Check a leather pattern for gaps before you cut

Small slips, real trouble

A gap of a tenth of a millimetre doesn't show on screen, but your tools and machines notice it:

• The Stitching tool follows lines joined end to end, so a run of holes stops at a gap instead of carrying on round the corner.
• An outline with a gap exports as separate open lines, so a laser cuts it as loose pieces of line instead of one closed shape.
• A line drawn 0.2° off level drifts 0.7 mm over a 200 mm strap, enough to put a pocket edge out of square.

These slips creep in when you drag a point by eye, import a drawing from another program, or trace over a photo. The pattern check catches them while they're still easy to fix.

What it looks for

Problem	What it means	The repair
Gap	Two line ends 0.05–0.20 mm apart: they look joined but aren't	Joins them. Two lines at an angle meet at their crossing.
Overlap	Two ends cross each other instead of meeting	Moves both ends to the crossing
T-gap	A line stops just short of another line, or runs just past it, by 0.05–0.20 mm	Extends or trims the line to meet the other, keeping its angle
Off-axis	A line almost, but not quite, level or plumb: 0.001–0.5° off	Turns it exactly level or plumb, carrying joined ends with it

How to use it

The check runs by itself after every change. There's nothing to start.

1. Draw as usual. When something's wrong, a banner at the top of the drawing says how many problems there are, and each one gets a marker.
2. Hover a marker to read it, for example "Gap of 0.1000 mm between endpoints".
3. Fix one problem: right-click its marker and choose Repair.
4. Fix the selected shapes: choose Edit ▸ Resolve issues.
5. Fix everything: click Resolve all in the banner, or choose Edit ▸ Resolve all.

Resolve all works in passes and moves as little as it can. It reports what it did, for example "Fixed 3 issues in 2 passes." Each fix is one undo step, so Ctrl+Z puts things back if a repair isn't what you wanted.

What it leaves alone

• It only compares lines of the same line type on the same layer. A stitch line 3.5 mm inside an outline is never a gap, and nor is a guide line on another layer.
• Lines you turned together on purpose, such as a part you rotated, aren't flagged as off-axis.
• Ends more than 0.20 mm apart count as meant. Draw them closer, or join them yourself, if they should touch.

Tips

• Before you print a template or export for a laser, look for the banner. When it's gone, the check has nothing left to report.
• After you import an SVG or trace a pattern from a photo, run Resolve all once.
• Draw with snapping on and most gaps never happen: ends snap to ends, crossings and midpoints as you draw.
• Sketching rough ideas? The banner's button hides the warnings, and File ▸ Options turns them off altogether. Turn them back on before you finish the pattern.

Good to know

• The check looks at line ends and angles. It doesn't judge the design: a pocket that's too small or holes too close to the edge are up to you.
• Repairs move points by fractions of a millimetre. Holes you've already pricked stay where they are, so fix the outline before you prick it.
• Hiding the warnings doesn't change the drawing. The problems are still there until you repair them.