside of the production process sees it which is always both nerve wracking and very exciting.

We had an amazing group of testers for the Poppy Dress – and today I’m sharing their projects! Testing is first and foremost about the fit and usability of the pattern and it’s a bonus that our testers are excited enough about the pattern to share!

For each round of testing our members have 4 weeks minimum to complete their test garment and issue feedback. It's important to me that our testers have plenty of time to think through their garment, get any fabric or notions they might need, and provide the thoughtful feedback we've been so lucky to get so far.

Once testers are chosen, we create a group space where we can chat and easily share files and images and this is my favorite part! Not only seeing what types of fabrics people are using, but also getting the first glimpse at things we've missed or hadn't anticipated is always really interesting.

Our testers are always provided a pattern that has already been professionally drafted, fit, graded, and tech edited. To me their job isn't to do our work for us, but to see that we've done our work properly. Of course there are times that issues are uncovered and in those instances we go back to whatever point we need to in the production process.

It can take a bit post-testing for the actual pattern to be released since we need to finalize any edits, have the pattern re-tech edited if needed, etc. We also never have a photo shoot before the pattern has been completely finalized in case any changes need to be made. For the Poppy we wrapped pattern testing at the end of July and just now released the pattern.

I hope you've enjoyed our testers garments and learned a bit about our testing process as well. If you'd like to get involved in testing a Grainline pattern, keep an eye on our Instagram, if we're looking for additional testers for a specific pattern we'll give a shoutout there!