Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Fashion is big business. Plenty of monthly magazines are available for the sewing enthusiasts, filled with pictures of models wearing skirts, blouses, dresses, etc.
Along with the magazines come the patterns, so that once you know what you want to sew, you simply copy the correct pattern for your size, choose the fabric, follow the guidelines, and sew your new garment.
There is just one problem. Those models are young, slim, top-fit, and do not represent the majority of women, and the dress or blouse you just sew does not fit a 50+ woman. That’s one of the reasons that dress pattern design courses are on the rise. If you draw your own bespoke pattern, taking into account your typical physical attributes, like a larger than normal waist, the end product will fit you like a glove.
Drawing a pattern is a technique that requires some drawing dexterity, along with a grasp of the specific techniques you learned. You need time, a large table where you place a piece of paper, and using pencils, shears, tape, eraser, you complete the pattern. But what if you want to use the same pattern for someone else, who has different characteristics? Simple, you have to start anew, but, this time, with different sizes. Not very efficient.
That was the situation I found myself in. Being retired, I was looking for a new hobby, and my wife suggested that I sew some nice stuff for her. It was worth a try, and now I like sewing very much. After 2 years of evening school to learn the ins and outs of dress pattern design, I now draw my bespoke patterns.
I knew someone, somewhere, must have an open source program that would aid me with the design.
Valentina
Valentina (https://valentinaproject.bitbucket.io/) is an open source computer aided pattern design software. Just like all CAD programs, it does not draw the pattern for you, but hands you the digital tools to do it. The project was started in 2013 by Roman Telezhinsky (Ukraine), aka Dismine, and Susan Spencer (USA). In 2017 Susan forked the program and her version is called Seamly2D (https://seamly.net/).
Valentina is multi-platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux), and is written in C++ and QT5. For Ubuntu, there is a PPA for the stable version (https://launchpad.net/~dismine/+archive/ubuntu/valentina), and for the Beta version (https://code.launchpad.net/~dismine/+archive/ubuntu/valentina-dev). Note that only one can be installed at the time.
The file format for all the data is XML.
I’ve been running the Beta version and it runs very well. Keep in mind though that the Beta can read the Stable file formats, but not the other way round.
Tape
The big advantage of Valentina is that it comes with an accompanying package called Tape which is used to store the measurements of the model. You create a different measurements file for each model/shape.
One pattern, multiple sizes
When you start a new pattern, the first thing you do is link the correct measurements file to it. During the pattern drawing you use the measurements from the linked Tape-file. If you change to another Tape-file, the pattern automatically adapts to reflect the new measurements. So, drawing a pattern for your 4 year-old granddaughter, and next the same pattern for her 6 year-old sister, takes just a few clicks. That’s a time saver.
Pseudo layers
A pattern consists of more than one piece. For a blouse, you need a bodice, sleeves, collar, … Each of those pieces lies in its own ‘layer’ which prevents you from accidentally changing something in the wrong pattern piece.
Detailing
Once the pattern is drawn, you can draw seam allowance, labels, passmarks and grainline for each pattern piece.
Exporting your pattern
Although you can print the design directly on A4/Letter format domestic printer, resulting in a jigsaw of 25 or more pages that must be taped together, Valentina does not yet allow you to add free standing labels, nor has it a library of special icons and symbols like the Ω sign to indicate a fold. To solve that, it is possible to export the pattern as a SVG-file. That file can then be imported in a Vector Drawing program like Inkscape, where you apply the finishing touches to your pattern. Once saved as a PDF on A0-plotter size, you can take it to any plan-printing shop and have it printed on a roll-plotter.
Pro’s • Compared to what the industry charges for a closed source Win/Mac only pattern design software, Valentina is a very good alternative for the home user. • Its ingenious system of linking measurements files with the same pattern, allows rapid drawing of multi-size patterns. • It is multilingual. • Uses metric as well as imperial system. • Allows exporting to DXF (AutoCad), PNG, and SVG-files. • You get rid of drawers and drawers of taped, cut, or otherwise mangled patterns. • • Plenty of videos on YouTube. Search for ‘valentina pattern tutorial’.
Con’s • There is no measurement tool in the program. • The lack of free-form text forces you to use a secondary program to finish the pattern. • Little on-line help. The wiki is not complete, and in English only. • The head developers website is in Russian. Google translate is needed.
Verdict
When you sew and draw your own patterns, Valentina is certainly a great asset. Even if you don’t sew, but your partner does, it is worthwhile to let him/her have a go with it. It is ideal for a typical (semi-professional) sewer, who needs to draw bespoke patterns for different sizes. It is a very well designed program, currently better than its forked cousin (Seamly2D). The lack of help is compensated by the recent release of the English manual (https://valentina-project.blogspot.com/2019/10/user-manual-en.html).