Fl Studio Pattern Blocks

I would pretty much always prefer to manually sequence a vibrato using slides than use an LFO. God, there’s way too many awesome FL features to list. I’m going to forget tons. I definitely couldn’t live without Parametric EQ 2. Its visual component is absolutely irreplaceable. The new playlist, that eliminates pattern blocks, is incredible. Pattern blocks are also another tool that preschool teachers might use to show more intricate patterns and designs. If you are unfamiliar with pattern blocks, basically they are a set of plastic learning manipulatives that come in 6 different shapes: hexagon, trapezoid, square, triangle, parallelogram and rhombus, each with a different color. This is how you’ll know if FL Studio is registered or not. As you can see, my FL Studio is registered to my name! To activate FL Studio the new way and unlock the full version, Left Click Help in the top left toolbar inside FL Studio, and select About at the very bottom. You can also press F10 (Settings), and the About tab will be on the far.

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1. Making Your Personal Pattern Block

You're ready to make your pattern block!

Using the final fitted muslin, you'll transfer all of your corrections to paper, and then make a cardstock basic block pattern that you'll use again and again to create your new designs. And they'll fit! Hooray!

By now you have assembled your fitting muslin and fit it on yourself or on your body form.

This is my fitting pattern muslin. Overall, it fits the form pretty well.

Take another look to see if anything is still tight, droopy, or uneven. This is your last chance to fix it, so you'll never have to fix it again.

What I found on my dress, unfortunately, is that the side seams on the bodice and skirt did not line up properly, and overall the seam was was not straight.

The red lines indicate the seams as sewn on the final version of the dress. The black line is the corrected seam line. I will make these corrections as I transfer the markings to the paper pattern.

First, take the muslin dress apart along the stitch lines (make sure all stitching lines are clearly marked before taking the dress apart).

Then, trim the pieces along the FINAL, corrected seam lines/dart lines. There should be NO seam allowance on these pieces.

On the sleeve cap, I did not cut the sleeve along the alteration line; I will make that adjustment to the paper pattern.

On the back, I pinned the bodice to shorten it; again, I will make the same folded adjustment to the paper pattern.

After trimming the muslin pieces, lay the muslin piece over the corresponding paper pattern and transfer all seam lines, darts, and other markings made during the fittings. Then trim the paper pattern, as you did the muslin pieces.

The photo at right shows the back bodice laid over the paper pattern (use a ruler to draw straight lines onto the paper pattern). The front bodice (on the left) has already been trimmed.

On the sleeve cap, I measured the distance between the marked lines where I pinched out the excess fullness.

I then removed the same amount (about 1/2') from the top of the sleeve cap on the paper pattern.

If you drafted your block from measurements instead of using a commercial fitting pattern, the process is the same. Use your muslin to transfer your fit adjustments to your paper (drafted) pattern before proceeding to the cardstock tracing.

Before transferring the paper pattern to cardstock to make the pattern block, check that all the pieces fit together.

Tape any darts closed where they meet the seams you are checking. Here, I have taped the side bust dart closed to check the side seams. The waist darts can remain open at this point.

Lining up the front and back bodice at the side seam, I see that the sides are uneven at the waist. I'll add a piece of paper to the front bodice to correct the problem.

Using the same process, I've taped together the waist darts on the bodice and skirt patterns (releasing the bust dart so the pieces lay as flat as possible).

On the front, the bodice and skirt do not match at the waist. This is a reflection of the problem we saw when the final dress was on the form.

I need to add to the bodice side, mostly at the waist, and tapering to nothing at the armhole.To do this, I simply tape a piece of paper to the pattern and re-draw the line.

The black line on the dress photo, near the top of this page, indicates that the side seam of the bodice needed to be moved back. This is the resulting pattern correction.

Once you've checked all of your pieces to make sure that the seams match and everything fits together, you can transfer the tissue pattern to cardstock for your re-useable pattern block.

Plain white (or light-colored) cardstock is available at craft stores, or the craft section of your sewing center.

Lay the tissue pattern on the cardstock and carefully trace it onto the cardstock. Use a ruler for straight lines and carefully draw curves free-hand (or use a curved ruler, if you'd like).

Do NOT add seam allowances. It is easier to add style lines when you design a new style when there are no seam allowances on the basic block. You'll add seam allowances to your final sewing pattern.

After tracing the tissue pattern onto cardstock, transfer all markings - dart lines, grain lines, notches, dots for marking ease placement, etc.

Also mark center front (CF) and center back (CB) on the bodice and skirt, and the shoulder point on the sleeve cap.

Finally, write the name of the pieced (such as 'Bodice Back'), and any other information you think you will need as you work with the pattern.

I like to add the date (bodies change over time!), and sometimes other notes (such as 'no seam allowance', just to remind me when I'm using the block!).

