Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
Several of us at the shop were talking yesterday about the concept of selling kits for small, simple functional items like table runners or placemats. I thought that maybe a program like EQ6 could be used to create the design, and then we could fill the design in using fabrics we have... and then when we run out of one of the fabrics, replace it with something similar and re-create the "picture" so to speak. Or maybe we could use the same pattern, but fill it in with, say, different holiday fabrics, and then EQ6 would, so to speak, sew the demo project.
Now, I've never used EQ6 or even seen a demo. I'm just "imagining" how it might work. I believe that even the project sheets that the manufacturers use to sell their collections, are only "virtual" not "real" quilts. So they (the manufacturers' marketing departments) must also be using some kind of software to create their patterns.
I'd really appreciate it if someone who actually uses EQ6 could tell me if I'm off base about all this, or if how I'm thinking we could use it is at all reasonable.
I suppose I should also ask, about how much EQ6 costs?
Well, sort of, but if I buy a pattern or a kit I would like to think that the people putting it out have actually sewed the thing together at least once, and that the pattern reflects the lessons learned. I think you can easily tell whether a picture was generated by software or by photographing a real quilt.
EQ6 is a design tool, but it does NOT provide what I expect in a pattern that I actually pay for, or even one that I get free when I buy yardage. It doesn't give step by step sewing directions, which are expected to be included in a pattern. The yardage estimates are helpful, but if you actually make the pattern you may find better ways to cut the fabric that will change the yardage requirements.
So yes, I would say you can get a nice picture of how something would look in different fabrics using EQ6, but you should not use it as a substitute for making the quilt at least once in the real world before you put together a kit.