Glad to have you here. Just a note… while many of us are familiar with using Valentina, it’s a separate program from which Seamly2D was forked from several years ago. While the two are similar, changes in both programs have made the pattern files incompatible since being forked. While there is nothing inherently wrong with Valentina, what you get with Seamly2D is the help from this forums.
With that being said, please feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions for the applications as we’re always looking to improve the work flow for users.
Hi, I’m Ciana and i’m an italian seamstress, pattern drafter and fashion design student. I’m still learning how to draft in Seamly2d but i’d really like to contribute and share it among my university collegues and, as a teacher-to-be, contributing is a way to help my future students. I’m not a developer, but i can add a measurements preset from some italian famous pattern drafting system or translate a few wiki pages.
Oh, wow! So nice to have you on board. Our wiki is open to everyone to add or edit and it would be really great to have an Italian translation on there.
@MrDoo runs a site: https://my-pattern.cloud/, where we upload measurements and patterns that we can either share for others or choose to keep them private, which may help you to share with your future students or with other Seamly2D users.
And, of course, you are very welcome to ask or give advice here on the forum. We are all very happy to help where we can, discuss problems and ask for help.
I had no idea there was an intro thread, so here I go:
I‘m Corinna and I’ve been working with Seamly2D since its Valentina days, and I’ve been in this Community for 5 years … I’ve lost one login and re-joined as crn about 2 years ago. I think Seamly2D and it’s community are one of the nicest aspects of fashion design.
Haha, @crn. I guess it’s a little late to say Hi & welcome, since you have been here as long as I have, but what I can say is it’s been lovely having you here over the years.
I haven’t been on the forum (or used seamly) for over 2 years now, wow! Meantime I managed to learn some professional software, become a full-time patternmaker and somewhat of an expert in puffer garments (Siberia, huh)
At this point I realised I need a tool for some personal experimentation and farther learning at home so time to remember an old friend I guess. Nice to see there’s some progress in the program! Happy to rejoin!
I’m trying to move myself from patter patter drafting to using Seamly, and… it’s a thing. I like the idea of having my measurements in SeamlyMe, and using mathematical functions to describe a piece into existence, combining or adding details (such as pleats, darts, etc) to create something that will fit my crazy asymmetric body.
Sewing background:
I started as a preteen messing about with the sewing machine and my mum sent me off to do a Kwick Knits course. So by the time high school got around to putting me through Home Ec, I was already good with knits, and using the German Burda magazines to copy out patterns.
I stopping this in the 90’s and 00’s - just kinda quit anything other than repair, or an odd costume or prop piece.
Since returning to sewing; I’ve been working with Gertie and Takaya books and adjustments, and buying patterns from Etsy… but being totally asymmetrical (cancer surgery), and not finding exactly what I want in a pattern, I’ve taken to drafting my own. First on paper, and now, I hope, with Seamly.
Drafting background:
I learnt technical drafting and working 2D with 3D shapes in high school - with pencil and paper, before CAD was taught. I’ve played with some early CAD on my own time (in the 80’s), but after high school I started working with desktop publishing software and ended up learning a fair bit of Illustrator in the 90’s and 00’s.
So I’m fighting my Illustrator knowledge, and my technical paper-based drafting skills, to try and adapt to Seamly.
I have Seamly on my over ten years old Mac laptop. I’ve worked out I might need to use a mouse, and I have one ready. But I am ready to battle!
It’s so nice to see where you are coming from with pattern making and it’s always a crazy, wonderful journey to start exploring something new, so sit back and enjoy the ride
If I can make a few suggestions…
Make sure that your measurement file is set up correctly and that the measurements are double checked, both on yourself and after entering them into SeamlyME - Measure twice, cut once. This is a very tedious little job and time consuming, but so very important for success with all of the patterns you create and only needs to be done once per person, so I put a lot of love into creating the measurement file - it makes the job a lot more pleasant
Drafting on Seamly2D is very similar to drafting by hand you start, with a rectangle and take it from there. Create your basic bodice sloper, make it up from old or cheap fabric and check the fit on your body and then make the necessary adjustments to the pattern in Seamly, until you get the fit that you require. Once you have your basic bodice pattern on Seamly, save it as your Master Pattern.
You can open the Master Pattern, save it under a different name and go ahead and add pleats, and design details over and over again.
Besides having learned all the drafting by pencil (actually lead holders), as well as computrr programming, I have a degree in Civil Engineering… and in Technical Theatre. I’ve owned a costume shop for 41 years now - so I’ve see just about every odd costume.
I can’t tell a lie… I only stitched the $1 back with George Washington. LOL one of my long time employees did the rest - the $5, a $10, $20, $50, and $100.
They’re for a production of “Catch Me If you Can” in Washington DC.
Hello!
I am Ariana. I am learning to design/draft my own patterns so that I can make clothes I actually want to wear (I am non-binary so I struggle that the clothing I want to wear has no guarantee of fitting the body that I am endowed with in the way that it fits the bodies it was designed for—in addition to needing more normal adjustments such as high rounded back [too much time slouching at computer ]). I discovered Seamly down a research rabbit-hole and it seems like an awesome tool to use.
… I’ve lost one login and re-joined as crn about 2 years ago. I think Seamly2D and it’s community are one of the nicest aspects of fashion design.
]). I discovered Seamly down a research rabbit-hole and it seems like an awesome tool to use.