Here’s what comes in the free fashion croquis templates library: baby, toddler, kid/youth, 9-head, real-life, and plus-size for both women and men. Templates include PDF and Adobe Illustrator files.

What is a Fashion Croquis?

Fashion croquis are a sketch of a blank figure that you use as a base for fashion designing. It’s a template that you can draw your designs on and visualize ideas. 

They come in all shapes and forms; there are ones for babies, toddlers, kids, women, and men. They are also offered in different sizes such as petite, plus size, maternity, etc., so you can design for any body type and need.

There are two types of fashion croquis widely used in the industry; the Creative Fashion Illustration Croquis and the Technical Flats Croquis.

Creative Fashion Illustration Croquis vs Technical Flats Croquis

The Creative Fashion Illustration Croquis is known for its artistic nature. It usually follows the 8, 9, or 10 head figure proportions, with elongated and stylized body shapes.

What Is An 8, 9, or 10 Head Fashion Croquis?

This means that the height of the croquis is equal to 8, 9 or 10 heads. If you took 8, 9, or 10 heads at the same proportion and stacked them up, it would match the total height of the croquis. Here’s a visual example of a 9 head croquis.

Fashion Illustration Croquis Are Used for More Artistic Purposes

This type of croquis is often used by couture fashion designers or in-house designers in communicating fashion ideas. It provides a more artistic and conceptual representation of designs, capturing the feel, vibe, and flow of the garment. 

This makes it suitable for presenting design ideas to clients, showcasing runway collections, or creating fashion sketches and not for garment production.

Technical Flats Croquis Are Used for Accurate Production Sketches

Technical Flats Croquis prioritize precision and provide realistic representations of garment proportions and fit, making them more suitable for garment manufacturing. The blank body usually has guidelines to help illustrate construction details, such as seams, darts, pleats, and closures. 

These croquis are commonly used to create technical fashion flats for line sheets, tech packs, and spec sheets to facilitate effective communication among designers, manufacturers, and everyone involved in the product development process.

While both creative fashion illustration croquis and technical flats croquis have their place in the fashion industry, the choice between them depends on the specific purpose and context of the design. 

For this article, I’m going to focus more on the significance and use of Technical Flats Croquis in the design and production process. That’s because they’re more commonly used in the industry for development (vs creative fashion illustration croquis which are used more for artistic expression).

How to Draw on Croquis Using Adobe Illustrator (or other software)

When it comes to technical flats illustration, fashion designers often choose Adobe Illustrator for creating fashion design sketches because of its efficiency. (It’s also the most commonly used drawing software in the fashion industry.)

Here is a quick guide on how to create sketches on fashion croquis:

1. Select the appropriate pose from your croquis library: Select the pose and view/s that best suit your design. For example, if the garment has dolman sleeves, it would make sense to pick a croquis pose with one or both arms stretched out. If you’re designing pants with cutouts on the side, it would be vital to add in a side view sketch in there. 

2. Create layers (if you’re using a software like Procreate, or AI): Organize your work by creating separate layers for each piece of clothing you want to design. This will help you stay organized and make the process more efficient in case you need to make changes later on. 

3. Start sketching: Using the pen tool, trace over the shape of your garment on a layer above your croquis image. Don’t be afraid to experiment and test out different techniques to enhance your illustration and create accurate and polished fashion drawings.

4. Add details: Make your fashion design sketches more accurate by adding style lines, seams, darts, or pleats using lines or shapes. Ensure these details have their own layer, making it easier to edit them later on. Use varying line width, color, and style to differentiate each design details from each other (for example, solid lines for the outside shape, broken lines for stitches).  

Getting started: If you’re new to Illustrator, I have a free beginner’s series on YouTube just for the fashion industry!

Download Free Printable Fashion Croquis Templates (2024 Update)

My free Fashion Croquis Templates include a range of body types, genders, and age groups, so you can design for any audience.

You can load the Adobe Illustrator files directly into the software and draw digitally, or use the printable PDF to sketch by hand.

Here’s what my free fashion croquis library includes (in both .AI and .pdf file formats so you can use it digitally or print it!): 

• Baby/Youth Croquis (includes croquis for baby, toddler, kid/youth)
• Women 9 Head Fashion Croquis
• Women Real Life Croquis
• Women Plus Size Croquis
• Men 9 Head Fashion Croquis
• Men Real Life Croquis
• Men Plus Size Croquis

Not sure what app to use for drawing? Here are the top 7 fashion illustration apps used by fashion designers worldwide!