I want to raise in to the discussion the need of Pattern Library.
We need to have a way to reuse the work easily. The best way is to have all basic pattern pieces as library pieces. Pocket, Collar, Sleeve, Cuff are typical examples. Currently the reuse is quite difficult.
How do you see it?
I suggest that you take a look at https://my-pattern.cloud/
@MrDoo has created a tool that can contain the pattern library and everybody on the valentina forum is already a member of the group âValentina Forum Membersâ which he created there. he and others have already shared a few patterns and I believe that he could create another group, called something like âBasic Pattern Blocksâ that could contain these basic reusable items.
The issue of copying the basic items into another pattern so that you can actually integrate it with the new design would require an additional tool in the valentina program. That addition should not be terribly difficult once the reusable components were available. my-pattern.cloud is a reasonable place to store a collection of reusable pieces
UPDATE: the new link for the pattern cloud is http://seamly.cloud and the group is Seamly Forum Members. This was updated in 2017 and I want to update this reference to it. KMF, 9-09-2019
Iâm not looking for complete patterns. I know the cloud service.
Iâm talking about inserting for example sleeve from library. I know that this needs additional features in Valentina. Putting the question in simple form.
How can we do it ?
Who can program it ?
I think this requires discussion in the Forum. From my point of view this is a needed feature to rise Valentina in new level and ready for business use.
Perhaps one idea would be for Val to come with common blocks already included and have a tool in place to drop them into the pattern set, along with a simple way to add a userâs own blocks.
I absolutely agree that it needs to be discussed in the forum.
I also agree that is a reasonable feature to prepare Valentina for business use.
Perhaps I did not use the right words to convey my idea. I am thinking of the pattern cloud as a part (not the whole thing) of âhow can we do itâ.
Re how can we do it, I suggest there are 2 parts (maybe more, but two are obviously separate to me)
The place to store the library patter pieces could be public, but it should also be private (like folder/files on the disk). Companies do not tend to share their secrets in to public use.
The imported piece needs to have a reference point in the pattern drawing. The reference point could be an existing point in the drawing or it could be imported as new patter pieces.
There needs to be a definition or some markings which values must come from the pattern where the piece will be imported. In the import phase the values could have numbers entered by the person who created the pattern piece.
After the piece has imported this numbed can be replaced by the valuer of the actual pattern.
My 5c worthâŚ
The only way I can see this being implemented is if a set of tools is created, similar to the the dart tool, where one chooses, for instance, a collar stand, selects the section where the stand will fit and a collar stand is created according to the dimensions with new points, etc. which are editable.
And then a collar tool, choose type of collar, select the collar stand that it is to be fitted to or the neckline, at it gets drawn for you.
Likewise with facings, pockets, etc.
@Grace, what you refer to is the method for creating the reusable components. I think what @Stinde refers to is the need to be able to pull components in from a library of previously created components. Both are important. The requirement to keep some libraries private is an important business issue for some. The availability of some openly shared components will draw users from a different audience.
Taking all of that into consideration does it make sense that there be a separate program, or at least a separate toolbar on the left side to contain tools to create these reusable components? Would it be reasonable to add another tool menu to this list
What would be the name of the new toolbar?
How many different usable components are there? Is it reasonable or even possible to define a fixed amount?
Could the requirement to keep a private library be addressed by a âcreate macroâ feature. By this I mean that the user could record a repetitive set of keystrokes and mouse clicks to use tools like âfacing toolâ, âcollar toolâ âpocket toolâ etc?
Does it make sense to add two different new features: a macro feature and also an import feature?
I fully understand this and as I said, the only way I can actually see this working is as tools where one can have a library of (perhaps self-made) elements. There could be standard ones (default) and custom-made ones. These would need to be stored in a database in the same way that Tape stores measurements in a database.
It could go into operations where the dart tool is.
That would never be my decision. Iâm only thinking about how @Stindeâs idea could be implemented.
Any part of the pattern part in Valentina has following features
The added pattern from the library needs following
I think the added work is not so huge.
I agree that the work is not huge. I am interested in an opinion from @Stinde about whether a combination of a toolset to handle common things (collars, pockets, facingsâŚ) plus the ability to specify points for those things (like the specific points on darts can already be specified) plus the ability to store macros, privately on a local disk addresses a useful part of his issue.
The way he described adding a part of a pattern sounds also useful and IMHO could be part of a generalized âexport/importâ that allowed any âpattern pieceâ to be exported from a pattern and later imported into another. Some (and not all) of the exported patterns could be stored in the pattern cloud and shared. The decision to share or not would be left to the creator of the pattern or pattern piece.
I am rephrasing, trying to see whether I understand.
I personally thinks that the is basic need is for an import tool.
The creation of the library pattern is exporting whole pattern piece. You just create a pocket, collar, etc and save as pattern library pice. Of course this need a tool as well.
FWIW, any added component would need both one or more attachment point(s) and a rotation.
Consider this very hard problem:
The edge of a collar is built from the length and shape of the shirt piecesâ necklines, not from measurements.
If the shirt can be any shirt made by any patternmaker using any system or no system, then how can the collar fit the shirt?
Pre-knowledge of the shirt isnât available when creating the collar pattern.
All collar patterns I have seen (Muller & Sohn + others) are based on the length of a neck line. Perhaps it is not possible have all pieces as Library Patterns.
I would rather solve the basic problem and have perhaps simplified functionality which can be enhanced after usage.
Letâs not forget that we donât have to solve every problem, only as many as we practically can. If something canât be done, so be it.
Well, as I see it collar length must be imputed as increment or âprewiew calculationâ (another tab near âincrementsâ I suggested some time ago, very useful for some systems) and than is taken from corresponding value in the base pattern
If possible, it would be great if pattern pieces were just normal .val files which can be used separately.
Sometimes there is need to combine two patterns, not only add âpiecesâ like collar and sleeve. Examples: combining shirt and pants to make jumpsuit, dress and bra patterns to make a dress with fitted bra-like âcupsâ and so on
And about values from the pattern needed for the imported pieces, for the first ânot elegant, but workingâ option we could just put a fixed number here, like 46 cm, and then put in a needed formula after combining with the base pattern. Thatâs basically what I do now honestly, I have separate .val files for collars and put neckline length from the base pattern by hand.
Perhaps high ranges of object ids could be reserved for pattern library objects, with sub ranges for specific garment parts.
I am always hesitant to implement any software with a fixed number pre-reserved of pre-reserved slots for anything. I remember back in the day when nobody thought 16 bit would be small or that nobody thought IPV4 would ever run out of address space.