Select, Pan, Measure, and Advanced tools

What you are trying to accomplish

Move around the worktable, select the exact object you mean to edit, take temporary or saved measurements, and find PatternForge’s specialist tools without confusing them with the everyday digitizing path.

The headline palette contains common actions, including Construction Line for internal stitch, placement, roll, and reference lines. Deeper controls are grouped under Advanced in the right panel: Measure, Resize / scale, Seams & matching, Shape check, and Full details.

Why it matters

Most accidental edits begin with the wrong object or tool being active. A reliable habit is to return to Select, identify the object, then choose the specific operation.

Advanced tools are useful for checking and documenting a digitized pattern, but they do not turn PatternForge into apparel CAD. In particular, Resize / scale changes all dimensions by one proportion. It is not apparel grading and cannot create a correctly distributed size range.

Step by step

Select

1. Choose Select to work with existing pieces, points, markings, or named seam edges.
2. Click or tap an object to select it. The Objects list and right panel help confirm what was chosen.
3. Drag a selected editable item only after the right panel identifies it correctly.
4. Use Escape to cancel an in-progress action or clear selection. Use Undo if the wrong object moved.

Pan and zoom

1. Choose Pan and drag the worktable without changing pattern geometry.
2. With a keyboard, hold Space and drag for temporary panning. A two-finger scroll also pans on supported devices.
3. Use the zoom controls or the documented zoom gesture to inspect detail. Use Fit pieces or Fit selection when you lose orientation.
4. Remember that zoom changes only the view. It does not change true pattern size.

Measure

1. Open Advanced and choose Measure.
2. Click or tap two points. The floating readout shows length and direction.
3. For a quick check, simply measure again; the temporary line is replaced.
4. Choose Keep when the measurement should remain on a piece. The midpoint must fall inside a piece so PatternForge can assign the measurement to it.
5. Select a kept measurement to add a caption such as “waist” or “hem width.” Its displayed length follows its endpoints if the piece moves or the scale changes.
6. A measurement is only as trustworthy as the project’s size evidence. Use it to check scale, not to excuse an unchecked scale.

Construction Line

1. Choose Construction Line from the everyday palette for an internal placement, roll, stitch, or reference line.
2. Click or tap along the line, then choose Finish line. With a keyboard, Enter does the same job.
3. Under What does this line mean?, choose Stitch / sew, Placement, or Other reference. Do not choose Stitch / sew merely because the line sits near a seam.
4. A Stitch / sew line prints with a readable STITCH / SEW label. Placement and other-reference lines stay non-stitch even when they look similar.
5. Add a printable piece note when more explanation is needed. A note that names a fold or stitch line still needs the matching, correctly marked line drawn on the piece.
6. Use the structured Fold Line, Grainline, Notch, or seam tools when that specific meaning matters.

Other Advanced tools

1. Use Resize / scale only for deliberate uniform scaling. You can apply a percentage, target overall width or height, or scale the whole pattern from a selected line. Seam-allowance width is not scaled with the geometry.
2. Use Seams & matching to name edges and compare relationships; see the dedicated article before relying on the result.
3. Use Shape check to inspect gaps, crossings, spikes, rough point clusters, fold problems, and seam concerns. A warning tells you where to inspect; it does not know the designer’s intended shape.
4. Use Full details for a read-only summary of the selected piece’s points, dimensions, outline length, area, markings, and cut quantity.

What success looks like

• The right object is selected before every edit.
• Panning and zooming never alter pattern geometry.
• Temporary measurements are distinguished from kept, exported measurements.
• Measurements are interpreted only after true size passes an independent check.
• Advanced drawings use the correct structured tool when meaning matters.
• Uniform resize is never described or marketed as grading.

Common problems and recovery

Dragging moves a piece when you meant to move the view

Undo, then choose Pan or hold Space before dragging. On touch, use the editor’s multi-touch movement gesture rather than dragging a selected object.

You cannot find a small point or marking

Zoom in, select the item from the Objects list, or use Shape check → Zoom to problem. Confirm hidden or locked state if the item remains unavailable.

The measurement cannot be kept

Make sure at least one piece exists and the midpoint of the measurement lies inside that piece. Otherwise treat it as a temporary worktable measurement.

The measurement changes after calibration

That is expected when true scale changes. Recheck the physical reference and any kept measurements. Do not preserve an old number from an incorrect scale.

Resize changed every piece

The current control scales the whole pattern set uniformly. Undo if you intended to change only one piece or create another apparel size.

Seam allowance no longer has the expected proportion after resize

The resize control deliberately leaves seam-allowance width unchanged. Review and reapply the construction decision after resizing.

An ordinary line does not satisfy Pattern Check

Use the structured marking the checklist expects: Grainline, real Cut on fold, Notch, or the appropriate piece detail. If a printable note promises a stitch line, select the line and choose Stitch / sew; a Placement or Other reference line cannot stand in for it.

Quick safety check

Before an advanced edit, say what will change:

• The view only?
• One point or marking?
• The entire pattern’s geometry?
• A printed annotation?
• A relationship check?

If you cannot answer, return to Select and inspect the right panel before continuing.

Related tools and next step

Use Create Pieces for the core outline workflow, Define and match seams for relationship checks, and name and label pieces for structured production information.