A pattern in fashion designing is a template used to trace the parts of a garment onto a fabric. Later, the fabric is cut out as per the patterns and assembled to make the final garment. And, the process of making the patterns for fabric cut outs is known as pattern drafting.
In this article, I covered 3 free pattern drafting software for Window. With these software, you can create unique pattern designs for custom measurements. The first two software here let you create your own custom patterns which you can convert into a design and create a layout for the fabric. Whereas, the third software is to easily create different sizes from an existing pattern design. So, let’s check out these software one by one.
Also read: HomyFads Clothing Organizer: Free Apparel & Wardrobe Management Software
3 Free Pattern Drafting Software For Windows:
Valentina
Valentina is a free open source pattern drafting software. It is a cross-platform software available for Windows, Linux, MacOS, and FreeBSD. This software has all the features and tools to create basic to advanced fabric designs. Before you start making a design pattern, you can add the measurements in this software which comes handy later in the drafting process. You can add individual measurements or multisize measurements. To help you out with measurements, this software has various measurements templates, which you can use for known measurements and add custom measurements on top of that. You can also add/create formulas for each measurement as well.
Once the measurements are done, you can move to the pattern drafting which is a 3-step process. The first part is Draw where you can draw various types of tools to create a layout of the design with precision. After drawing one or more workpieces, the next step is Details. In this step, you can add seam allowance and create multiple workpieces from your design. You can check measurements for each workpiece and finetune them. Then, you can move to the Layout step which changes the design into final fabric cutout patterns. After that, you can create a layout of the cutouts on the desired size sheet or roll and save it as a Valentina file or export it as a PDF file. You can also save the pattern as a PNG, SVG, OBJ, EP, EPS, or DXF file.
Download this free pattern drafting software from here.
Cameo
Cameo is a powerful pattern drafting software for Windows. This software comes under a paid package but you can download the evaluation copy (no expiration) for practice purposes. You can use all the tools of this software in the evaluation copy but can not save your design. So, if you are okay with that and just want to practice, then this is a good professional-grade software for pattern drafting.
In this tool, you get a wide array of tools from drawing, drafting to the layout. The user interface might look a bit complex to newbies but all the tools are pretty much self-explanatory here. Within the tool, you get articles and video links explaining what a tool does and how to use it. This software also has layer support which comes handy for complex multi-layered designs. With all that and more features, this is a nice tool for practicing pattern designing.
Give this pattern drafting software a try here.
PatternMaker
PatternMaker is another pattern designing software for Windows. This software has four different versions for different needs; three of them are paid but the basic version is free to use. The basic version is limited in terms of functionalities, especially in the drawing sector. Using the PatternMaker (Basic), you can select a design from the pattern collection and make a design by entering measurements. You cannot customize the design very much except for the measurements. You can use this software to open already drafted patterns (.pat files) and easily customize them for different measurements.
You can download this pattern drafting software from here.
Wrap Up:
These are the 3 pattern drafting software for Windows. As per your needs, you can use any of these software. Valentina is my personal favorite among them because it has a simple UI with no limitations and it is good for both, basic and advance pattern design.
