<p>Can you scale them up directly and get a perfectly workable pattern just by doing that? Unlikely, unless the pattern itself is particularly simple (a basic skirt or loose-fitting garment).</p>
<p>But can you do it? Sure. You'll need to accept that, once you've got the overall idea worked out, you'll have to make some further adjustments in tailoring after scaling up--your pattern won't be &quot;done&quot; by any means after increasing the size, but you can save some frustration on working out larger elements of the pattern using smaller pieces of fabric and less sewing time before bringing the whole concept up to full scale--keeping in mind that drape and gathers may not always work as well in the small-scale versions and may offer some &quot;surprises&quot; when you scale up.</p>
<p>I don't draft patterns myself, but I'll regularly modify existing commercial patterns to fit what I'm trying to make, and I generally will test the modifications in small-scale first before moving into the full size pieces. As long as you're aware of the limitations of the process, and the adjustments that need to be made when switching scales, it's perfectly doable.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-24T13:32:18.297Z
2021-05-24T13:32:18.297Z
Allison C
<p>This would not be an adequate process to go from sketch to final pattern.  Humans have very complex shapes.  When you sketch a small version, you are working at a macro level, getting general shapes and proportions.  And you're doing that in 2D.</p>
<p>Things are very different when you translate them to 3D and scale them to human size.  There is a lot of adapting needed to fit the simple lines and curves of a design sketch to the complex shapes of a body.  Just scaling the sketch will, at best, give you a crude starting point for fitting that to a human form.</p>
<p>The initial sketches won't be accurate or contain all the detail needed at full-size.  The benefit of vector tools is that you will be enlarging to a degree where pixel detail won't translate to smooth lines.</p>
<p>Vector drawing software might help as a tool to get from sketch to full-size rough templates that you can manipulate.  But if you aren't a pro with the included drawing tools, you might find that the best workflow includes digitizing hard-copy sketches and then converting that to vector for resizing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T21:51:41.277Z
2021-05-22T22:45:20.993Z
2021-05-22T22:45:20.993Z
fixer1234
<p>As a means of making demo sewing patterns I was thinking of making them with the use a program such as Inkscape and then scaling them up.</p>
<p>My idea is to use small scale designs, so I can rough them out by eye first, and once I am satisfied with the appearance, make it a bigger scale.</p>
<p>Would it be a good approach to use a program such as Inkscape to draw them first, and then use the vector resizing to scale them up?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T19:59:54.400Z
"Is it a good idea" is a very subjective question, which we don't allow on this site. If you're talented enough at drawing precise pattern on a computer, you can do it, but you could also draw the pattern with a pencil on packing paper or the backside of gift wrap. Which one of these is "a good idea" depends on you're abilities alone.
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T20:25:13.480Z
That is as it used to be done, back in my mothers days. But for the full scale pattern they would usually use a basic pattern adjusted to the person and change that into a big version of the scaled model. Not a simple enlargement.
Willeke
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-26T02:44:14.123Z
Well, the main point of vector graphics is that scale barely matters. You can resize the shapes in a split-second mouse-drag, on a whim, and that's that. Sharpness and accuracy will remain excellent. The only concern I perceive is what [@fixer1234's answer](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/10318/10433) inspired: that the _suitable amount of details_ may differ between something small, and  something large.
Levente
<sewing>
What drawbacks would there be in drawing miniaturized patterns in a vector-image program and then scaling them up?
Dimitrios Desyllas
# What drawbacks would there be in drawing miniaturized patterns in a vector-image program and then scaling them up?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-22)

As a means of making demo sewing patterns I was thinking of making them with the use a program such as Inkscape and then scaling them up.

My idea is to use small scale designs, so I can rough them out by eye first, and once I am satisfied with the appearance, make it a bigger scale.

Would it be a good approach to use a program such as Inkscape to draw them first, and then use the vector resizing to scale them up?

**Tags:** sewing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "Is it a good idea" is a very subjective question, which we don't allow on this site. If you're talented enough at drawing precise pattern on a computer, you can do it, but you could also draw the pattern with a pencil on packing paper or the backside of gift wrap. Which one of these is "a good idea" depends on you're abilities alone.  
> **username_2**: That is as it used to be done, back in my mothers days. But for the full scale pattern they would usually use a basic pattern adjusted to the person and change that into a big version of the scaled model. Not a simple enlargement.  
> **username_3**: Well, the main point of vector graphics is that scale barely matters. You can resize the shapes in a split-second mouse-drag, on a whim, and that's that. Sharpness and accuracy will remain excellent. The only concern I perceive is what [@username_5's answer](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/10318/10433) inspired: that the _suitable amount of details_ may differ between something small, and  something large.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2021-05-24. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Can you scale them up directly and get a perfectly workable pattern just by doing that? Unlikely, unless the pattern itself is particularly simple (a basic skirt or loose-fitting garment).

But can you do it? Sure. You'll need to accept that, once you've got the overall idea worked out, you'll have to make some further adjustments in tailoring after scaling up--your pattern won't be "done" by any means after increasing the size, but you can save some frustration on working out larger elements of the pattern using smaller pieces of fabric and less sewing time before bringing the whole concept up to full scale--keeping in mind that drape and gathers may not always work as well in the small-scale versions and may offer some "surprises" when you scale up.

I don't draft patterns myself, but I'll regularly modify existing commercial patterns to fit what I'm trying to make, and I generally will test the modifications in small-scale first before moving into the full size pieces. As long as you're aware of the limitations of the process, and the adjustments that need to be made when switching scales, it's perfectly doable.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2021-05-22. Score: 0

This would not be an adequate process to go from sketch to final pattern. Humans have very complex shapes. When you sketch a small version, you are working at a macro level, getting general shapes and proportions. And you're doing that in 2D.

Things are very different when you translate them to 3D and scale them to human size. There is a lot of adapting needed to fit the simple lines and curves of a design sketch to the complex shapes of a body. Just scaling the sketch will, at best, give you a crude starting point for fitting that to a human form.

The initial sketches won't be accurate or contain all the detail needed at full-size. The benefit of vector tools is that you will be enlarging to a degree where pixel detail won't translate to smooth lines.

Vector drawing software might help as a tool to get from sketch to full-size rough templates that you can manipulate. But if you aren't a pro with the included drawing tools, you might find that the best workflow includes digitizing hard-copy sketches and then converting that to vector for resizing.


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