State-of-the-Art Tools to Simplify Pattern Making
Textile designing refers to the process of creating unique and innovative surface as well as structural designs that are then printed on all kinds of fabrics ranging from woven to knitted fabrics. This field also includes pattern making and production management. Gone are the days when textile designers would design textiles manually. Such methods are time-consuming and are subject to errors such as deformities, dissimilarities in the pattern and color coupled with flaws in the pattern and fabric of the outfit. With the advent of technology, new tools and techniques such as computer-aided design software have emerged to help designers create exquisite textiles with minimum effort. Let’s take a quick look at some popular hi-end tools that have simplified the process of textile designing:
1.Design Dobby: This software allows textile designers to handle unlimited color variations and precise blankets. It also helps users to design virtual samples of woven materials instead of traditional samples. In a nutshell, Design Dobby can be used to generate flawless and realistic simulations for all kinds of fabric.
2.Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator is an extremely versatile tool that helps students, photographers and small business owners to generate lovely clothing designs while providing easy access to favorite tools such as images, colors, brushes and type styles.
3.C-Design Fashion: This advanced software facilitates the creation of ready-to-wear garments and allows textile designers to release their technical files quickly with the help of a single information source. In a nutshell, this design software takes care of various aspects of the product development lifecycle right from design to production.
4.Fashion CAD: CAD software provides designers with a number of tools that aid in synthesizing, analyzing and documenting the design. In addition, it allows the designer to experiment with a variety of weaves, designs and colors on virtual fabric before creating the actual fabric.
5.Evolution Textile Design: This software provides end-to-end solutions for all your coloring and designing needs. Moreover, it offers flexibility and works with a wide range of formats such as TIFF, BMP, TGA, PCX, JPEG and many others.
6.iWeaveIt: iWeaveIt is a simple drawdown application that is specially designed for tablets, phones and iPads and is compatible with Android as well as Apple IOS systems. This application allows weavers and textile designers to develop and edit the threading, treadling and tie-up on the go. iWeaveIt can easily read and write WIF files within seconds. Furthermore, internet images and emailed files can be imported with a single click.
7.Grid ‘N WeaveIt: The Grid ‘N WeaveIt tool offers essential drawing tools that enable weavers to state the weaving properties of the drawing on the basis of warps and yarns. Designers can also develop a grid overlay to specify the size of the weaving.
8.NedGraphics Fashion: This tool creates a replica of your actual fabric weaves so that textile designers can directly view the texture and minute variation on computer screens without having to wait months on end for samples.
9.TRIADEM StylePlugs: This Adobe plugin allows users to create a variety of high-quality dobby weaving designs, namely checks, stripes and madras within minutes. Furthermore, weavers can edit weaves from the extensible weave library with the help of user-friendly drawing tools.
10. Arah Weave: This product helps textile designers to perform a variety of tasks such as:
Weaving 3200 x 3200 ends/picks
Graphically browse fabrics
Weave patterns including warp/weft patterns
Create jacquard cards
Perform high-quality simulation in 1:1 size and density
RICA’s textile design courses include practical assignments that help you acquire firsthand experience with these tools.
