From a 2D pattern to a moving garment

1. Draft and save the pattern

1. Add Pattern Design (pattern_design) from the node picker. Choose New Pattern to begin in the embedded canvas, or Open / Locate to load an existing file.
2. Use Rectangle, Trapezoid, or Draw Outline. Work in millimeters. Close the boundary when the panel is ready; open outlines can remain as drafts.
3. Choose Open Full Editor for a larger workspace. Edit point coordinates, cubic curve handles, panel dimensions, and sheet arrangement. Duplicate, mirror, combine, and fuse operations support undo/redo.
4. Use Mirror for a linked partner: shape edits propagate across the pair while names and sheet placement remain independent. The symmetry control beside a panel toggles the link.
5. Choose Save .pattern.json in the node, or Save Pattern / Ctrl+S in the full editor. Only saved, closed, valid panels are published to downstream scene and cloth nodes.

The pattern is a separate .pattern.json file. Saving the workflow stores its reference; it does not save unsaved pattern edits or copy the pattern file. Share the pattern with the graph and use Open / Locate if its path changes.

2. Define sewing and elastic edges

Use Sew in the pattern editor to pair panel boundary edges. Inspect the colored pairing marks before saving. The solver uses these pairs to pull the panels together over the configured sewing duration.

Use the Elastic tool to mark boundary edges that should contract. These annotations are stored in the pattern alongside sewing pairs. Save after changing either so downstream nodes use the updated document.

Keep the distinction between the flat pattern and 3D placement: sheet X/Y and rotation organize the drawing; placing the panel in Scene determines where cloth simulation starts.

3. Arrange the panels in the scene

1. Connect Pattern Design's pattern output to Cloth Solver's pattern input, then connect Cloth Solver to Scene.
2. Connect a static or animated character mesh to the solver's collider input. Use the collider-owner controls when selecting scene objects for collision.
3. Arrange individual pattern pieces in 3D around the character before starting the solve. Pattern Design can also connect directly to Scene for placement without running simulation.
4. Check scale and spacing. Pattern dimensions and mesh spacing are in millimeters, while solver distances are in meters; Scene units per meter controls conversion to the scene.

Begin with panels separated from the body and each other. Keep the intended front/back orientation and inspect seam pairings before increasing mesh density.

4. Preview and tune the cloth

Choose auto, cpu, or cuda as the backend. Auto can use the available accelerated backend; explicit CUDA needs a compatible NVIDIA GPU and runtime. CPU remains available for smaller scenes and troubleshooting.

The solver is an iterative cloth model, so the result depends on mesh resolution, scale, starting placement, and motion. Review a short preview before baking a longer sequence.

Body collisions check cloth points, edges against collider edges, and collider corners against cloth face interiors on both CPU and CUDA. This helps coarse cloth catch a box edge even when no cloth vertex touches it. A coarse triangle can still only bend at its existing vertices; reduce mesh spacing for a closer drape.

5. Introduce character motion gradually

Use Animation Blend to transition from the character's bind pose into motion. Connect the character to bind_pose, the compatible motion to animation, and use the resulting animation in Scene and the cloth collider path.

Set hold frames and blend frames to provide time for the garment to settle before the character begins moving. Keep FPS consistent with the scene and cloth settings.

Enable Simulate with timeline to drive cloth from viewport playback and scrubbing. Calculated frames are retained in a temporary memory cache. Changing simulation settings such as substeps, iterations, collision quality, friction, or gravity clears that history and recalculates from the starting pose. A changed collider or its animation also requires recalculation. A loaded state can provide a settled starting pose.

Use the cloth simulation toggle beside FX to change this setting for every cloth solver in the current view. It stays synchronized with each node's checkbox, and saving the graph preserves the node settings. Switching timeline simulation off and back on keeps the calculated frames available.

The toggle is on when any solver follows the timeline, and its tooltip shows how many do. Click once to disable them all; click again to enable them all. With no cloth solvers in the view, the control is unavailable and still displays its original off icon. On narrow viewports, the controls after Loop move to a second row. See the timeline controls.

For generated clips with body or finger intersections, use Rig Limiter before retargeting, then inspect the character motion before adding it to the cloth collider chain.

6. Save a state or bake a sequence

Simulation-setting changes invalidate calculated timeline frames and unload outdated baked playback. The next timeline preview or render recalculates with the new settings. Saved cache files remain on disk, and a separately loaded drape remains the starting condition. Bake again to save an updated sequence.

Common checks

• Nothing reaches Scene: save the pattern, close unfinished outlines, and resolve validation messages. Downstream nodes do not consume unsaved editor geometry.
• Missing collider: connect a mesh or animated mesh and verify the intended collider owner.
• Explosive or tangled cloth: check scale, initial overlaps, seam pairing, thickness, and substeps before adding detail.
• Fingers catching pants: at 24 FPS, try 8–16 substeps and collision quality 4. Keep the timeline at 24 FPS; substeps add intermediate collision solves. The gap between hand and leg must also fit the cloth contact margins: with thickness 3 mm, two opposing surfaces need about 6 mm of clearance. Reduce thickness only when appropriate for the garment and scene scale.
• Points already trapped in a body: the solver recovers nearby penetrations toward the nearest surface and avoids adding friction or launch velocity from that repair. Contact corrections near pins are bounded to avoid turning a small overlap into a mesh spike. Deep overlaps, impossible gaps, and an already tangled cached pose may need a corrected starting pose. Clear the old cache and simulate again from before the problem after changing collision settings or updating the solver.
• Preview is slow: start with a coarser mesh, a shorter range, and fewer collision candidates; confirm the selected backend.
• CUDA is unavailable: choose CPU or inspect the node's backend status and runtime setup.
• Different results after moving the project: locate the pattern, collider assets, and any cache files again.