Pattarina app: Augmented reality makes sewing projects easier

The new augmented reality app Pattarina makes life easier for sewing fans: patterns can be traced directly from your mobile phone and replace the chaos of large sheets of paper.

Find the pattern, place the fabric on the table and draw the cutting edges directly - sewing projects should be that easy from now on. The Pattarina smartphone app uses augmented reality to correctly project the pattern onto the fabric from all angles. This should put an end to fiddly preparations with large cutting templates that are held together with tape and pins.

To transfer patterns with the app, the user must first spread the fabric out on a flat surface and weigh it down at the corners. A small motif, known as an anchor, is then placed on top. It helps the app to always recognise the fabric correctly via the smartphone camera. The pattern is then shown on the mobile phone display and can be traced on the fabric. The size and desired seam allowance can be customised.

Augmented reality instead of paper chaos

80% of all hobby sewers do not like printing, gluing, cutting out or tracing patterns. This is understandable: until now it has been extremely complicated to produce suitable patterns. Either they are first traced from large template sheets onto pattern paper and cut out or printed onto several pages of A4 paper, glued together as accurately as possible and then the pattern is cut out. The pattern must then be transferred to the fabric. If you want to sew a piece in a different size, you have to start the process all over again. The new app finally puts an end to this chaos.

The app's patterns are available from various providers. They can be redeemed using a code in the app. Pattarina, the company of the same name behind the app, does not sell patterns itself, but concentrates on programming. The team from Cottbus raised around 20,000 euros via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The App now available free of chargeboth in the App Store for iOS as well as in the Google Play Store. By the way, Pattarina is an abbreviation for Patterns in air.