FreeSewing.org
I would like to work with the Wovens and Stretch Patterns group to explore incorporating these patterns into software. A first task would be to try and use the software to make something and record that process. I later decided to focus more on the knitting machine, mostly because of the collaborators I found within the group.
What is Free Sewing?
FreeSewing is the leading open source library for on-demand garment manufacturing.
FreeSewing’s sewing patterns are made to measure.
We don’t scale or grade patterns. Instead, FreeSewing drafts a design into a pattern made to your measurements. That happens in real-time, in your browser.
- Design: One of the styles that we offer. We’ve got dozens of designs, and you can try them all
- Pattern: The result of drafting the design (turning it into a sewing pattern to measurements). They have thousands of patterns stored for their users.
Outside of their description, open-source parametric garment-drafting system, not a pattern marketplace and not a sizing tool.
At its core, it is:
- A JavaScript-based pattern-drafting engine
- That converts body measurements → mathematically defined pattern geometry
- Rendered client-side in the browser
- Exportable as printable or projector-ready patterns (SVG / PDF)
Other interesting features:
- Drafting happens locally in the browser
- No dependency on proprietary CAD tools
- Patterns can be self-hosted or embedded elsewhere
FreeSewing.org is the user-facing portion of it.
FreeSewing for Developers
FreeSewing.dev hosts documentation for developers, designers, contributors, and translators.
- Pattern authoring framework
- API docs, drafting methods, geometry helpers
- Contribution guides (design, code, translation)
FreeSewing.eu is also relevant - feels like the legal / governance entity. More research needs to be done.
FreeSewing differs from other tools
vs. CLO3D
vs. Lekala / Tailornova
- Those are black-box parametric generators
- Users can’t inspect, modify, or extend logic
- Bodies become data inputs, not co-design agents
vs. Etsy / Indie Pattern Designers
- Etsy = static PDFs, fixed assumptions about bodies
- FreeSewing = infinite variants per design
- No size charts, no “closest fit”
