The 5 Best Pattern-Making Software Out There
Technology has completely changed ourworld. The fashion industry has not been immune to such changes and has seen many benefits from the application of technology to the field. Technological advancements have allowed for faster clothing production while allowing formore customizable designs.
There are several pattern-making software that stand out among the other options. The best option is subjective since each targets different audiences. Consider your personal needs to decide the best software for you.
The 5 Best Pattern-Making Software we recommend are:
Each software offers many benefits, but they are not all the same. The audience the software is meant for plays a big role in how it has been designed. Have fun exploring the pattern-making options we’ve researched.
The 5 Best Pattern-making Software Out There
Lisa Christman founded Wild Ginger Software, Inc. after being the head of the Apparel Design department at Auburn University and teaching herself computer programming.
She merged her extensive experience within the fashion industry with her newfound technological knowledge to create Wild Ginger.
In her quest to provide an easy and all-encompassing service to consumers, Wild Ginger has created a very customizable system.
For the most part, Wild Ginger patterns have no upper size limits so that you can create patterns specific to your measurements. You can even save your fitting preferences for future patterns. If you are creating patterns for multiple people or sizes, Wild Ginger allows you to save up to 10 body measurements.
Wild Ginger actually provides a few different pattern-making products.
Each product is tailored towards certain fashion types, allowing the user to pick and choose, buying only what they need. For anyone that designs in smaller realms of fashion, these products may be able to help hone in on your style more specifically.
The different products Wild Ginger offers are:
- Pattern Master Boutique: This option focuses on patterns for the women’s wardrobe, such as blouses and jackets, dresses, pants, and maternity clothing. It even includes historic costume pattern-making, for anyone interested in that niche.
- Pattern Master: With this product, you create patterns for an adult woman’s knits wardrobe of tops, jackets, business wear, and more.
- Pattern Master Curves: This is created to help consumers draft patterns for an adult woman’s bodywear focusing on undergarments, swimwear, activewear, and sleepwear.
- Pattern Master Tailor Made: This offering spins the tables and allows for drafting a man’s wardrobe. This includes activewear, formal wear, business attire, and even some accessories.
- Pattern Master Child’s Play: Here, you can find help with children’s patterns up to about 16 years old. This essentially includes their whole wardrobe.
Wild Ginger also offers select extras, either through smaller programs or built into their larger system.
Using their software, you can draft patterns for extras such as hats, bags, doll clothing, and even pet fashion.
Wild Ginger makes finding tools for your niche, whatever that niche may be, even easier.
Gerber’s AccuMark Pattern Design software has created a very streamlined process, using technology to cater to a large business environment. This software is constantly upgraded, using cutting edge tools to update and improve the process even more.
The ability to consolidate colorways into one model, or enact changes across multiple models, lets you really create the process that works best for your needs.
AccuMark’s image functionality is one of the best in the industry and allows for an endless number of image combinations.
This does not negatively impact the supply chain aspect, however, because it is easy to provide visual instructions to the factory using AccuMark software. This is accompanied by their 3D capabilities, allowing for an easy customization and visualization of the finished product.
Anyone working in a team environment will appreciate many of Gerber’s technological benefits.
They have created a system to easily share images among team members, as well as through cloud technology.
They pride themselves on the security of these products, benefiting AccuMark consumers.
AccuMark uses technology to create a seamless process from an idea to a finished product.
Lectra’sModaris software combines many data sources to create a precise pattern-making process.
The company has been able to apply this model to other industries,too, such as the automotive and furniture industries.
They even have a physical campus in Bordeaux-Cestas, where you can see more about their factory and research and development process.
Modaris speeds up the pattern-making process by offering basic models and patterns, which you can then customize with their online library of 305 fabric swatches.
This can give both the professional and the hobby designers a fast and efficient jumping-off point for their patterns.
Offering a link between the measurement charts and the pattern allows you to size the pattern to custom needs easily. Having basic templates and allowing easy customization can increase the total pattern development speed by up to 30%.
Modaris is especially useful to anyone creating products in batches.
They have worked in a fit management system that works for all the sizes in the batch. A fabric consumption forecast is also included, automatically giving you a rough idea of how much fabric will be needed for each item.
This information is quickly updated every time you make an adjustment to the pattern.
