How to Shop for Textiles Designer Software

Designing textiles requires a creative sense, as well as a sense of mathematics and proportion. For centuries, a textile designer would have utilized the tools of mathematicians such as graphing aids and complex formulas to lay out loom structure and determine pattern repeats. In the age of technology, textile designers are now equipped with software that frees them of many of the mathematical constraints previously applied. This allows them to let their imagination loose. Choose design software to create textiles of various weave and knit structures.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Printer
• Digital camera

Select a Software to Suit Your Textile Technique

1. Look for textile print design software if you plan on creating designs for screen or transfer printing to textiles.
2. Shop for textile design software specifically designed for dobby loom woven textiles if you are working with a dobby loom machine.
3. Narrow your software selections to only those models that format for the jacquard loom if you plan on using this style of hand- or machine-loom for your textiles.
4. Create beautiful patterns for your knit textile machine when you choose a textile design program specifically for knitted textiles.

Shop for Design Software for the Textiles Industry

5. Look for software that offers a variety of easy-to-use tools to create and edit original designs. Ideally, the tools menu should be designed around industry standard language and imagery to make navigation easier.
6. Keep an eye out for software programs that allow you to work in both repeat and single image mode. You should also be given the flexibility to change between different modes of repeats including mirror, half-drop or with or without overlapping.
7. Seek out the programs that allow you to utilize multiple weave structures in your design. While you may be limited to the constraints of your loom set up, your software should allow you to work out all possibilities within your given warp and weft element range.
8. Think about how a designer thinks when selecting your textile designer software. You should look for programs that provide large color and image galleries to allow for the greatest creativity in your designs.
9. See what you are designing before it's woven by selecting software that allows for photo realistic simulation of prints and weave structures.

Tips & Warnings

• If you plan on coordinating your textile design software with a computerized loom, check with the manufacturer's software requirements before you shop. Depending on your loom type, you may be restricted in the kind of software you can purchase.

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