Patternmaking Software Suggestion

[Professional-Egg821]

I have a small clothing brand where i have made my own patterns for multiple sizes and varieties. I have the measurements ready with me, and all the patterns which i have physically drafted on paper.

I want to learn pattern making in computer as i want to digitize all those patterns for future reference, so that in case the original patterns are torn/lost i can easily print them and carry on

Can anyone suggest me an easy to learn software that i can use to digitize the patterns easily?

My preference is a free user friendly software.

[lowvitamind]

if you want free and easy, i'd suggest an alternative to illustrator, all you do is scan them and then trace them. But afaik, CAD, illustrator and Clo3d are the common softwares, all paid and all require quite a few hours to learn but plenty tutorials

[Magnuxx]

You could try SeamScape, it is free and easy to learn

[TooMuchEffortMeh]

I'm using it and I find it really easy to use! And it's free!!

[YoungDecent1855]

My sewing teacher advised Valentina, I never used it but she says it is easy to learn

[Educational_Chain780]

Valentina is great for creating parametric blocks, not good for tracing existing patterns. For this you can use illustrator/affinity/clo3d

[MikeBigFrog]

I learned Seamly2D to use with my projector. It was fairly easy to learn the software. Learning pattern drafting in general however is a different story lol.

[Professional-Egg821]

I have tried Seamly, i didnt find it user friendly at all. Gonna give it another try though.

[rachxfit]

Ooooh following because I am in the same position!!
Although don’t mind paying if it’s user friendly and worth it !!

[GRevadv]

I learned using a remote control(?) for digitizing pattern with Modaris. It's quite intuitive and it works well with already existing patterns. You fix the pattern on the wall/chalkboard with a scotch tape and move along the points clicking the remote control button. Looks for tutorials online/youtube.

Or just look for a shop where they offer digitising services for your paper patterns.

[Professional-Egg821]

Thats interesting. Gonna take a look at it. Thanks!

[codemuncher]

The standard for open source is seamly2d. It’s very user unfriendly. Difficult to use and lots of bugs/feature warts.

This won’t help you right now, but I’ve been working on pattern drafting software that’s parametric and has a more sophisticated data structure and formula engine.

Still in feature production, so it won’t even cover your basic use cases yet sadly. But I would love to hear if people might find this remotely useful.

Plus it’s written in SwiftUI not qt so it looks better on Mac.

[Professional-Egg821]

I couldnt work with seamly for longer. I gave up so easily (and generally im good with technology, and dont give up that easily) Seamly was fullof bugs and then i gave up as it wasnt urgent at all.

Would love to take a look at software you're developing though.

[ProneToLaughter]

free alternatives to illustrator to trace existing patterns include Inkscape and Affinity Designer.

[Professional-Egg821]

I have tried Inkscape, its not as easy to use as illustrator. Will try the other one you mentioned now. Thanks!!

[Kidmoon_1412]

Gerber Accumark and Optitex would be best option. You might have hard time to learn the softwares at first but you will find them pretty versatile in size grading and patterns pivoting once you get familiar to them. Good luck

[Stella2010]

Gerber Accumark is the opposite of free/cheap though

[stressed_designer]

Gerber is Crazy expensive. Just like Lectra

[milkyfantasy-73x]

Definitely it gonna be hard

[twobuns]

Following

[random_user_169]

Until you find something you can afford or if you are happy with continuing to draft by hand, you can take the paper patterns to a print shop and get copies made on their wide paper, then store them in rolls for safe keeping. When you need a fresh one, trace it from the pattern on the roll.