Pattern Drafting Software By Judy Heim

	Design Dynamics
	The prospect is tantalizing--you type your measurements into a home computer and the computer prints a custom garment pattern perfectly tailored to your proportions. That's the promise of a host of software packages for home and professional sewers. Clothing manufacturers have long relied on sophisticated garment design software that lets them manipulate slopers with the same computer-aided design tools that engineers use to design fighter planes. Such programs, like ApparelCAD, often cost thousands of dollars and require an equally pricey investment of time and dollars to learn to use. A few years ago, low-cost pattern-making software for home sewers crept into the market. Those first programs were gawky, and were as apt to print a pant pattern with the crotch bagging around the knees as one that fit. But the software is improving, and the line between professional garment design software and software for home-sewers is blurring. The pattern-drafting software presently on the market for home computers offers a meld of professional pattern drafting features with stylish built-in patterns that take minutes to print. In the near future, we may only have to point and click, then print to create a pattern unique to our measurements.

	Software Types
	Two basic types of software are available for making patterns, although some programs offer a combination of the two. Note: Don't confuse pattern-making software with services that generate a custom garment pattern for a fee when you mail them your measurements; these services use pattern-making software, but aren't selling it. Software that draws a garment sloper on your computer screen. A sloper is a basic garment shape, such as an A-line skirt or princess-seam dress. Use the computer drawing tools to manipulate the lines and darts to design your own pattern variation, just like a professional garment designer would do. To use this software you need a thorough knowledge of garment construction and how to design with slopers. Software in which you enter your measurements, then pick the garment and its elements, such as the sleeve style, number of darts, etc. The software calculates and prints a custom pattern for you. No designing is necessary on your part--all of the clothing designs and patterns are built into the software. To use this software, you don't need pattern-drafting skills, but do need fairly sophisticated tailoring skills and the ability to assemble a pattern with few or no instructions. You also must be able to differentiate between a pattern piece that will fit correctly once it's sewn and one that needs adjustment. In other words, you need a fair amount of dressmaker savvy to effectively use even the simplest pattern-making software.

	Is It For You
	Low-end pattern-making software retails from $50 to $800--often a daunting investment for the average home-sewer. However, if you're frustrated from trying to alter conventional patterns to fit your body, these programs can spell relief. They also can be used to generate enough patterns to keep you sewing for years. Although these programs offer obvious advantages to professional dressmakers who create custom designs for a variety of body types, many computer-savvy dressmakers harbor mixed feelings about them. Some feel it's quicker to draw a sloper or pattern the old-fashioned way with paper and chalk than to wrestle with computer drawing tools. Others find that both the software and its patterns require too much of a time investment to create a garment with good fit. It's important to keep in mind that these products aren't educational software for learning the basics of sewing, and they do have their challenges. Like all software, they take time to master and can be frustrating at inconvenient times. Indeed, they can require advanced computer skills, as well as sewing skills. One challenge comes after you've printed a pattern: unless you've printed it on a plotter, you must cut out the pattern pieces from dozens of computer paper sheets and tape them together.

Program Round Up - Page 2

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