No install · No account · about a minute

Photograph a paper pattern.
Get a cutting file in a minute.

Lay the piece on a table with a sheet of letter paper beside it, shoot straight down with your phone and upload it. We flatten the perspective, trace the outline, mark the notches and hand you DXF, PDF and PLT.

Free to upload, trace and edit ±0.06 in typical DXF · PDF · PLT
A paper sewing pattern photographed from above with a sheet of paper beside it for scale
The same photograph with the traced outline drawn over the pattern TRACED
AAMA / ASTM DXF·LETTER-TILED PDF·HPGL PLT·CRICUT & SILHOUETTE·GERBER · OPTITEX · LECTRA · STYLECAD·UPHOLSTERY & CANVAS· AAMA / ASTM DXF·LETTER-TILED PDF·HPGL PLT·CRICUT & SILHOUETTE·GERBER · OPTITEX · LECTRA · STYLECAD·UPHOLSTERY & CANVAS·

Drop your photo here

JPG, PNG or HEIC straight off your phone. One piece per photo, with a sheet of paper in frame so we know the true size. Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.

about 60 seconds ±0.06 in typical free until you download
or look at our example first

Before and after

Real photo · real trace · nothing retouched

BEFORE Paper pattern piece lying on a dark surface with a sheet of paper next to it
A trouser block on a dark surface with one sheet of paper beside it, shot from above on a phone.
AFTER The same pattern with the traced outline and the located sheet of paper marked
Perspective corrected, outline closed, notches marked and the scale locked to that sheet of paper.

How it works

Four steps, one browser tab and about a minute of waiting. No scanner, no digitizing table, no plugin.

STEP 01

Lay it out

The pattern piece flat on a surface that contrasts with it, one ordinary sheet of paper beside it. That sheet is the ruler.

STEP 02

Shoot and upload

One photo from above with your phone. A slight tilt is fine, we straighten it against the sheet.

STEP 03

We trace it

The sheet sets true scale, the edge is turned into a vector outline, corners are placed and notches are marked.

STEP 04

Check and download

Correct anything in the browser editor, then take DXF, PDF and PLT in one archive.

What you get

Three files for every piece, in the formats the rest of your workflow already reads.

.DXF

AAMA / ASTM for CAD

Cut line, notches, grain and internal lines each written to their own layer, the way apparel software expects them.

  • Gerber AccuMark, Optitex, Lectra Modaris
  • StyleCAD, Assyst, Seamly2D, Valentina
  • AutoCAD and Fusion 360
  • Piece names stay editable
.PDF

Tiled for a desktop printer

The piece split across Letter sheets with a 0.4 in overlap, join marks on every edge and an assembly map on page one.

  • Prints at true size, no scaling dialog
  • Test square to confirm the scale
  • Tape it up and cut on the floor
  • Works on any home printer
.PLT

Straight to a cutter

Standard HPGL with clean pen-up and pen-down moves, ready for a plotter or a cutting table.

  • Graphtec, Roland, Mutoh
  • HP DesignJet, rolls up to 63 in
  • Cricut and Silhouette read the DXF
  • No conversion step in between

If the trace is off, you fix it yourself

The editor opens in the same tab, on top of your own photo. No download, no round trip, no support ticket, and correcting costs nothing.

Drag points to nudge the outline back onto the paper edge.

Bend a segment into a true curve where the paper was creased.

Add, move or delete notches, and set the grain line by hand.

Measure any edge against the real piece before you commit.

Open the editor on our example
The browser editor showing the traced outline with its anchor points and the export panel

Who it's for

The same minute-long job, four very different reasons to do it. Each one has its own page.

Digitize your first piece

Pricing

Uploading, tracing and editing cost nothing. You pay per finished piece, only at the moment you download it. Hand digitizing services in the US start at around $450 a piece.

SINGLE PIECE
$5per piece

One pattern piece, start to finish. DXF, PDF and PLT. Unlimited edits in the browser. No account.

Buy
5 PIECES
$20$4.00 each

A whole garment's worth of pieces. All three files for every piece. Unused pieces never expire.

Buy
15 PIECESPOPULAR
$45$3.00 each

A full size run, or a season of samples. All three files for every piece. Unused pieces never expire.

Buy
50 PIECES
$99$1.98 each

For a shop digitizing an existing archive. All three files for every piece. Unused pieces never expire.

Buy
Draft prices - to be confirmed

Pieces never expire · No subscription · The example pattern downloads free

FAQ

Frequently asked

Everything people ask before their first upload.

How accurate is it?+

On a flat piece shot straight down in even light, the outline typically lands within about 0.06 in of the paper edge. The sheet in frame is what makes that possible: it fixes true scale no matter how high you held the phone.

Why does the photo need a sheet of paper?+

It is the scale reference. We measure the sheet in pixels and convert everything to real inches from it. Without the sheet you get the right shape at the wrong size, which is no use for cutting.

Do I need an account?+

No. Upload, trace and edit as a guest. You only leave an email at checkout so we can send the download link again if you lose it.

What if the trace comes out wrong?+

Correct it in the browser editor before you pay, or just walk away: nothing is charged until you download. Points, curves, notches and the grain line are all yours to move.

Will the DXF open in my CAD?+

It follows the AAMA / ASTM standard that Gerber AccuMark, Optitex, Lectra Modaris, StyleCAD, Seamly2D, AutoCAD and most other systems read directly. If yours is unusual, send us a test file and we will match it.

Do you keep my patterns?+

Your download link stays live for 30 days, then the files are deleted. Patterns are never shared with anyone and are never used to train anything.

Still unsure? Run our example pattern - that download is free.

See the example

Try it on the piece nearest you.

A phone, a sheet of paper and a minute. Free until you download.

Upload a photo See the example