Hi Sylvia:
I've worked with a professional grader, and it was very easy and
surprisingly inexpensive. I sent her digital files, but you can also
send them paper patterns. If the grader works with a computer
program, as most of them do these days, you or she can have the paper
patterns digitized by a mail in service for a few dollars.
Unless you have absolutely top-notch patternmaking skills, it's
worthwhile to pay a patternmaker (sometimes the same person/business
as the grader, sometimes not) to clean up your patterns and make them
more efficient for the grading process.
If you google "Pattern Grading Service" you'll find quite a few.
You'll probably have to make a number of phone calls to find one that
wants to work with you. Most of them are geared to garment production
patterns, which are very different from home sewing patterns. A lot
of them don't want to work on a small scale, but there are some out
there who will.
I can't make any recommendations of specific services, as my previous
grader has closed her business while she gets her own fashion line off
the ground. I'm working with a new one but haven't yet seen the
results, so I don't feel ready to make a recommendation.
Be aware that there is at least one pattern grading service out there
that's marketing to new designers, and they are charging rates that
are more than TEN TIMES the norm.
Here's an excellent blog post about grading services:
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/how_to_hire_a_pattern_grading_service/
Good luck!
Margo Anderson
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