Place and verify a grainline
What you are trying to accomplish
Add a clear direction mark showing how a pattern piece should align with the fabric. For a typical woven pattern, this usually means aligning the grainline with the fabric’s lengthwise grain, parallel to the selvedge. Directional fabric may require a one-way arrow.
Why it matters
The same paper shape can hang, stretch, twist, or look different when cut in another fabric direction. A grainline is therefore a construction instruction, not decoration.
PatternForge can record and print the direction you place. It cannot infer the correct grain from the outline alone. The source pattern, center line, fold edge, fabric behavior, and designer’s intent remain the authority.
A real cut-on-fold edge can serve as the grain reference for readiness because that edge is aligned to the fabric fold. Other pieces normally need their own grainline.
Step by step
- Select the piece and identify the intended grain direction from the physical pattern or drafting information. Do not guess from the page orientation or the longest edge.
- Choose Grainline from the tool palette, or choose Place the grainline in Get it ready.
- Click or tap one end of the grainline, then the other end. Place it inside the piece and make it long enough to align accurately on fabric.
- Select the new grainline to open its controls.
- Drag its ends to refine the position, or use Angle°, Vertical, Horizontal, Flip 180°, or Align to edge when those controls express the intended direction.
- Use Align to edge only when the nearest edge is a trustworthy grain reference, such as a known center or straight fold edge. It is not a command to discover the correct grain.
- Turn on One-way (directional / nap fabric) when every piece must face a particular direction because of nap, pile, shading, or a one-way print.
- Adjust weight, arrow style, or color only after the direction is correct. Keep the mark legible in black-and-white printing.
- Preview the export and confirm that the grainline is visible, not covered by labels, and clearly associated with the intended piece.
What success looks like
- The grain direction comes from an intentional source, not the screen orientation.
- The line sits inside the correct piece and is long enough to align on fabric.
- Its arrow treatment clearly shows whether either direction or only one direction is allowed.
- The mark remains readable in the exported PDF or SVG.
- Pattern Check counts the piece’s grain requirement as complete, or a real cut-on-fold edge correctly substitutes for it.
Common problems and recovery
The grainline is attached to the wrong piece
Delete it and place a new one inside the intended piece. Confirm ownership in the Objects list.
The line points the wrong way
Select it and use Flip 180° for a one-way grainline, or edit the angle. On a two-way grainline, a 180-degree reversal is visually equivalent unless the arrow style or fabric direction says otherwise.
Align to edge chose an unhelpful direction
Undo, reposition the grainline nearer the correct reference, or enter the intended angle directly. The command uses a nearby edge; it does not understand fabric grain.
The grainline is too short to use at the cutting table
Drag the endpoints farther apart while keeping the line inside the piece. A tiny direction tick is harder to measure parallel to the selvedge.
Pattern Check still asks for a grainline
Make sure the marking is a real Grainline attached to that piece. A typed arrow, ordinary Construction Line, or note is not the same structured marking.
The piece is cut on fold
Use the real cut-on-fold flow. Do not add a second, conflicting grainline unless the source pattern genuinely requires an additional direction reference.
The fabric is knit, bias-cut, or otherwise special
Follow the pattern and tested fabric behavior. PatternForge records the direction but does not determine stretch, recovery, bias, or layout suitability.
Quick safety check
Before moving on, ask:
- What source tells me this is the correct direction?
- Is the mark long and clear enough to align with the fabric?
- Does one-way fabric have a one-way grainline?
- Does the exported mark remain visible in grayscale?
- Is there any label or fold instruction that contradicts it?
Related tools and next step
For half pieces placed on folded fabric, continue with cut on fold. Then add notches and balance marks and review name and label information.
Last reviewed 2026-07-12. Editorial source topics: 8, 10.
This article teaches digitizing and sewing information. It does not replace fit testing, construction testing, or permission to digitize and distribute someone else’s pattern.