AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers?

Task-level automation exposure for Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

34% weighted task index

16 of 16 tasks scored

Median Salary

$62,750 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

2,950 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-15.0% employment change

200 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 13 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$33,790 – $101,230

Highest medians

New York $101,230

California $89,010

Pennsylvania $65,900

Indiana $59,400

Missouri $56,490

Lowest medians

Florida $33,790

Texas $34,930

Mississippi $41,060

Virginia $45,390

Massachusetts $47,680

State figures come from the 51-6092 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 34%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 49%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 31%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 27/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

16 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 25%

4 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 25%

4 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 49%

8 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#12200 · Core · 68% automatable

Create a master pattern for each size within a range of garment sizes, using charts, drafting instruments, computers, or grading devices.

visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review

Design templates or patterns.

#20930 · Core · 55% automatable

Input specifications into computers to assist with pattern design and pattern cutting.

decision support — Programming production equipment needs physical setup and verification

Program equipment to perform production tasks.

#12198 · Core · 8% automatable

Draw details on outlined parts to indicate where parts are to be joined, as well as the positions of pleats, pockets, buttonholes, and other features, using computers or drafting instruments.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#20931 · Core · 4% automatable

Make adjustments to patterns after fittings.

physical manipulation — Adjusting fabric is tactile manual work

Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.

#12206 · Core · 72% automatable

Compute dimensions of patterns according to sizes, considering stretching of material.

data analysis — Dimension calculations from given specs

Calculate dimensions of workpieces, products, or equipment.

#12205 · Core · 12% automatable

Mark samples and finished patterns with information, such as garment size, section, style, identification, and sewing instructions.

physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task

Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.

#12201 · Core · 38% automatable

Draw outlines of pattern parts by adapting or copying existing patterns, or by drafting new patterns.

visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review

Design templates or patterns. Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#12197 · Core · 5% automatable

Test patterns by making and fitting sample garments.

physical manipulation — Sewing and assembling textiles needs fine dexterity

Assemble garments or textile products.

#12203 · Core · 10% automatable

Position and cut out master or sample patterns, using scissors and knives, or print out copies of patterns, using computers.

physical manipulation — Physical alignment of patterns on workpieces

Position patterns on equipment, materials, or workpieces.

#12202 · Core · 68% automatable

Create a paper pattern from which to mass-produce a design concept.

visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review

Design templates or patterns.

#12204 · Core · 59% automatable

Discuss design specifications with designers, and convert their original models of garments into patterns of separate parts that can be laid out on a length of fabric.

visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review

Design templates or patterns. Confer with customers or designers to determine order specifications.

#12207 · Core · 55% automatable

Examine sketches, sample articles, and design specifications to determine quantities, shapes, and sizes of pattern parts, and to determine the amount of material or fabric required to make a product.

visual inspection — AI vision can flag print defects; human verifies

Inspected printed materials or other images to verify quality.

#12199 · Core · 8% automatable

Determine the best layout of pattern pieces to minimize waste of material, and mark fabric accordingly.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#20932 · Core · 68% automatable

Create design specifications to provide instructions on garment sewing and assembly.

visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review

Design templates or patterns.

#12208 · Core · 8% automatable

Trace outlines of paper onto cardboard patterns, and cut patterns into parts to make templates.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids. Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#12209 · Core · 7% automatable

Trace outlines of specified patterns onto material, and cut fabric, using scissors.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Cut fabrics. Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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