The pattern design software offered by Optitex really seems to be leading the charge in many areas, promoting tools still being worked on in other software programs.
The team has more than 25 years in the industry, so they understand the demands and the ability technology has to change the game. Understanding the process and all the steps allow Optitex to react quickly to any changing demands in the fast-paced industry.
Optitex takes a holistic approach to the whole fashion product and covers the entire process, from the first through to the product being on the shelf, so they don’t have any issues waiting for third parties to make changes.
This allows consumers to design, create, and get their products to market fast.
Optitex’s Pattern Design Software combines the benefits of both 2D design and 3D visualization.
The platform keeps the design in both spaces, and changing one changes the other. For example, making minor tweaks to the 3D item will automatically adjust the 2D pattern. This makes altering the pattern quick and painless.
3D visualization is a huge benefit to the pattern-making and design world. The 3D view essentially simulates the final product based upon the 2D pattern, creating an accurate virtual sample.
Getting feedback from the 3D simulation is easy and much faster than having to wait for a sample piece. Making changes based on that feedback is quick, thereby speeding up the whole process.
Optitex takes their 3D visualization to the next level with specific solutions meant to aid in the pattern-making and design process. Here are just a few of the tools Optitex uses to enhance their 3D simulation:
- Accurate Fabric Simulation: This feature allows you to customize the fabric, giving you a more realistic preview of the finished product.
- 3D: The 3D section offers photo-realistic renderings, allowing you to customize settings such as lighting and shadows.
- Customization: You can customize your colorways and print placement, choosing specific fabrics for specific places.
Valentina is a newer software and is still very much in the development phases.
There have been some road bumps along the way, resulting in a company split, but Valentina software shows a lot of potential.
It is an open-source drafting tool aimed at helping preserve the independent designer and small-batch clothing manufacturing.
The open-source concept for Valentina has created a lot of buzz within the industry.
Most pattern-making software is either geared towards large companies and thus expensive, or affordable but rather simplistic and limited.
Valentina has the potential to be the middle ground of quality yet affordable design software.
The program already works on both Linux and Windows and allows things like designing and grading patterns.
You can also do things like manually create layouts for exporting, refit existing designs to completely different measurements, and automatically layout patterns for printing.
While Valentina is not quite up to par with other software on this list, the potential to be a middle ground program is there.
What is the Best Program to Design Clothing?
From fashion design draping to pattern making software, the fashion design industry has taken a big jump towards facilitating the creation of original pieces through different programs. The best program to design clothing really comes down to what you need in a program.
Each software has its strong points and is geared towards a certain clientele. There is no one-size-fits-all best program here.
The holistic approach taken by Optitex makes it a front runner for any mid to large company looking for a quality designing program with a solid supply chain process. Larger companies need a streamlined process that can easily make changes across multiple models. This option includes supply chain processes, such as getting your design from the pattern to a factory, to make your job easier.
Smaller designers, as well as individuals designing as a hobby, will have vastly different needs.
For anyone wanting to use their creativity and take advantage of how technology is streamlining the design process, Wild Ginger definitely presents a solid solution. This software’s ability to allow you to only pay for what you need and still receive a quality product is invaluable.
There are also courses to learn pattern making online, that can help you in your designing journey!
How Do You Make a Pattern on the Computer?
One of the benefits of the advancement of technology is the many ways things are improving. Creating a pattern for example, is much different now than it was even twenty years ago.
There are steps in pattern making and a process you have to take to create a good pattern. Thankfully, computers have made the process much more adaptable and streamlined in many ways.
There are many ways to create a pattern on the computer.
Finding the right pattern-making software can be your best bet in most cases.
Consider your need, your familiarity with design in general, and your budget when making this decision. For convenience, ease of use, and long-term abilities, find a pattern-making program that meets your defined needs.
You can also create a pattern on your computer using programs you likely already have, such as Adobe Illustrator.
This process will be a little more complicated, and it will be completely on you to get creative since these programs won’t have built-in pattern aspects. This method also won’t have the easy change benefits, such as changing all measurements together.
If creating a pattern is a one-time thing for you, however, then using these general programs may work for you.
Computer Designed Patterns
Choosing software to help design your patterns and clothing comes down a lot to personal preference.
Spend time to take into account what you need and what each software can offer its customers. Whichever software makes you feel more comfortable and efficient will be the right software for you.
