Hey, Everyone.
I have made enough patterns now that it was time for me to organize them for easier access. The way I’ve been doing it is that withing my Pattern file I have a Sloper, Moulage, Designs (ex. necklines, sleeve types), or Garments (finished pattern pieces) files, and within those files I have knits and wovens.
Do you guys have any suggestions on organizing the Seamly files? I’d love to hear how you categorize and organize your files!
Thanks!
Medha
My organization is mostly… naught. However, I do use the main patterns folder for garments, & separate folders for accessories & non-wearables. I also have a few special-case folders.
When I had my costums shop, I was saving my patterns & measurements a bit differently than the default Seamly file paths as set in the prefs. I would create a folder for a given show, then subfolders patterns and measurements. The show folder may also contain photos, sketches, cut lists, etc. That way I could keep all the files for a show together in one folder.
Since I no longer have the shop, and just program the apps, most of the pattern files I deal with are either user patterns & measurements or test files that are in my downloads directory with no real need for order.
Since no longer having the shop my only organization is called “downloads” and “downloads/test”. LOL
Wow, doing shows is really cool! What kind of costume shop did you have?
About the organization, personally, I was trying to make a folder for Necklines, sleeves, dart, and dart manipulation, so that if I wanted a design I could just choose the type of Sleeve, Neckline, and dart; combine them into one file through copy and pasting the code; and get the finished pattern. But with the neckline, I can’t find a way to copy and paste it into the combined file. The only way I can think of doing it is by manually re-doing it in the new file. This is a problem I don’t face with the Sleeve and Bodice (the neckline or dart manipulation) because they do not overlap, and are in different blocks. I hope that made sense 
Do you know of any way I can get the neckline added to the shared file? And do you think making these combinations and combined files every time is a good idea in the first place?
Thanks a lot!!
Medha
You won’t be able to combine files because each object has a unique ID besides having its own label. The best way to do this is to have the necklines, sleeves, etc. in the Master pattern file & put them into Groups, which you can have visible or not visible.
This way, you won’t have a problem with organising your patterns.
Thanks so much, Grace, but what’s a Master Pattern File?
Edit: I think I get it, Do you mean that I should overlap all the types of necklines that can be grouped so I only have one visible? That’s a really great idea! Do you know how I could apply this to Dart Manipulation though?
The Master Pattern File is your basic sloper with all the goodies in it that you open up when you want to do a new pattern for a garment. Then you save it as a specific name, hide everything that you don’t want and add design-specific details and person-specific measurements before exporting your pattern for cutting out & sewing.
Exactly that.
I put them into groups, as well.
Wow, your Dart Manipulation is so neat and tidy! Mine is really complicated, which makes me think there’s probably also an easier way to be doing it, could you tell me how you do your dart manipulation on Seamly 2d? Also, could you provide some type of file of the dart manipulation in groups so that I could also get a hands-on look at what you are doing?
Thanks a lot!
It’s only the groups that are so neat & tidy. If you look at the actual file with the groups open, you’ll get a fright:
And this is only the front bodice pattern. I haven’t begun developing the pattern for use yet, but this is an example of using the groups to keep your patterns really nice & tidy. I like to open only the ones that I need before creating the pattern pieces for exporting. It makes my life very pleasant 
Haha, yes, but I don’t actually know how to do the dart manipulation properly. I have just been winging it using the rotation tool. If you can could you tell me how you draft dart manipulations? It doesn’t have to be in groups, just how you move the darts around to create the manipulation.
Also, here’s a picture of just how BADLY I was doing it:
I made this like 3 weeks ago when I still didn’t know much about Seamly, so I was trying to re-do it in a better way today, but I couldn’t figure it out. So if you could tell you how you do yours it would be really helpful!
Thanks!
It works exactly the same as it would if you were doing it by hand. You draw the line where you want the dart to go to & then you select all of the points and curves between the existing dart and the new dart (including the point where you want the dart to go).
In the angle formula box, you use the dart-leg angles of the existing dart (deduct the one from the other) to close that dart. which will rotate all of the other objects and will reveal the gap of the new dart.
Ohh, I hadn’t thought of using the dart angles! But how do you true the lines and curves when there are darts in the middle of straight lines and continuous curves?
I try to make simple curves from one point to another to avoid having to rotate large complex curves that stick out all over the show unnecessarily. This is probably why my rotations look so neat.
And then… if you true’d your original dart, the chances are that your new dart will be true’d already with the rotation.
True-ing the dart is just to make sure that the dart legs are the same length, so that when they’re sewn together, the one side isn’t longer than the other side. And that sewing them together won’t form a valley or a peak on the seam line. Since you’re moving items that normally fit together, this shouldn’t be a problem.
My business partner and I were in business for 42 years before a fire destroyed the building we were iin, and everything in it. Over the years we’ve done just about everything from holiday rentals, mascots, rental quality wholesale costumes, show rentals (just every show you can think of) - with Beauty & The Beast and Shrek being the most requested show over the past 10 years. We’ve provided custom made costumes for Disney World’s Easter Parade, Music videos, TV, professional theatres - including theatres such as the Fords Theatre (where Lincoln was shot) in Washington DC, Off Broadway, on Broadway… and too many to name. We recently made the mens costumes for the National Tour of Annie, as well as the orphan girl skrts and jackets for the Movie Cabrini.
There’s pics and vids I’ve posted in the past in introductions topic:
I’m still crying. 
Oh man, that’s crazy. It seems like it was such a successful 42 years, too. Did you retire from that industry after?
Pretty much. Now I just pretty much spend my time programming Seamly. 
@Grace I tried your advice on grouping and made this file: Everything Everywhere All At Once.sm2d (110.1 KB)
Here is the measurement file: measurements medha nov 24.smis (2.9 KB)
If you are free could you check it?
Thanks,
Medha
Hi @medha
The way that I do the groups is that if all the eyes are closed, the drawing board is blank. The initial pattern with all of it’s workings and guides is in a group (sometimes I make a group for all of the ‘messy’ things that are needed to achieve the desired result). Then each alteration to a design is in its own group, including any objects that are in the initial pattern group that are used to create the new pattern piece - objects can be in more than 1 group.
This way, if I close all the eyes and only open 1 eye, then I see the whole pattern for that pattern piece, without any missing details, and I can easily create the pattern piece to send to piece mode without having to have 2 eyes open and then need to guess which objects I need to select.
And this is one of the reasons that you thought mine looked so nice & clean.