Finally, cut out the pattern piece, cutting out the darts as well as along the stitch lines. It is much easier to trace the pattern and place the darts when they are cut out of the pattern block.

Now the fun begins - you can design almost anything you want, and use the block pattern to create a sewing pattern for that style.

But first - there's one more block you might want to make.

Personally, I seldom wear anything as fitted as the fitting dress (especially the bodice). So, for convenience in making blouses and tops, you can use your block pattern to make a torso or blouse/top block. It's essentially your introduction to using your block and manipulating it to make a new pattern.

Ready to start?Let's make a blouse block!

• A Beginner's Guide to Drafting a Dress Block
  
• Full Bust Adjustment
  
• Fitting the Pants - Final Fitting
  
• A Beginner's Guide to Drafting a Pant Block
• The Importance of Sewing Darts
  
• Pattern Grading
  

Need More Help with Fitting Issues?

The examples on this site reflect MY fitting issues and how I resolved them. YOUR body is likely very different.

But, since this is a site about MAKING patterns and not specifically about fitting, I'm not going to address other fit issues here. And believe me, there are others who can address this issue better than me.

Any of the books listed below will help you achieve good fit. You can use the techniques on any pattern; but why make the same corrections over an over again? Apply the principles to your block, and the fit corrections YOU need will be automatically built in to every pattern you make!

I can recommend any of the following books to help you achieve good fit, no matter what your size or shape. I own or have used almost all of the books on this list, and have been pleased with how they address fit problems.

Click on the images, below, to go to the item in Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps to keep this site free for your use. You are free to search Amazon for these or other similar items without using the affiliate links on this page.

• Pattern Fitting With Confidence- Written by the late Nancy Zieman, host of the TV series 'Sewing with Nancy'. She provides a straightforward, down-to-earth approach to sewing and fitting. Very user-friendly.

• The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting- I love this book!!! So wonderfully illustrated with photos, using commercial patterns to demonstrate the pattern alterations. It addresses almost any fit problem you might have. So easy to understand and follow!

• Sewing for Plus Sizes - Creating Clothes that Fit and Flatter - A great book for Plus sizes! As a woman gets larger, it's not just the measurements that change - our overall proportions shift, too. This book addresses the different body types and proportions you commonly see in larger women. Truly helpful for larger women.

Return to Clothing Patterns 101 Home Page

FLStudio does things in a way which can seem a bit strange to anyone used to another DAW, so the very first thing in a review is to cover how FLStudio does things.

FLStudio’s workflow is most certainly different, but I think that you’ll find that it offers a lot of flexibility that’s not present in other DAWs. The question is whether you’re willing to pay for that flexibility by having to re-arrange how your brain works…

Or if you’re a new DAW user, there’s really no downside.

p.s. I forgot to mention in the announcement (I’ve edited it now) that this review is being done with a free NFR copy of FLStudio and all Image Line products.

Other posts in this series:

FLStudio has 4 main elements:

• Channel Rack - This is where all of your sound generators (instruments and samplers) are stored along with automation clips.
• Patterns - A pattern contains information that controls the channel rack. I’ll explain this more later.
• Playlist - this is where you sequence patterns.
• Mixer - Channels are routed to the mixer.

This may seem a bit confusing at first if you’re used to another DAW, but this is a more explicit method of representing how routing in DAWs happens.

Let’s dive a bit deeper…

All of your sound generating data is stored in the channel rack. So each synth, each piece of audio (which is in samplers) and each automation clip permanently resides in the channel rack.

From there you need a way to make those channels do something. That’s where patterns come in. A pattern is a set of data that tells each channel what to do. A pattern does not need to control each channel, but instead it can decide to only send data to a single channel. You could have a pattern that only sends data to the kick, or that sends data to the kick/snare/hats, or to all of the drums and bass etc…

When a pattern triggers, the channels make noise, but the noise needs to go somewhere! Each channel can be assigned to a mixer routing. The channels do not need to be assigned to mixer channels in order, it’s totally arbitrary. Multiple channels can be assigned to the same mixer channel.

Now we have a pattern that makes channels send data to the mixer, but how does a pattern know when to play? That’s what the playlist is for. The playlist is where you sequence patterns. Any pattern can go to any playlist track, and any pattern can trigger at any time, even multiple of the same pattern at the same time. There’s no real limits.

However, take a look at Pattern 2 on the second and third playlist track. Patterns (but not audio) are monophonic, so when the overlapping Pattern 2 starts then the first Pattern 2 is muted. When Pattern 2 on the first track starts, Pattern 2 on track three is muted. This does not apply to audio clips though, as they can overlap without issue.

Audio is quite an interesting topic in FLStudio.

