If you are looking to use FreeSewing to design parametric sewing patterns, below are the most relevant materials on this site for you:
Before you start
Outlines the minimal prerequisites you should understand before you dive in, including:
Pattern design best practices
In design as in code, there’s often many different ways to accomplish the same result. We have a list of best practices that we recommend you follow. Even if in the end you make your own choices, we recommend you at least ready through them once. They include:
- Re-use measurements
- Re-use options
- Re-use CSS classes
- Respect draft settings
- Use percentage options where possible
- Use translation keys, not text
- Construct paths counter-clockwise
Design guide
We’ve so far been talking about patterns but what you’re really be creating is a design. What the difference is, and what goes into a design to generate a pattern is explained in our design guide:
Pattern design tutorial
This is our pattern design tutorial. If you’re new to designing patterns with FreeSewing, following the tutorial is the fastest way to get started:
Part 2: Parametric design
- Creating a new design
- Creating a part
- Adding measurements
- Adding options
- A part's draft method
- Constructing the neck opening
- Fitting the neck opening
- Completing the neck opening
- Drawing the bib outline
- Shaping the straps
- Creating the closure
- Avoiding overlap
- Drawing the straps
- Rounding the corners
- Conclusion (of part 2)
Plugin guide
FreeSewing can be extended with plugins. We provide a range of plugins that you can use. However, if you’d like to write your own plugins, you should also read the guide on how they work:
Common design challenges
This is a list of common challenges in designing parametric sewing patterns, and tips on how to tackle them:
- Adapt the sleevecap length to fit the armhole
- Add seam allowance and/or hem allowance
- Add several of the same snippets with the sprinkle macro
- Include Cutting Instructions
- Slash and spread
- Trace an existing pattern
Common code challenges
While designing patterns in code has a lot of benefits, there might be times where things that are intuitive on paper don’t come naturally to you. This is a list of common code challenges and how to tackle them:
- Accessing measurements
- Accessing options
- Adding paths
- Adding pattern parts
- Adding points
- Adding snippets
- Adding text
- Creating a new design
- Creating a new snippet to be used in your design
- Drawing circles
- Handling whitespace in text
- Hide or remove paths from an inherited part
- Hide paths but still show text
- Part dependencies
- Part inheritance
- Share dimensions between pattern parts
- Sharing data between parts
- Storing the seam length to use in another part
- Using attributes
- Using macros
Core API
This is the reference documentation for FreeSewing’s core library. This is where you can look up every possible API call with examples:
Macros
This is the reference documentation for macros provided by FreeSewing’s own plugins:
- banner
- bannerBox
- bartack
- bartackAlong
- bartackFractionAlong
- crossBox
- cutOnFold
- flip
- gore
- grainline
- hd
- ld
- miniScale
- mirror
- pd
- pleat
- ringSector
- rmBanner
- rmBannerBox
- rmBartack
- rmBartackAlong
- rmBartackFractionAlong
- rmCrossBox
- rmCutOnFold
- rmGrainline
- rmHd
- rmLd
- rmMiniScale
- rmPd
- rmPleat
- rmRingSector
- rmScaleBox
- rmSewTogether
- rmTitle
- rmVd
- rmaD
- rmaHd
- rmaLd
- rmaPd
- rmaVd
- round
- scalebox
- sewTogether
- sprinkle
- title
- vd
Snippets
This is the reference documentation for snippets provided by FreeSewing’s own plugins:
Plugins
This is the list of all plugins we provide:
- core-plugins
- plugin-annotations
- plugin-bust
- plugin-flip
- plugin-gore
- plugin-i18n
- plugin-measurements
- plugin-mirror
- plugin-ringsector
- plugin-round
- plugin-sprinkle
- plugin-svgattr
- plugin-theme
- plugin-timing
- plugin-versionfree-svg
Missing something?
If you are missing something or have questions not covered here, the #pattern-design channel
on discord.freesewing.org is the best place to ask questions.