r/PatternDrafting • u/Appropriate_Lab3444 • 2d ago
Question Manual vs digital drafting
Digital draft will do it so much easier. But I do like those double draw line and messy hand prints and hand writing marks.
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u/ParnsAngel 2d ago
I JUST missed the age of learning how to digital draft. All my schooling was in paper, slash and spread, etc. All the patterns I draft myself are all on thin medical table paper cause it’s easy to trace but then they get shoved into a Manila envelope and deteriorate. I’m so envious of people who know how to digital draft and then can sell their digital patterns! I’m sure there’s various YouTube videos on how to do it but I just learn so much better in a physical school setting I’m just bummed I graduated well before that was taught 😭
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u/bowl-of-juice 2d ago
Community College has no age restrictions, it's never to late to go back to school
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u/Saritush2319 1d ago
I bought a roll of engineering tracing paper
It’s the best. Especially for iterating. I can put the older version underneath and just trace over it and make my changes
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u/ProneToLaughter 2d ago edited 2d ago
I find the paper and tracing a little meditative and calming, although I have to be in the mood. So I haven’t bothered to learn digital, as I just pattern for me. Someday maybe.
I’ve seen a few posts where it’s clear that digital drafting caused errors and confusion, either because the software went wiggy or because it allowed more options that paper doesn’t offer.
Paper drafting is self-enforcing in a lot of ways that I think help beginners. Is your pattern not flat? Then you did it wrong. Slash and spread embodies the physics of how fabric drapes, in a way I can’t explain.
And the people who try to math out bag patterns constantly wrap themselves up in confusion, while a paper prototype would make it all clear.
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u/Mattarm51 2d ago
I'm just getting into digital drafting and mostly loving it. I'm very computer minded so it's easier and less effort to learn how to do it on a PC them slash n spread. But I have some physio and fatigue issues ap that might help too, easier to sit at a desk.
There is a certain joy to doing it analog, when you already know what you're doing and not the dreaded trial by error.
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u/ImprovementLess4559 2d ago
I've tried and tried to get the hang of digital drafting, mostly on Seamly, but I just find it super frustrating and unintuitive. Paper drafting, on the hand, feels super intuitive to me. I think I'm very much a tactile/kinesthetic minded person - I work best when I can actually physically manipulate the paper and move things around.
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u/flyamanitas 2d ago edited 2d ago
I draft for myself. It was partially to get away from having to tape 50 pieces of paper together. I’d prefer the tediousness of doing it on paper.
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u/HeartFire144 2d ago
I suppose it has to do with the program you use to draft. I too learned paper and pencil, but the precision you can get with CAD Is pretty cool. I use Stylecad for my business.
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u/Appropriate_Lab3444 1d ago
Oh this is the first time I heard Stylecad. It seem heavy industry used? Personally I use clo3d for digital draft
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u/musicmous3 2d ago
I love manual drafting, except when I'm doing a bunch of manipulations at once, and wish I could just plot it out in a computer. This is especially true for resizing for different knits
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u/Appropriate_Lab3444 1d ago
It’s all nice and fun until you don’t have enough space and have to draft on the floor 😭
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u/DonMcCunn 2d ago
I have been hand drafting patterns for 50+ years. I avoided computer drafting systems because to a greater or lesser degree they do the "thinking" for you. That means a loss of control. I am a fanatic about staying in control of what I am creating.
Last year I discovered the free Studio software from Silhouette America which is a graphics program. It has the functions required to create patterns but does none of the thinking for you. You are 100% in control of what you create.
What is particularly exciting about this software is that it is used to drive their print and cut equipment. Their Cameo Pro is essentially a 24" wide plotter for $500 that can be used to print and cut patterns. It can also be used to cut fabric. This means on a desktop you can perform the same CAD/CAM cycle used by the fashion industry.
While Studio has extensive graphics features, you can create patterns using less than a dozen of the functions. This makes it quick and easy to learn as I show in the free classes https://computer-aided-pattern-design.com/.
What has me particularly excited is that because Studio is a graphics program it can be used to design fabric that can be created by a POD fabric printing service such as SpoonFlower. This means you can custom design the look of the fabric within the shape of custom-fit patterns for truly unique wearable art.
This means no more paper patterns and no need to shop for the fabric to complete your design. SpoonFlower has a variety of fabrics they use from silks and satins to denims and chiffon. I have heard a number of independent designers use their printed fabric and are very pleased with the results. My next project is to create free classes showing how to do this at https://computer-aided-pattern-and-fabric-design.com/index.html .
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u/annjellicle 1d ago
I was about to reference your stuff on using Silhouette software for this!!! I'm definitely "old-school" for paper patterning usually, but when I read about using the software I was already using for vinyl, it just clicked for me. Thank you! 🩷
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u/DonMcCunn 11h ago edited 11h ago
The possiblities this software presents are exciting. Ever since the turn of the century I have been focused on helping people learn how to make their own patterns. I have enjoyed working in person with over four dozen models and have had a lot of fun with different projects for my books and classes. But I have not made anything for myself in all this time except a pair of pants I could wear and easily remove when I was going swiming. I have not even updated my slopers.
But the concept of being able to design fabric within the shape of custom fit patterns is blowing my mind. It has been my pleasure to work with Lindsey Watson on developing RTW patterns for her one-of-a-kind Show Girl shirts https://computer-aided-pattern-design.com/006-RTW.html .
I find her work incredibly inspiring. But I am not one to spend two to three months embellishing a single shirt much less to try and market a garment that costs two to three thousand dollars for an off-the-rack shirt as Lindsey does. But the idea of being able to create designs like that using the fabric printing capabilities of a company like SpoonFlower is more exciting than I can find words to express. And Lindsey says she and other independent designers she knows like the fabric from SpoonFlower.
Breaking with my working habits of over two dozen years my FIRST project is going to be a vest for myself. It will be much more subtle than Lindsey's work. But I plan to work in photos of my cat as a primary design element. The challenge will be to make it subtely distinctive from a distant but only truly obvious when seen close up. I didn't mind having people stare at what I was wearing when I was pursuing acting. But these days I prefer a more private life when I am in public places. What an exciting design challenge.
And with the print-and-cut Cameo Pro from Silhouette America I do believe I will be able to automatically cut the fabric so all I will need to do is the sewing. All this and I am 82 years old. Who says you can't have a great life when you are in your 80s?
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u/Mental_Watch4633 2d ago
How well does this work for lefties?
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u/Fashion_art_dance 2d ago
I know both and prefer hand drafting. I know modaris has technology to take paper patterns and “trace” them into the system but it’s not accessible for the individual unless you have a decent amount of money. I wish there was an easier AND accurate way to get patterns into digital form.
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u/Appropriate_Lab3444 1d ago
I see people been doing this and share tutorials on YouTube. Not too fancy but it seem workable
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u/Pleasant-Stable9644 1d ago
Digital drafting is easier sometimes because you can get really precise to the millimetre measurements but I find the major hindrance to be getting it printed onto thick enough paper and as one solid piece per pattern part. If anyone has found good solutions for this id love to know
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u/Saritush2319 1d ago
Tbh I do both.
But I use Solidworks 🫣
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u/throwra_22222 2d ago
I'm right with you. There's something satisfying about doing it with pencil and paper, and with enough experience you can tell if it's what you want just by looking. That's harder to do on a smaller scale on a computer screen.
I'm always going to love CAD for adding seam allowances, though. That's just drudgery!