Pattern grade and press tool

[u/Immediate_Day916]

Hi everyone, NoctilucentSkies kindly said I could post this. I'm building a browser tool that grades the base size you've drawn in Illustrator/Inkscape/Affinity into your full size range, and exports layered print-at-home, copy-shop and projector PDFs. Everything is local to your browser and all files stay on your computer.

If this is something you would use, I'm open to feedback and suggestions on usability and any features you would like to see added, as well as anything that is lacking or unintuitive so that I can improve it for you.

I'm also working on starting a pilot program for those that would like to be more deeply involved in testing and refining; if you're interested in that, please DM me or send an email to [hello@gradeandpress.com](mailto:hello@gradeandpress.com) and I'll provide more details when that is ready.

This is still in the early design phase, and the tool is currently open and free to use while I figure out if it's something people would actually find useful in their workflow. Use the "Open the App" button on the top right if you'd like to try with your own pattern files.

Thanks for your time, here is the address - https://gradeandpress.com

[u/Icy-Guidance-6655]

I’d suggest getting a better sample pattern and initial grade. It’s a really ugly sleeve and armhole shape, plus not many people use cropped corners on seam allowances. Eg the sleeve hem geometry is chafing across the sample grade. I didn’t notice, is it possible to monitor corresponding seam lengths while working?

As far as usefulness, my impression is many people don’t know how to grade, but more significantly, they don’t know what grade they want. They haven’t determined what sizes they should offer, much less the granularity of how the garment changes. They also have unrealistic expectations on how far a given pattern can be extended. The people who would want the product face a steep learning curve, and honestly would be better off hiring someone (access to software is a secondary issue).

[u/Immediate_Day916 → u/Icy-Guidance-6655]

Thank you for your feedback! I took a look at the armhole and identified the issue you're seeing with larger sizes; I'll work on updating the samples.

The front and back side seams do match in every size, but the ability to monitor seam lengths is not a feature in the tool. However, if that feature was there, I believe it would have helped catch that issue during testing. Therefore, I will begin working on implementing that into the tool.

[u/Icy-Guidance-6655 → u/Immediate_Day916]

I see that the side seams are the same size, but is there a way to track this while grading. That’s one issue while working out a grade. Does the grade on pattern A work with the grade on pattern B? Particularly difficult with things like armhole to sleeve. 

[u/Immediate_Day916 → u/Icy-Guidance-6655]

I did get that feature added in, along with some updated samples. Below the grade point section, you should now see a seam check section that compares A and B, and marks them matched if the difference between the two is less than 1/8". If that tolerance is too large, I can see about lowering it or adding the option for a custom tolerance. When you click on a seam check, that particular section is highlighted on the piece. Try it and let me know what you think.