digitizemypatternSewing pattern to DXF
A DXF is the file apparel software reads: a closed cut line at true size, with notches, grain line and internal marks kept on separate layers. A paper pattern becomes one by being measured against something known, either on a digitizing table or in a photograph with a sheet of paper in frame. The same file opens in Cricut Design Space and Silhouette Studio, where it is treated as a cutting shape rather than as a pattern piece.
Updated September 3, 2026 · digitizemypattern
What do the AAMA layers mean?
AAMA and ASTM are the conventions apparel CAD expects inside a DXF: each kind of line has its own layer number, so the software knows what to cut, what to mark and which way the fabric runs. We write four of them.
The cut line
One closed polyline per piece, in true inches. This is what the knife or the cutter follows.
Notches
Separate objects, not dents in the outline. Cut notches and drawn notches both end up here.
Grain line
Always present. Without a grain line industrial software refuses to import the notches at all, so a default one is written when the piece has none drawn on it.
Internal lines
Fold lines, pocket placement and any line drawn inside the piece. In the PLT these go to the second pen, so a marker draws them instead of a knife cutting them.
Which programs open the file?
The DXF opens directly in Gerber AccuMark, Optitex, Lectra Modaris, StyleCAD, Seamly2D and AutoCAD. The archive also carries a RUL file beside the DXF, which is what AccuMark expects to find next to it.
Cricut Design Space and Silhouette Studio read DXF too, with one difference worth knowing before you upload: they treat the file as artwork. Layers become shapes, so the grain line and the notches arrive as lines you can see and cut, not as pattern information. Delete what you do not want cut, or cut only the outline and mark the notches on the fabric yourself.
If you would rather not deal with a cutter at all, take the PDF: the piece is tiled across Letter sheets with an overlap and join marks, and page one carries a test square to check the scale with a ruler before anything is cut.
How does a photograph become a DXF?
Four steps, and only the first one is yours.
One photo from above
The piece flat on a contrasting surface, one sheet of Letter paper beside it, phone held straight over the piece.
The sheet sets the scale
The paper is located in the picture and measured. From it the software knows how many pixels make an inch, and the perspective is flattened against the same sheet.
The edge becomes a polyline
The outline is traced against the contrast of the edge, corners are placed, and notches are picked up by shape or by the ink line drawn across the edge.
You correct and export
Points, curves, notches and the grain line all move in the browser. Export gives DXF with RUL, tiled PDF and HPGL PLT in one archive.
How exact is the result?
On our control photograph, 95 per cent of the traced points landed within 1 pixel of the paper edge and all six notches were found, six out of six; one pixel there is about 0.02 in. For an ordinary piece shot straight down in even light we quote about 0.06 in. Measured 3 September 2026 on the sample photograph published on this site.
Before cutting fabric, print page one of the PDF and measure the test square. If the square is right, the file is right. That check takes ten seconds and catches every scaling mistake a printer can make.
Questions about the files
Can Cricut cut a sewing pattern from a DXF?+
Yes, within the size of the mat. Design Space imports the DXF as shapes, so check the size after import and delete the lines you do not want cut, such as the grain line. Pieces larger than the mat have to be split or printed from the PDF instead.
What is the difference between DXF and PLT?+
DXF is a drawing file with layers, meant for CAD. PLT is HPGL, a list of pen movements meant for a plotter or a cutting table. Both come in the same archive, so you do not have to choose in advance.
Why is there a RUL file next to the DXF?+
Gerber AccuMark expects a rule file beside the pattern file. It is written automatically and packed into the archive with the DXF, so the pair imports without extra steps.
Does the file include seam allowance?+
Only if the paper piece already had it. Nothing is added or removed: what is on the paper is what comes back. Seam allowance is added in your CAD or on the fabric, whichever way you already work.
Can I print the piece at full size without a plotter?+
Yes, that is what the tiled PDF is for. Print at 100 per cent with page fitting off, check the test square, tape the sheets on the overlap marks and cut.
Is the DXF in inches or millimetres?+
Inches, since the scale comes from a US Letter sheet. Software that works in millimetres converts on import, and the test square on the PDF is there to confirm the size either way.
Keep reading
Paper in, DXF out.
Free while the demo runs. DXF, PDF and PLT in one archive.