Projector sewing, without the projector

Projector sewing means no printing, no taping and no tracing paper. It also means a projector, a mount and a calibration routine. Sttchr gives you the first part with the phone already in your pocket.

What is projector sewing?

Projector sewing is cutting fabric straight from a pattern projected onto the cutting table. A projector hangs above the table, the pattern file is shown on the fabric at full size, and you cut along the light. Designers now ship a projector file with many PDF patterns for exactly this, one big page with no tiles to join.

People love it for good reasons. No printing 40 pages. No taping. No guessing whether the printer scaled the test square. You pick a size and cut.

What a projector setup asks of you

• The hardware. A projector bright and sharp enough to read thin lines, plus a ceiling or wall mount high enough to cover a whole piece.
• Calibration. The image has to be squared and scaled to the table, and redone whenever the projector, the table or the zoom moves.
• A dark room. Projected lines wash out in daylight.
• A fixed spot. The setup lives over one table. It does not come to a class, a friend's floor or a big piece of fabric on the living room rug.

How Sttchr does it with your phone

Sttchr uses augmented reality instead of light. Point your iPhone or iPad at the fabric, and the pattern appears on it through the camera, at the size it was drafted. It stays put on the fabric as you move, so you can chalk the lines and cut.

1. Upload your projector file, or any PDF or DXF pattern, or pick one from the shop.
2. Choose your size. Layered files show only the size you are cutting.
3. Scan your fabric. Move the phone side to side once so it learns the surface.
4. Trace. The pieces land at true size. Check once with a ruler, then chalk and cut.

There is nothing to mount and nothing to calibrate between sessions, and it works in a bright room. A tripod that bends at an angle keeps both hands free. See how to trace and tips for a cleaner trace.

Projector or Sttchr?

If you already cut under a projector and love it, keep it. A projector shows light on the table, while Sttchr shows the pattern through the screen, so the two feel different. Sttchr is for sewists who want projector style cutting without the hardware, the mount and the dark room, and for anyone who sews away from one fixed cutting table. Your projector files work in both.

Frequently asked questions

Do my projector files work in Sttchr?

Yes. A0 projector files are often the easiest file to trace from, because they are one large page with no joins. Upload the file and trace it at true size.

What about the grid printed on some projector files?

Sttchr spots a projector grid when you import the file. Sttchr Pro can remove it, so only your pattern lines are traced.

Do I need to calibrate anything?

Not the way you would with a projector. Sttchr reads the size from the file. Check it once against a ruler with the pattern's scale reference, and the app tells you any time you leave 100%.

Do I need a dark room?

No. A camera likes a well lit room, so turn the lights on, not off.

Is Sttchr a replacement for a projector?

For tracing onto fabric, it does the same job with the phone you already own. You look at the fabric through the screen and chalk what you see, rather than looking at light on the table. If you already have a projector setup you love, keep it. Sttchr is for everyone else, and for when you are away from the cutting table.