Designing costumes on the Computer

August 8, 2009 9:08 PM

Any recommendations for clothing design software? I'm always scared to download software because I'm afraid it will a virus or something bad.

I'm a totally novice when it comes to clothing design, but I do sew. I'm looking for software mostly to help me design garments for cosplay.

I am currently using a old desktop with XP on it. I also have access to a macbook.

posted by silkygreenbelly to clothing, beauty, & fashion (2 comments total)

When I worked at an apparel company, the designers used Adobe Illustrator.
posted by k8t at 10:01 PM on August 8

If you are looking for a full featured Windows clothing design package, perhaps Cochenille Garment Designer will fill your need. It doesn't have all the features of commercial design software, but it is created as a tool for the home based clothing maker, and it will take you through the entire custom garment design process, from creating a customized virtual draping form that can even accommodate body imperfections, to building basic garments from included base garments (or parts thereof), to adding features like lapels, linings, and pockets, to printing out full size, graded sewing patterns. Having thousands of model garment templates included is a real time saver for those who are not accomplished with computerized drawing software, as it saves a lot of time in getting your basic shell created, with fewer mistakes, and better final fit of the finished garments. For its feature set, it is comparatively inexpensive, and you can download a free demo version.
posted by paulsc at 10:48 PM on August 8