Question about using a fabric scanner for pattern making

I spent about $400 on a handheld fabric scanner last year, thinking it would save me hours of tracing patterns. The idea was to scan fabric pieces directly into my design software. It worked okay on flat, solid color fabrics, but anything with a print or texture gave me a blurry mess. I tried scanning a floral cotton I bought in Austin, and the software could not pick out the edges at all. After three tries, I went back to my old method of laying the fabric on my light table. The scanner now sits in a drawer. Has anyone found a good way to digitize patterned fabric pieces without this kind of hassle?

4 comments

4 Comments

kelly3851mo ago

That's a real bummer about the scanner. Honestly, I've had the opposite experience with mine, but it took a ton of messing with the settings. The key for prints was dropping the resolution way down and using a solid color mat underneath the fabric. It still needs some clean-up in the software after, but it beats hand tracing for me. What kind of design software are you trying to send the scans to?

taylor.reese17d ago

@kelly385 I had to do the same thing with the resolution on my old scanner. Dropping it down made the file size way easier to work with in my basic editing program. It's a bit of a pain but it did get the job done.

luna_wright1mo ago

Ever think the scanner's light might be washing out the fabric texture? Tbh, a lot of them are way too bright for delicate materials. You could try dimming the room lights to see if that helps with the detail.

carter.julia1mo ago

Try a black mat instead of a solid color one, it can really make the edges pop in the scan.