If you're designing lingerie or swimwear, there's one essential tool that can save you time, money, and a whole lot of guesswork: garment blocks.
Garment blocks are your blueprint. They're the tried and tested foundations of your designs - core shapes that you know deliver on the three key pillars of a great product: fit, comfort and quality. Once you've nailed those in a bra, brief or bikini top, you don't want to start from scratch every time. You want to build on that success. That's where block development, and a well-managed block library, comes into play.
Creating a block means you've already put in the hard work - pattern drafting, fitting, grading, testing, and received customer feedback. Once it's dialled in, that block becomes a reusable asset. You can adapt it with new design details, fabrications or finishes without redoing the entire development process. This makes your workflow smoother, faster and more cost-effective.
Customers value consistency. If they've purchased a bra from you that fits perfectly and feels great, chances are they'll want to buy it again, maybe in a new colour, a seasonal print, or a limited-edition fabric. A solid garment block allows you to give them that same trusted shape with a fresh twist. You're not just selling them a new product, you're giving them a new version of something they already love.
The more confident your customer feels about fit, the less hesitation they have at checkout. If they already know how your product fits and feels, they're far more likely to return to purchase again. Garment blocks help you build trust. Think about it like this: the shape stays the same, but the story changes - today it's a stretch lace, tomorrow it's a bold embroidery, next month it's a deep seasonal colour. The customer doesn't need to re-evaluate. They already know it works.
Consistency in fit helps define your brand. When customers know they can rely on your sizing and silhouette then it becomes part of your brand promise. That kind of reliability is powerful and rare. Blocks help you maintain that standard across collections and over time.
Having a well-organised block library gives your team a toolkit to pull from again and again. You're not just designing one-off pieces; you're building a scalable, reliable product line with a strong foundation. But maintaining that foundation takes discipline.
It's too easy for new ideas, whether from designers, buyers or merch teams, to slowly drift away from the original block. A little tweak here, a new feature there, and suddenly the product no longer fits or feels like the one your customer fell in love with. That's where vigilant garment techs come in. The best ones know their blocks inside out and act as guardians of consistency. They understand that every tiny tweak, if not closely monitored, can pull the final garment further from the original intent until you're left with something entirely different.
And while we're on the topic of employees, the reality is they come and go - sometimes unexpectedly. Without proper records and documentation, knowledge lives in people's heads, and when they leave, it leaves with them. However, when records are thorough and accurate, the next person can step in and pick up where the last left off with a clear framework to work within. This consistency ensures that all garment techs, regardless of who's in the role, are developing products against the same standards and expectations.
Furthermore, from a business perspective, a comprehensive block library is a crucial tool for manufacturing continuity. The reality of garment production is that brands often shift manufacturing across different factories for logistical or cost reasons. If you don't own your intellectual property (your blocks, spec sheets, fabric sources) then you're essentially starting from zero each time. A well-documented block library makes those transitions smoother and far more successful. But if you can't trace where your fabric came from or which block was used for a particular fit, then replicating that product at a new factory becomes a game of trial and error, often with inconsistent, disappointing results.
A great example of consistency done well is Lululemon. Many people have a pair of their leggings that they absolutely love and buy on repeat. It's well known that their pieces last a long time, but when it finally comes time to repurchase, customers trust that the product will still exist and feel just as good. That's not just good design; it's operational discipline. A solid block library supports that kind of long-term trust.
I'm not going to lie, collecting and maintaining the data takes discipline, even when moving factories isn't on the horizon. But the brands that invest in that level of organisation are the ones that scale successfully, launch with confidence and build trust with both customers and manufacturers alike.
If you're ready to establish your garment blocks or need help building out a block library that supports your brand's growth, get in touch. I'd love to help you build a collection that's smart, streamlined and customer-loved.
