digitizemypatternPhoto or digitizing table?
There are two ways to get a paper pattern into CAD yourself. On a digitizing table you trace the edge with a puck, clicking point by point. With a photo you shoot the piece next to a sheet of paper and software finds the edge for you. Both end in a DXF. They differ in what you have to buy, how long a piece takes and who does the clicking.
Updated October 25, 2026 · digitizemypattern
Try the photo route on your own piece
Lay the piece flat next to a sheet of Letter or A4 paper, take one photo from straight above and drop it here. The outline opens in the editor in about a minute, ready to download as DXF, PDF, PLT and SVG.
Side by side
Figures for the photo route are our own and are measured or published on this site. Tables come in many sizes and prices, so where there is no figure we can source, the cell says so.
| Route | What you need | Price | Time per piece | Accuracy | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo (DigitizeMyPattern) | A phone and one sheet of Letter or A4 paper | $0 while the demo runs | About a minute, plus your own corrections | About 0.06 in on a flat piece shot straight down in even light | DXF, PDF, PLT and SVG |
| Digitizing table | A digitizing table, a puck and CAD software | Varies | Slow: every point is clicked by hand | Varies with the table and the hand on the puck | Whatever your CAD saves |
Photo figures: this site, measured 3 September 2026 on the published control photo. Table price: no figure we can source, so none is given.
Where the time goes
Your hand does the tracing
You tape the piece down, then follow the edge with the puck and click each point, each notch and both ends of the grain line. A curve needs many clicks to look smooth. It is precise when the hand is steady, and it is slow every single time.
Software does the tracing
You lay the piece beside a sheet of paper and take one photo. The edge, the corners and the notches are found for you, and you correct what was missed in the browser. Most of your time goes on checking, not clicking.
Checking the result
Whichever route you take, measure one known length on the file before you cut. Our PDF has a test square on page one for this, and the DXF viewer shows each piece's size.
Which one fits your room?
A table makes sense where patterns arrive every week and someone is already trained on it. It sits in the room, ready, and it does not need a sheet of paper in frame or a contrasting surface.
A photo makes sense for a few pieces at a time, for a home sewing room or a small shop without a table, and for templates made on site. It needs nothing you do not already own. It needs the whole piece and the whole sheet in one shot, and one piece per photo.
Sending the pieces to a bureau is the third route. Prices and the four routes together are on How to digitize a pattern.
Questions about tables and photos
Is a photo as accurate as a digitizing table?+
For an ordinary piece shot straight down in even light we quote about 0.06 in. A table's accuracy depends on the table and on the person clicking, so there is no single figure to set against ours. Measure one known length on the file either way.
Do I need CAD software for the photo route?+
No. The outline is traced and corrected in the browser, and you download a DXF, a tiled PDF, a PLT and an SVG. CAD is only needed if you want to grade or mark the pieces.
Are notches kept?+
Yes. A notch cut into the paper is found by its shape and a notch drawn across the edge by the ink line. In the DXF they are separate marks on their own layer, not dents in the cut line.
What does the photo route cost?+
Nothing while the demo runs, on every piece. Prices after the demo are not set yet and will be published on the site.
Keep reading
No table? One photo is enough.
Free while the demo runs. DXF, PDF, PLT and SVG in one archive.