Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about PatinaCAD, the free leather pattern software that runs in your browser. Each one links to the page that explains it in full. For the techniques behind the answers, see the leather pattern making guides.
Getting started
Is PatinaCAD free? Do I need an account?
It's free, and there's no account or sign-up. There's no subscription and no trial that runs out.
What do I need to use it?
A computer with Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on Windows, Mac or Linux. There's nothing to install.
I've never used design software. Can I still use it?
Yes. Open the demo card holder to see a finished pattern, then follow the guide's first pattern: ten steps from a rectangle to a pricked, printed card holder.
Can I work in inches?
Yes. Choose millimetres or inches in the options. Every size you type and every measurement shown follows your choice.
Which browser works best?
Chrome or Edge. They can save your work straight back to your pattern file as you go. Firefox and Safari work too, but there Save downloads a copy of the file instead.
Your patterns
Where are my patterns saved?
On your own computer, as files you can copy, back up and share. Nothing is uploaded, and if the browser closes, your work is still there when you come back.
Can I sell what I make with PatinaCAD?
Yes. Your pattern files are yours, and so is everything you make from them. Sell the leather goods, or sell the patterns themselves.
Can I bring in a pattern I already have?
Yes. Trace over a photo, a scan or a PDF page at its real size, or import an SVG drawing from another program.
Can I use PatinaCAD for my leather business?
Yes. Use it to design the goods you sell, or to make patterns you sell to other makers. There's no business licence to buy and no limit on how many patterns you make.
Does PatinaCAD collect any of my data?
Nothing personal. There's no account, and your patterns are never uploaded: they stay in your browser and in the files you save. The website and the app count page visits anonymously, without cookies.
Stitching
Can it match my pricking irons?
Yes. Diamond and French irons in common sizes such as 3.38, 3.85 and 4 mm, 1/8″ and 5/32″, and flat and round irons in 3, 4 and 5 mm, are built in. You can add your own with their exact spacing and prong counts.
How does it space holes evenly and still put one on every corner?
It treats each side between two corners separately. It either picks the spacing closest to your iron that fits the side exactly, or keeps your iron's spacing and shares the small difference over the last few stitches before the corner.
Can I make gusset holes line up with the panel?
Yes. Prick the panel, then copy its holes onto the gusset, so both pieces have the same number of holes at the same spacing.
Printing and cutting
Will my printed pattern be the right size?
Yes, as long as you print at 100% (“Actual size”, with “Fit to page” off). Every printout has a 100 mm ruler so you can check it with a steel rule, and you can correct a printer that is slightly off.
Can I print a large pattern on A4 or Letter paper?
Yes. A pattern bigger than the paper is split across several pages with an overlap, ready to tape together.
Can I use it with my laser cutter?
Yes. Export your pattern as an SVG or DXF file and open it in your laser or cutting software. Outlines, stitch holes and guides come out on separate layers.
Can I 3D-print a template or a stitching jig?
Yes. PatinaCAD turns a pattern into an STL file for a 3D-printed template, or a jig that holds the piece while you work.
Compared with other software
How is it different from CorelDRAW, Illustrator or Inkscape?
Those are general design programs. PatinaCAD only does leather patterns, so it knows about pricking irons, stitch lines, gussets and printing at true size, and there's far less to learn.
Is PatinaCAD open source?
No. PatinaCAD is free to use, but it isn't open source: its code isn't published for others to copy or change. The patterns you make with it are yours.
Can I open my pattern in Inkscape, Illustrator or CorelDRAW?
Yes. Export it as an SVG or DXF file and open that in your drawing program. Sizes are written in millimetres. You can also bring SVG drawings from those programs into PatinaCAD.
Still wondering?
The PatinaCAD user guide covers every tool and setting. See what's new for recent changes, or read about PatinaCAD and how your patterns are kept in the privacy policy.
Free to use
See for yourself.
Open the demo card holder and look round a finished pattern, or start from a blank page. No sign-up, nothing to install.