Computer Aided Design

Sewing Patterns

Among the many things that I've used computer software to design, sewing patterns are perhaps the most abundant and useful.  When the blocks shown measure one inch square, the pattern is printed to the correct size.

 This design is actually doll's clothes for an 18" doll.

 This is a Sewing Tutorial of how to add a bust dart to a basic top pattern.

 This formal wear dress design is also for an 18" doll.

This bear is adorable when sewn and even more so when she's wearing the flower girls dress pattern that is included with it.

 How to turn a straight skirt into a flounced skirt, page one of two.

 How to turn a straight skirt into a flounced skirt, page two of two.

 Bridal gown with train for 18" doll.

 Purse design.

 Tote bag design.

 A full scale top, women's size 12.

 A full scale top, women's size 18.

Quilt Design

As well as using my computer for routine personal and business administrative uses, I also am quite accomplished with computer graphic design.

My renovation of 333 Freshwater Road was greatly aided by computerized floor plans and building illustrations.  This section however is dedicated to computer usage in my design work and hobbies.

I find it a very good investment of time to graphically lay out my quilt designs before sewing the pieces together.  It's a great way to see balance of shapes and colours.

I scan the actual fabric I'm thinking of using in my quilt design and cut and paste the shapes together into one quilt block which I can then repeat as many times as I need to 'build' a full-sized quilt.

Storm at Sea 'Woven Ribbons' Quilt

Storm at Sea is a common block used by quilters.  The way I've arranged the colours I've referred to as 'Woven Ribbons'.

'Green & Gold and Blue All Over quilt Pattern

'Hunter's Star' using the actual scanned fabrics.

'Christmas Wreaths' Quilt

This Christmas Wreaths is a quilt I designed a few years ago.  I have yet to sew it as I have quite a few projects in progress at the moment.

This is the tree skirt version of it.

'Glowing Lanterns' quilt design

You need to sit back from the screen to get the visual 'glowing' effect.

 This is the same quilt block, just in different colours.

This is the computer rendition of my Kaleidoscope Quilt. 

Having arranged the blocks using the actual fabric, I could see that the large mauve square was in fact too large and was throwing off the visual balance of an otherwise lovely design.

This is the revised design.  I divided the large squares into a 'quilt block inside a quilt block'.  

It was a bit strange to sew together as the block inside the block is turned 45 degrees.  I further changed the design so that every other smaller block is a different colour.

Here I am sewing the smaller blocks together.

And this is the finished quilt.  It still needed piping, borders and bindings at this point, but I am quite pleased with the overall design.

Having had to upgrade to Windows 8.1, my favourite graphics design software, PhotoStacker, will not install.  I'm very unhappy about that and am still searching for a viable affordable replacement.

Tropical Pineapples Quilt

This is my next quilt project.  I have chosen all the fabrics for it and will begin sewing it this afternoon, I think.  It's snowy outside and a good day to quilt.

Gold Poinsettias Tree Skirt

This is my computer rendition of the original tree skirt design, which was too small.

This is the finished tree skirt which is now round and opens to go around the tree with a separable zipper.

Interior Design, Reconstruction and Miniature Building

Good design is, of course, essential to the success of architecture.  However, not all can visualize in their heads accurately how a proposed design will look once actually built.

 A good working design not only gives an accurate rendition of the line and balance of a proposed design, but it also conforms to exact finished measurements, giving the designer a change to catch any errors (such as stairs placed in front of doors) before they become costly.

This closet renovation (with the exterior wall removed so the entire closet can be seen) turned an unused front porch closet into a much needed master bedroom semi walk in closet.

This is the veranda I would build on my home if I could afford the renovation.  The windows and door are original to the house.  The glass doored sun porch isn't.

This is a view of the other side of the sun porch design.

I also use CAD in my miniature builds.  I don't build dollhouses.  I build miniature versions of more realistic houses so I use my computer to ensure a natural flow to the tiny floor plan.

This is a 3D rendition of one of my miniature builds.  It's built in 1/2 scale, so the entire house is just over one foot square.

Real Life Renovation

This was 333 Freshwater Road before the renovation.

This was my computer rendition of my redesign for 333 Freshwater Road.

This is the finished result.  The front of the building was squared out and a display window added, but as you can see, the proposed design is very close to the finished result.

I also use 3D software in interior design.  You can see what a paint colour will look like on a room, approximately, before painting it.

This is a bedroom redesign.  The closet, shoe tower and TV nook are built out into the room.

3D design software saves much moving about of furniture also.  Here I laid out my sewing room in a functional design before moving all my equipment into it.

This hall pantry was proposed to replace one lost in the master bedroom renovation.

This is the actual (nearly) finished pantry.  As you can see, it holds a lot of items.  The top shelf is twice the depth of the other shelves, allowing storage of larger seldom used items.