An open-source sewing pattern tool — cut-sew-print.onrender.com

I grew up sewing with my mom. It's one of those skills that sticks with you — not just the technique, but the whole mindset that if you need something, you can probably just make it.

That mindset got a lot more literal when I started getting into backpacking gear. I wanted to make my own pack. The obvious tools were CAD software or Illustrator — both of which work, technically, but feel like overkill for someone who just wants to draft a pattern, print it, and start cutting fabric. So I built something else instead.

Cut, Sew & Print is a dead-simple, open-source web app for drafting sewing patterns. The whole point is to remove the friction between "I have an idea for something I want to make" and "here's a pattern I can actually print and use."

No subscription. No steep learning curve. No importing into a separate tool to get a printable file. Just a straightforward pattern-making environment built for people who sew.

Easy Vector Based Drawing - Easy snap-to-grid tools to draw shape or line vectors.

Seam Matching - Match seams to make pattern assembly easy.

Piece, Fabric, and Notion Assignment - Select shapes to form pieces and assign your fabrics and notions (like buttons, zippers, clasps, etc.) to get a materials list for your pattern.

Smart Pattern Scaling - Print to common sized paper and the software will handle the sheet scaling for you, making it easy to print your pattern at home.

The make-your-own-gear community runs on shared knowledge. People post patterns, tutorials, and material guides for free because that's how the culture works — you learned from someone who shared, so you share too. An open-source tool fits that ethos better than a SaaS with a paywall.

This one wasn't a client project. It was a scratch-your-own-itch kind of build — the best kind. I wanted the tool to exist, it didn't quite exist the way I wanted it, so I made it. That's what I love about being able to build things.