• 60 page ideas

Fashion Sketchbook Ideas, One Page at a Time

Three pages for a fashion design sketchbook per press, each with how to lay it out.

Fashion Sketchbook Ideas, One Page at a Time

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  1. A print designed as a repeat1 page. Draw one tile, copy it into a grid of nine, and check that the edges join.
  2. A page split in two: what you saw, what it became1 page. Rule it down the middle. The source goes on the left and the design on the right.
  3. A swatch pocket made from an envelope1 page. Glue a small envelope into a corner, flap outward, and draw its contents on the front.

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All 60 page ideas

Research and mood 12

  • A colour story as a strip of painted swatches 1 page. Paint six swatches in a column down the left edge and write one word beside each.
  • A mood board drawn by hand instead of pasted 2 pages. Sketch nine small boxes of things that share a feeling: a door, a leaf, a tile, a sky.
  • A page built around one found object 1 page. Tape or draw the object in the middle and pull four shapes out of it toward the corners.
  • A palette taken from one photo of a street 1 page. Five swatches in a row along the bottom, with the scene sketched small above them.
  • A word bank for the collection, hand lettered 1 page. Ten words down the middle in one alphabet, the strongest one three times larger.
  • Details noticed on a walk: a cuff, a hood, a strap 1 page. Five small sketches of one detail each, drawn from memory at home. No faces.
  • Fastenings collected: buttons, hooks, ties, zippers 1 page. Rule twelve boxes and draw one closing in each, shut and open where there is room.
  • Five textures rubbed from things in the room 1 page. Lay the page over each surface, rub with a soft pencil, and label where each came from.
  • One building turned into a garment shape 2 pages. Building on the left, its outline lifted onto a figure on the right. Keep three lines the same.
  • One fabric drawn close up as a texture 1 page. Fill a palm-sized square with the weave, then a second square at twice the scale.
  • Pleats, gathers and folds studied from a real cloth 1 page. Pin a dish towel to the wall three ways and draw each fold with as few lines as it takes.
  • Stripes, checks and spots tried in a single colour 1 page. Nine squares in a grid, a different print in each, all in the same one colour.

Figures and silhouettes 12

  • A croquis template to trace through the next page 1 page. Ink one plain standing figure in firm lines so it shows through as a guide on the next page.
  • A row of croquis in one walking pose 1 page. Five quick figures on one ground line, each started from a single flowing centre line.
  • A silhouette cut out and used as a stencil 2 pages. Cut one outfit shape from card, draw around it four times, and alter one edge each time.
  • Cast shadows of dressed figures on a wall 1 page. Draw only the shadow of each outfit, stretched long. Hats and sleeves must still read.
  • Figures in ten strokes or fewer 1 page. Fill the page with small figures of ten strokes at most. Circle the three with most life.
  • Four poses that show a skirt moving 1 page. Standing, walking, turning, sitting. Let the hem do something different in each.
  • Front, side and back of one standing figure 1 page. Three figures on one ground line, heads level, the same outfit turned each time.
  • Hands in pockets, on hips, holding a bag 1 page. Six half-figures from waist to shoulder. The arm changes how the jacket hangs.
  • One pose dressed three ways 2 pages. Trace the same figure three times and change only the clothes: day, rain, evening.
  • The same walk seen coming and going 2 pages. Front view on the left page, back view on the right, feet on one line across the fold.
  • Seated figures for pants and long coats 1 page. Three seated poses on a box. Mark where the cloth pulls tight and where it pools.
  • Six outfits reduced to flat black shapes 1 page. Outline six different outfits small, then fill each in flat so only the shape reads.

Developing one idea 12

  • A detail enlarged in a circle beside the figure 1 page. Figure at the left. Circle a seam or cuff on it and repeat that circle large at the right.
  • A garment taken apart into its pattern pieces 2 pages. The finished piece on the left, each panel drawn apart on the right, arrows between.
  • A print designed as a repeat 1 page. Draw one tile, copy it into a grid of nine, and check that the edges join.
  • A sleeve from slim to full in five steps 1 page. Five arms in a row. Widen the sleeve a little each time and note where it gathers.
  • The front and back of one garment drawn flat 1 page. Two outlines side by side with no body inside, seams as thin lines, both the same height.
  • One accent colour moved to five places 1 page. Five small copies of one outfit. Put the accent on the collar, cuff, lining, belt, then hem.
  • One collar drawn six ways 1 page. Six necks in two rows on the same shoulders. Change only the collar's size, point and stand.
  • One idea pushed too far, then pulled back 2 pages. Start plain at the left, exaggerate step by step to the fold, then calm it on the right.
  • One pocket tried in eight positions 1 page. Eight small jacket outlines. Move the pocket up, down, across and tilted, then star two.
  • The same jacket in four fabrics 1 page. Four copies of one outline. Shade each for a different cloth: stiff, soft, shiny, rough.
  • Ten necklines on one bodice shape 1 page. Two rows of five. Keep the shoulders fixed and redraw only the line across the chest.
  • Trims tested along one hem 1 page. Draw the hem as six short strips and finish each differently: frill, fringe, binding, scallop.

