You access your named patterns using LOAD patterns from file >load patterns for all default patterns or collections. DS8 does not have a catalog from which to build patterns.

Options are found under Options or in the new heading of Designer Tools on the main tool bar.


You need a chart displayed in order to draft a pair of pants.

I honestly do not believe you will need the crotch tool as the definition and specifications are much more advanced than what you worked with before and MUCH easier to adjust now.

Kaaren

I just upgraded to Dress Shop 8 and love the new look. After getting used to MPD's sleek look DS seemed so old, messy and confusing. I always forgot where to find things. Now the same sleekness applies to both MPD and DS. This makes DS much more inviting to use. I'm look forward to using it again and I haven't wanted to do that in awhile. Thanks for the good work.
Debbie

quote:

I downloaded DS8 and installed it. I got the strangest looking pants draft; didn't look anything like pants. Also there was no way to choose a pattern, ie. blouse, jacket, etc. I think that would be called the "Catalog". Got a Microsoft error message before I could send a "Problem Report" so it shut the program down.

No more crotch tool! Sorry I really liked it's capabilities.

Joan sent in a problem report and this particular problem was caused by the old crotch tool, which as Joan noted, has been dropped from Dress Shop 8. There were good reasons to drop it (below), but the left over values from using that tool were not being completely erased when a chart was loaded and that was causing Joan's bad pants pattern. We will have a fix for that problem very shortly.

There were three reasons that the old crotch tool was dropped:

1. Using it was very difficult for every new user that tried it. The values used for crotch cruve break points could not be measured, so one would need to know ahead of time the shape of that curve which was needed, then enter numbers until the shape you were looking for was found. That process was very difficult for all but the most experienced seamstresses that were willing to spend way too much time trying to find those numbers.

2. Worse, we received a fair number of problem reports from people that had bad numbers in that tool, which was then forcing a bad crotch curve. Untangling the bad numbers took time and frustrated those customers.

3. Dress Shop 8 now does a better job of coming up with the default crotch curve than was ever achieved by 95% of users. The only adjustments that MIGHT still be needed are crotch length, crotch extension, and possibly Inseam measurements. Playing with the more obscure values like crotch break numbers is no longer needed.

The bug where numbers from the old crotch tool were not being removed from an old, loaded chart, will be fixed in a Dress Shop update that we will post very shortly. Still testing the conflict we had been getting between MPD and Dress Shop on some systems. Almost there....

I've purchased and activated DS Pro 8, as well as MPD 2.5. Since DS 8 does not yet support Doll Shop, can I reinstall the full version of DS Pro 7 into a different folder and run either program one at a time)without creating conflicts? I would like to have Doll Shop again (just got 2 new grandchildren), and have not been able to figure out how to create an A-line princess coat the way I could in DS 7.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Doll Shop
K

quote:

I've purchased and activated DS Pro 8, as well as MPD 2.5. Since DS 8 does not yet support Doll Shop, can I reinstall the full version of DS Pro 7 into a different folder and run either program one at a time)without creating conflicts? I would like to have Doll Shop again (just got 2 new grandchildren), and have not been able to figure out how to create an A-line princess coat the way I could in DS 7.

Doll Shop Deluxe has not been properly updated since Dress Shop 5 days. There have been a number of features, patterns, and tools released since then that worked for adult sizes, but not for doll sizes.

With Dress Shop 8, we planned to do a major upgrade to Doll Shop Deluxe as well. That was well underway when DS8 was released, but not quite acceptable. We have been working on finishing up the new Doll Shop Deluxe since that time and it is in its final days of testing right now.

First, if you get the Dress Shop 8 upgrade, you will also get the Doll Shop Deluxe upgrade as well, at no extra charge. So, don't bother working with Dress Shop 7 just now. The new Doll Deluxe will be out within a few days and it is way better than the prior version. The Doll Deluxe changes will be provided as an update to Dress Shop 8 and will also be released as a stand-alone product at the same time.

Changes to Doll Deluxe include:

1. We have gone through every pattern in the product (over 700 of them) to make sure that all of them work with doll charts. We have confirmed around 650 of them and are slogging through the more obscure ones now. New buyers will get 100 patterns. Existing Dress Shop or Doll Deluxe owners will get whatever patterns they already had, but now all of them will work for dolls.

2. We have gone through every option in the program (necklines, sleeves, yokes, belts, pockets, vents, pleats, etc. to make sure that every one of those works with doll sized charts. That, too, is very nearly complete. I think they all work now, but there really are a lot of them to confirm.

3. We have gone through every design tool (including the new Pants Customizer) to make sure that their adjustments and design features all work with doll charts. Designing doll originals will be easier than ever before.

4. We have reviewed and reworked all of the doll charts. The original charts were donated by generous doll owners that struggled with the tools of the time to make a chart that worked for them. There were slight flaws to some of those charts that only showed up in certain types of patterns. We have reviewed and reworked every chart to insure that they work with all patterns, not just the unfitted types. Several new charts were also added.

5. Sewing instructions for every pattern are now included, same as with Dress Shop.

6. There is now a new user manual for those that are running only Doll Shop Deluxe. It is doll only. For those that own both Dress Shop and Doll Shop Deluxe, the combined manual is mostly Dress Shop, but with sections for the doll specific differences.

7. There is a new measurement entry chart called the "Easy Doll Chart" that includes 21 measurements. It should be much easier for doll fans to work from and does not include some of those numbers that only humans generally need (such as all the different floor to waist values that account for waist tilt that most dolls would never have). The full chart that humans use is also included for those that prefer that one.

There are other changes, but these are the main ones. The new Doll Deluxe will be available as a Dress Shop companion product, as in the past, but will also be available as a stand-alone program for those that want to sew for dolls and not for humans. For that latter group, the program is doll only, with no intruding human touches to distract from the doll work.

All of this will be released this coming week. We are in the final days of testing just now.

I can wait for revisions--grandkids are still young.
But I did include one other question; how can I draft a shoulder princess coat with a-line skirt? I could do it with DS Pro 7, and can't figure out how to do it with DS Pro 8 or MPD PRO 2.5.

quote:

... how can I draft a shoulder princess coat with a-line skirt? I could do it with DS Pro 7, and can't figure out how to do it with DS Pro 8 or MPD PRO 2.5.

I'm not seeing that option (skirt flare angle was what you used, I presume?) offered with coats. I'll see it gets added for the update, though....

Thanks--since we could do it in DS 7. (laugh) Isn't that one of the purposes of customers--to discover some of the infinite combinations that seem obvious to us that you all missed?