In other DAWs, audio is placed inside items/regions/clips/soundbites/whatever and positioned in a track. The audio is triggered when the beginning of the clip is reached, and stops at the end of the clip.

FLStudio takes the abstraction of audio out further a bit, and makes it far more flexible to work with. All audio in FLStudio is stored in samplers. There’s a couple samplers to work with, which I’ll cover at another time.

So when you place audio in your playlist, it looks like any other DAW, but the audio is not simply playing at the start of the clip. The start of the clip is triggering a sampler. This is important to realize, you can treat audio clips just like any other DAW. They show on the track like a single clip, but if you want you can also treat the audio like it’s in a sampler… because it is.

Other DAWs implicitly have your audio in a very simple sampler. The beginning of the clip triggers the audio and it plays output to the track.

FLStudio explicitly has your audio in a sampler, which gives you all of the benefits of a sampler. The sound warping, editing, slicing, scripting etc.. features are all available without needing to jump to a sound-file editor of some sort. All of these capabilities are present live as well, and automatable because it’s in a sampler instrument!

Patterns I think are probably the most confusing thing if you are coming from another DAW, but it’s actually rather simple.

A pattern controls control data for each channel. A pattern can control every channel in the project as you wish. You can basically think of them as “mini-projects” where you have the whole arsenal of your project at your disposal if you wish.

Most users will opt to use patterns to only use one or a few channels at a time though, like in the image above. In the displayed pattern, the only thing being controlled is the Bassline channel. When this pattern is played, the MIDI data in that pattern for that channel is activated and the Bassline is played.

If you wanted, you could create your entire track in one pattern. You can split your drums out to multiple channels (and multiple mixer tracks), but program them all in a single pattern, or have a pattern for each element.

The playlist is where the action happens when you’re in “song mode”.

In the playlist you sequence your patterns. Audio files are optionally treated similarly to patterns, so you can place them as you wish. Automation clips can be sequenced here as well.

Tracks in the playlist are not tied to mixer tracks. The playlist does nothing but sequence. Your channels are assigned to mixer tracks. You can sequence patterns however you want, they will still output to the mixer track that the triggered channel outputs to.

Kick Patterns Fl Studio

The playlist is where FLStudio gets a reputation for being a “beat oriented” or “electronic music oriented” DAW. Thusfar I feel that this is a strange reputation, largely because audio files can be placed and used on tracks how you may do it in a traditional linear DAW environment, except you have significantly more flexibility.

Patterns and Audio Files and Automation Clips can have their lengths/starts adjusted how you may expect. You can slice them. You can quantize them. You can do most of the things that you’d expect.

Written automation in FLStudio takes 2 forms: Automation Clips and Event Data.

Automation clips are like patterns, which have their own channels, that have control data for a parameter. You can paint this in the playlist just like a pattern. Automation clips are not linked to a pattern, so they can be used at any time in the playlist irrespective of the current playing pattern.

Event data is linked to the current pattern. This is what you may think of as “traditional automation”. You write control data for a parameter and it’s part of the pattern, so it only acts when the pattern acts.

Fl Studio Pattern Blocks For Beginners

There’s a problem here though: the event editor sucks.

The most prominent issue is that it’s difficult to find automation. First you have to find the pattern that has the data (since multiple patterns may be controlling a channel at once!), then you have to hunt around to find the parameter’s event. You can do it from the browser (find the pattern, click, then find the parameter), or you can open the channel->synth/sampler with the parameter and access it via right click or ‘last tweaked parameter’.

The second issue is that the event editor is pretty poor. It’s a bar-graph style editor, much unlike the line/bezier based automation clips. It’s difficult to set exact values, you can’t see the exact values, there’s very few tools for adjusting the curve and there’s no thinning control (but there is interpolation and auto smoothing).

The event-based automation is the only way you can record automation, but if you wish to edit that data then you are in for a disappointment. You can convert event data to automation clips, but then you lose the pattern-link if you want that.

There’s some other sore spots with automation if you don’t use automation clips, but I’ll probably get there later. There’s also another way to adjust controls automatically in realtime, and that’s something we’ll definitely get to.

Coming from a traditional linear DAW environment, FLStudio can be quite strange. Having to manually handle routing from sound generators to the mixer, and link MIDI data to sound generators seems weird. Other DAWs do this all automatically for you when you put data on a track.

Fl Studio Pattern Blocks

The complexity is managed by some shortcuts that make this routing nearly automatic, but you are still afforded a great deal of flexibility in how you utilize your data.

This whole setup does complicate the process of recording data yourself, such as audio or MIDI or automation, but at most it’s one extra step. Once again this added movement is paid for by a lot of extra flexibility in how you route things, when things occur and where they are stored.

Drum Patterns Fl Studio

And yeah… event editing (recorded automation). What a mess.

Export Patterns Fl Studio

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