Line-up and final pages 12

  • A colour card for the whole collection 1 page. Painted chips in the order they appear, wide for main colours and narrow for accents.
  • A contents page of what the book holds 1 page. List the sections down the left with a thumbnail of one page beside each.
  • A materials page: fabrics, colours and tools 1 page. A narrow column of names with a small drawn swatch for each. End with the pencil you used.
  • A running order numbered one to twelve 1 page. Twelve thumbnail figures in two rows, a number and a two-word name under each.
  • A title page for the collection 1 page. The name lettered large in the top third, one small figure below, the season in a corner.
  • Back views of the whole line-up 2 pages. Repeat the six looks from behind in the same order, each back under its own front.
  • Bags, shoes and hats matched to the looks 1 page. Rule a grid of nine and draw one accessory in each, numbered to match its outfit.
  • The best look drawn large, edge to edge 1 page. Let the figure fill the height of the page and run the hem off the bottom edge.
  • The line-up as flat blocks of colour with no outlines 1 page. Six outfits as plain shapes of colour, to check how the row reads from across a room.
  • One finished figure with its swatches and notes 1 page. Figure on the left two thirds. Three swatches and three short notes stacked at the right.
  • The opening look facing the closing look 2 pages. One figure per page, turned toward each other across the fold. They share one detail.
  • Six looks standing in a row 2 pages. Six figures on one ground line across the fold, evenly spaced, all the same height.

Layout 12

  • A border made from one motif of the collection 1 page. Repeat a button, stitch or print around the edge as a frame, then draw inside it.
  • A figure set off to one side with the rest left empty 1 page. Stand the figure on the right third. The left holds one line of lettering and nothing else.
  • A fold-out for a long line-up 2 pages. Tape a strip of paper to the outer edge so it folds in, and carry the ground line onto it.
  • A grid of nine small design drawings 1 page. Rule three rows of three. One idea per box, the same view in each, so they compare.
  • A page split in two: what you saw, what it became 1 page. Rule it down the middle. The source goes on the left and the design on the right.
  • A strip of tiny sketches along the bottom edge 2 pages. Rule a band across both pages and fill it left to right, from first thought to last.
  • A swatch pocket made from an envelope 1 page. Glue a small envelope into a corner, flap outward, and draw its contents on the front.
  • A tracing-paper overlay that adds a layer 1 page. Draw the figure, tape tracing paper along the top edge, and draw the coat on the overlay.
  • A wide margin kept for notes 1 page. Rule a line a thumb's width from the outer edge. Drawings stay inside it, notes outside.
  • Headers lettered the same on every spread 2 pages. Choose one alphabet and one spot, top left. Letter this spread's title, then the next.
  • One large figure with close-ups at the corners 1 page. Figure in the middle. Four corner boxes hold a detail each, joined to it by a thin line.
  • Page numbers and a key of three marks 1 page. Number the corners from here on and invent three small marks: keep, change, drop.

How it works

Fashion sketchbook ideas for the book itself: research pages, figure pages, pages that push one idea, line-ups and layouts. Each says how many pages it fills and where things go. Garments to draw are on another list.

Read the full guide

Fashion sketchbook layout ideas

Layout is about where things sit: a wide margin kept for notes, a grid of nine small design drawings, one large figure with close-ups at the corners. A croquis is the quick figure the clothes are drawn over. A flat is a garment drawn with no body inside.

Fashion sketchbook presentation ideas

Line-up and final pages is what someone else will look at: six looks standing in a row, a title page for the collection, one finished figure with its swatches and notes. Keep one ground line and one figure height across the whole row.

  • Draw one plain figure in ink and trace it through thin pages. The clothes change. The pose does not have to.
  • Number the pages early. A line-up is easier to plan when each look can point back to its research page.

Questions and answers

What goes in a fashion design sketchbook?

Research, figures, development and final pages. These fashion design sketchbook ideas cover each: a colour story as a strip of painted swatches, one pose dressed three ways, a sleeve from slim to full in five steps.

What is a croquis?

In fashion it is a quick sketch of a figure with a loose drawing of the clothes being designed. Designers often make many for one finished look. A row of croquis in one walking pose is a page here.

What is a mood board page?

A mood board is a collage of images, text and samples that carries one feeling. In a sketchbook it can be drawn by hand: nine small boxes of things that belong together, such as a door, a leaf, a tile and a sky.

How is this different from fashion drawing ideas?

Fashion drawing ideas is a list of garments to draw, each with a note on its cut. This list has no garments. It is the pages a design sketchbook is made of.

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