Software for Pattern Drafting?

I was just thinking about this too! I would also like this information.
Susan

 

I scan in my patterns and paste them into Adobe Illustrator. Then I trace over them and create nice clean vector images.

 

I scan my patterns in and save them as a 26-bit bitmap. I then trace it with a new color using the line and curved line tools in MSPaint.

After that I use another free program, iDraw3, to select then entire image, deselect the line color, and erace the background. After that I change the outlies colors as needed then use MSPaint and lable it. Cheep and effective.

 

Hi a software exists to do molds, the name is " Dress Shop " it is very easy of using. Demo here.

 

Only if you're on a Wintel box...

And I've heard odd things about this software. But as I don't use Windows, I can't say from personal experience.

Lindsay's Corner - Thanks for the Illustrator tip. I guess I'll have to finally knuckle down and learn the basics

 

I make use of this software he is very easy and intuitive, of easy use and with him it can be made several types of clothes for several dolls.

 

does dress shop works? do you need to buy it? or do you just download it from the net?

 

V. can use the program Demo, it is alone yout download it from the net.

 

livingsoft sucks. They have terrible tech suport and the promised features do not work. Printing the patterns is a pain in the tush. I bought the software some years ago. I finally tweaked it enough to print a decent pattern about half the time.

One problem I remember with some "fondness" was trying to get the pants for a 22 inch doll to print. The program kept insisting that I needed 17 inches of paper to print one side of the pants. Clearly this is stupid since the pants are only 13 inches long.

Everytime I encountered a problem I would write the issue very clearly incuding the troubleshooting I had already done. Replies were always the same. "Your printer isn't set up properly" or " That will be fixed in the next release"

The last issue that I emailed them about got me the response. "As we told you previously, this must be an issue with your configuration since no one else has this problem" Since this was my FIRST email to them about the problem, I had no idea why they thought I had reported it before and gotten a response. Turned out that the issue was only a problem for people that only owned Dolls Shop stand alone.

So if you want headaches and crappy tech support (if anything is wrong, YOU are at fault) by all means buy this piece of crap. But be sure you have IE installed, since this software uses it and won't run without it.

 

Ahhh yes. These are the sorts of things I have read about it.

I wish someone would do a stand alone Doll patterning software package. Cross platform thanks and not dependent on microslave.

Sadly my C++ skills are not up to the task...

 

i have just tried dress shop pro (the combined set) for my DZ girl.
i measured like i was shown and checked several times and overall i thought it was ok.

UNTIL i tried to print out trousers!!! the curved area of the crotch was messed up everysingle time. i even tried the settings for another sized doll and the same thing happened. and liek Semirans the help file was useless.

luckily i was using a friends machine and didn't have to pay for my own copy!!! not really worth the money.

I also have another software called fashionCAD. it is great. but i can't get it to work for me

 

I don't have great problems using that software. But I like to try innovations! Can that fashionCAD be used for measures of dolls? Is it easy to use? Thankful.

 

Another drawback of livingsoft is that you are not allowed to distribute the patterns. You can distribute the slopers, but not the patterns even from you custom measurements.

 

Ohhh right! They were the ones who came after a person who had posted their patterns for free!

 

Any programs that are compatable with Macs?

 

Livingsoft did once upon a time, but no more. It looks like illustrator or one of the 2-D cad tools out is about your only choice.

Oh and this is why no one wants to deal with Livingsoft...
http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2005/8/22/174928/805

 

So what I'm hearing here is, "You want software? Be prepared for PAIN." o_o Is this the gist of it? XD

 

Dear lord. I remember being really tempted by that software package a while ago, but definitely not anymore. ^_^;

 

'scuse me im bit wonky just got outta hospital. umm as far as i know it can be used for anything you care to input. i followed the included tutorials and found it ok but just couldn't get my head around it. i think it's beacuse it is CAD and i'm bad with the more tecnical software.

i'll try n find the demo and isc and take a look at some point.

 

She wasn't posting patterns for free, she was trying to sell her copy of the software on ebay. She decided she didn't like it an put it up for auction, they sent her a bunch of threatening letters and had ebay pull the auction. She wasn't trying to sell a copy and keep hers, she was selling her original copy.

When I bought my copy I was promise lifetime support and upgrades. When the new owners bought the company, they said they would honor the contracts from previous purchasers, but they recently ended that.

/endrant

 

Yes, I rememberd that after I posted the complaint link.
And to them I say "bollocks!"

these guys really suck!

And I do remember reading somewhere a few years ago about the free pattern issue. I was going to buy their Mac version but decided against it after reading all the complaints and problems.

 

Resurrecting a SUPER old thread here, but does anyone have any more recent suggestions for pattern making software?

 

Most patternmaking software out there is made with human in minds, so when it gets down to small patterns they often have a hard time with the curves of necklines and shoulders. I use a professional patternmaking software called Pad System which is expensive and really robust and even it has problems sometimes with curves and seam allowances at that scale I often have to tweak them manually on screen.
Automatic pattern generators out there simply modify an existing set of basic patterns to the measurements you input, very often at doll scale it yields some very strange results.

 

Ah ok. I'll stick to learning the old fashioned way then. Thank you!

 

Sad to see this thread's last post was three years ago. If anyone has an update to this, I would love to know. Otherwise my technique will probably be very primitive. Taking photos of patterns, uploading them to paint tool sai, and then tracing over those lines with the curve tools in lineart layers.

 

@happyafternoon - I have had some limited success using PatternMakerPro -

It is free, can build patterns based on measurements, and has a "fashioner" feature that lets you adjust blocks and slopers, though I've never used that feature.

I have had some issues generating patterns because as it is mainly expecting human scale, but the creator does have a section dedicated to measuring dolls (PatternMakerPro -), so they did account for some non-human inputs.