Hey guys,
How do I use the custom Seam Allowance to get more seam allowance on hems? Currently when I click ‘Seam Allowance’ then ‘Custom’ there is nothing clickable. Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but I couldn’t find out how to use this feature.
Thanks!
Medha
Right-click on the pattern piece to open the Properties, go to the Seam Allowance tab and under Custom, choose the point that you would like to change. In the Before or the After, enter the amount that you would like the Seam Allowance to be. In this case, I’ve already changed the value to 0 at point A13, in the Before, and am now changing the After value to 0 because this gets placed on the fold:
Here is the result:
Here is an example of a seam allowance for a hem:
The Custom section… I’ve never looked at it, so I have no idea whether it even works. 
If it’s a hem on a sleeve or trousers, and the side seams are narrower at the hem edge, then I prefer to mirror the points in the draft for the hem, but I don’t have an example for you right now 
I works… it’s just a bit confusing.
That’s more or less what the CSA does… just adding the points with the internal path tool (part of the confusing part) and then defining in the seam allowance where that path is added. When you get it to work it’s different in that for ex: the whole “hem” is filled, not like this:
or this:
What we really need is a “Hem / Turndown” option that simplifes adding hems, and get rid of the Custom Seam Allowance.
I’ll have to try it one day.
That would be amazing 
If you do, you have to add points on your seam lines above the hemline… for example in this sleeve jacket if I want to add a CSA allowance for the Upper Sleeve I would use points SH_2, SH_1, SU_9, and SU_10 as a CSA path… where SU_10 → SU_ 9 are the fold lines (the start and end points in the CSA section)
The idea being that then the CSA path is mirror “united” to main path along the start and end points as the seam allowance + what ever the seam allownce are for the 2 sleeve seams… where the whole hem is “filled”. At least that’s my understanding.
Theoretically we should be able to just define the 2 points of the fold line of a hem, and define the hem as 2 inches… the app should be ale to figure out how to automatically find the points back along each edge (seam) 2 inches from the fold points.
Yes, that would make life so much easier & neater. Especially if the side seams are curves that go on forever when you only need 2" of the curves in the SA.
I’ve made a small test and added the internal paths, but those dropdowns remain greyed out.
Removed the SA at the hemline & they’re still greyed out.
Custom SA Test.sm2d (6.5 KB)
You have to use the “Internal Path tool” to add the CSA path points… that’s why I said it’s confusing. Why would we use the internal path tool to add a custom seam allowance? Anyhow select your path points and then select in the dropdown Custom seam allowance.
Now the CSA path will appear in the Seam Allowance->Custom tab, and now you can select the fold line start and end points.
That being said… you also have to play around with getting the path point order correct so it mirrors the path correctly. Like I said, what we really need is a hem tool that you just select your 2 fold line points and say I want a 2 inch hem with none of the BS. 
Duhhh… Those are things that I saw many years ago & decided they have no use for me and then wiped them from the overflowing memory.
I’ll give it another bash.
Ah… yes… my memory fails me too. 
You still have to add the hem points by mirroring in draft mode. THEN add those points as a CSA.
Ok, I got some really interesting effects and have (once again) written it off to ‘a useless tool that doesn’t serve me’. I don’t see the point of mirroring the points & going through the effort of playing around with the nodes, just to adjust the stitch line, when an internal path will do the stitch line just fine.
I totally agree with you that I may as well use the methods that I’ve been using forever while you think up a new, more useful tool.
Since I was busy with this test, I decided to check out the Unite feature… It works beautifully, except that it didn’t duplicate the one point, so the SA has a jag in it:
Otherwise, it works very nicely for a hem.
Thanks, this cleared it up. I was able to add the hem allowance and I’m glad we all learned something new about the custom feature, though I would have to agree that the automatic feature is easier 
Thank you both!!
I tried playing with the CSA a bit more last nite and couldn’t get it right… I gave up and watched and old Sherlock Holmes movie. 
Yeah… the only thing the CSA does is - or as it SHOULD do - is the area you define as the CSA is all shaded or filled in. IMO not worth the effort it takes. I suspect that no one ever uses the tool.
That being said I was thinking of maybe a simple way to handle a case where we would want a hem that flares out - such as a sleeve hem. We add 2 new angle options for corners… one to mirror the edge before a corner, the other to mirror the edge after the corner. So we can add our before & after SA same as always, just change the angles to get this (which is what the CSA is supposed to do):
Instead of this:
Or this:
And we can get rid of a whole lot more of useless code, and in the process simply the pattern piece & seam allowance routines.
Hmmm. That’s Odd. But am I surprised? No.
Wow! That would really be a benefit which would add value to the software and make life a whole chunk easier. Thank you very much.
I thought if we’re able to accomplish the same thing that the CSA is (trying?) to do with how we’re already working with the corners of the seam allowance, it just simplifies the workflow. Again, I don’t think anybody uses the CSA as it’s so convoluted to use. Actually I’ve had to deal with the CSA code indirectly as it’s parallels the Internal Path code I’ve been working on. Oh… and it complicates the Union tool, and was another stumbling block I ran into trying to figure out a “built in” SA mode. So I will be more than happy to purge the code base of the CSA… unless there’s some reason for it I can’t see.
I thought it was a placeholder for something to come in the future, so I don’t mind if you purge it. Perhaps we should put out a poll to see if anyone is using it? Perhaps run it for 2 weeks, so that everyone has an opportunity to nip in & see it?
What do you think, @Douglas, @slspencer, @Evans & @Pneumarian ?
The other option would be to comment it out & see who complains.
What if the Union tool doesn’t get SA? Would that simplify it? A person would always edit them to their SA preferences, anyway, and these may not be the same as the original pieces.
I put up a thread in the Survey’s category. I atted everyone, so hopefully everyone will respond in a timely manner. Assuming that no one responds that they want it, I think that commenting it out would probably be the next stage of deprecating it.
