About PatinaCAD

What PatinaCAD is

PatinaCAD is pattern software for leatherworkers. It covers the whole job between an idea and the leather:

• Draw the pieces with lines, arcs, curves and rectangles, with sizes typed in millimetres or inches.
• Round the corners and set the stitch line a few millimetres in from the edge.
• Lay out stitching holes for your pricking irons, with a hole on every corner, and copy them onto a gusset so the two pieces match (gussets and box stitch).
• Size pockets against real bank cards, banknotes and coins from the card and banknote templates.
• Run the pattern check for tiny gaps and use the stitch preview to see the stitches as thread.
• Print the pattern at actual size, export it for laser cutting, or turn it into a 3D-printed template.

It runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a computer, with nothing to install. It's in English, and every size can be in millimetres or inches.

Who it's for

Leatherworkers. Someone cutting their first card holder at the kitchen table. A maker who sells wallets and bags and wants every batch to match. Anyone who has spent an evening nudging stitch holes one by one in a general drawing program.

You don't need to know design software. The tools are the things you already use at the bench: stitch lines, pricking irons, rounded corners, gussets and card pockets. The user guide starts with a first pattern in ten steps, and the leather pattern making guides explain the arithmetic behind even stitching and true-size printing.

What PatinaCAD stands for

Free to use

Every feature is free. There's no subscription, no trial that runs out and no account to make.

Made only for leatherwork

PatinaCAD does one job: leather patterns. That keeps the menus short and the tools to the point, so there's far less to learn before your first pattern.

Your patterns stay on your computer

Nothing is uploaded. Your work is kept in your browser as you go, and saved as pattern files wherever you choose, so you can copy them, back them up or send them to a friend. The privacy policy sets out exactly what is kept where.

Your patterns are yours

The patterns you draw, and everything you make from them, belong to you. Sell the bags and wallets, or sell the patterns themselves. The terms of use say so in writing.

Free to use, not open source

PatinaCAD costs nothing to use, for your own projects or for your business. Its code isn't open source, so the program itself can't be copied, changed or resold.

Where it's going

PatinaCAD is new and still growing. What's new has the release notes for each version, and the guide notes the few menu items that are still greyed out. If you have a question, the frequently asked questions may already answer it, and the free leatherworking tools work without opening PatinaCAD at all.