and provided the same accuracy as compass method, which is also based on trigonometrical functions.

I am thinking we will add function adjacent:

Side works as above - 1 for left, 2 for right, and is 1 by default.

While choosing the names, I worked through leg (conflicting), cathetus (not practical), hypothenuse (same thing) and subtense - nice as a name, but not intuitive, as we are actually drafting the leg, not the subtense.

I believe it will be live by Wednesday. 

What to call it is an issue, as too many functions with non-intuitive names might be just as unwieldy.  I give it some thought.

Good to know about 'normal'.

As for 'raise', we still have doubts whether this function may be abundant. We have initiated a ticket and will reconsider again in a week. :)

'Adjacent' is a good name, as it's plotting the point that determines the adjacent edge of a right triangle.  The reason I suggested 'orhto' is bigger picture.  The draft, like most, was set up with center body and level heights as the x, y coordinate frame.  But because the raglan sleeve is designed cut-on, when it comes time to work over there, a new reference frame is needed.  This construction is a change of basis, exactly what is wanted to determine the new orthogonal vectors appropriate to the sleeve.  Anyway, I think it's a cool construction, and good to add to the bag of tricks, even if it only happens once per drawing, if that. :)

'Raise' isn't fundamental, it's just a short hand, for something I've typed a lot.  

Syntax is as we discussed - 

p3=adjacent(p1,p2,length)

or

p3=adjacent(p1,p2,length,2) if you need the other side.

In visual tools the button is under points, 

ETA link to documentation: http://www.sewist.com/pages/documentation#adjacent

Enjoy! ))

Also, is there any rule of thumb for where waist level is at center front or at the sides. I know sz7 is waist height at back, while sz25 and sz26 are measured against the curve of the body, but is the horizontal height the same on all sides of the body or is it slightly askew?  Of course, it is what is on a given individual, and I could measure that, just wondering if there's a general tendency reflected in the size charts.

The waist is implied to be measured horizontally per the size charts manuals. 

Hope this helps!

The shoulder is giving me some trouble, but I can come up with an estimate.  I do find a lot of drafts are placing the sleeve at the joint. When I didn't consider this, sleeve lengths and shoulder seams were looking wildly off.  There's never going to be agreement with different charts but at least I know a correction is called for.  I am interested in placing a sleeve seam at the joint, no the shoulder point, so that's why I was looking.

Is there any reason sz37, armhole slant height, isn't a provided measurement?  It could be useful.

The basic concept is plot out points (and contours) based on measurements and then create a pattern object.

E.g. this:
n = [p1:p2].dx/2

gives me an error:
Wrong argument type(expression)

but this:
n = [p1:p2].dx

n = n/2

is fine.

And this:
n = [p1:p2].l/2

is fine.

 First is there anyway to change aspects of a pattern once it's been created, other than using the functions which act on a pattern (like simple the simple transformations or pleat, etc).  E.g. could I somehow change the fabric without redrawing  a new pattern.   If it's not possible to change attributes, is it at least possible to look up attributes of a named pattern so that they could be copied into a new pattern.  E.g. I might have a skirt pattern, that is called as a template and used as a lining for a second skirt.  So, I might want to change some small things about the cutting instructions, e.g. rename the pattern, specify a different fabric, maybe even a different grain or seam allowance.  So, yes, basically a new pattern, but the trace and included items have already been worked out for the first pattern, so if those could be looked up or somehow copied, it could be useful.  Or I might somehow be able to set these as options in the template, but since templates can only be called once, I still might have a situation where I wan't two closely related patterns and don't want to restate from scratch.

I imagine these are known issues.  Acting on patterns instead of creating a pattern as a final step, is clearly more efficient, but I need the pattern markings to be legible.  So, as things are, I mostly avoid acting on patterns.

The thing with patterns is that it is exported once created, it is sort of a command like "export pattern block", and the nature of point command is just placing it on the screen, not exporting to the blocks, hence the confusion.

Patterns can be pleated, deleted, mirrored, shifted, moved, scaled, rotated. The latter is handy when you deal with long belts and it is better to have them rotated at 90 degrees to save on paper. Scaling a pattern comes handy when dealing with stretchy fabrics (scale by 0.95 for example) or - on the contrary - lining, when you can scale it to some 1.03 to give more ease to that layer in garment. Mirror is handy when you design something from a sketch where the right side of the style is on your left, and it is easier to work that way. In this case you simply mirror the resulting pattern against a line or a set of points after its created. Move and shift are rather for arranging things on the working screen, this doesn't affect the layout on paper.

Changing its features was not previewed, as calling the pattern command is the same as exporting a set of objects. However we might be able to work through properties, I'll have to discuss that. I can see how we could call the trace path of an existing pattern, may be the included objects, will have to see about the extra seam allowances settings.

Pleat function - will look into the flipped situation, same as for styled lines. I am pretty sure we have fixed dashed curves at least once, and we do have an open ticket for behaviour of dotted objects.

Thanks for the details about how patterns are handled.

I can understand why it's too late to change a pattern once it's been created, given the way they're implemented (and given that they need to be a snapshot of the objects at the time of creation).  I'm just trying to figure out the best ways to deal with templates and patterns, and probably it's just necessary to go back and redraw a pattern when a new variant is needed.  But I can work out methods.  Since I'm mostly working with templates I've written, I can go back in and add an option to the template or copy the pattern construction from the first time round into the pattern file that's now calling the template.  But if there were some simple functions that act on patterns, like one that changes a pattern between folded, flipped, or single, or one that simply rotates the grain line but doesn't rotate the pattern., that could be useful.

Definitely do, look at pleat and flipped patterns, I didn't play with it much,  but I was seeing some problems.

The custom files, like the spec sheet, the small scale pattern printout, and the current size chart, are causing error messages.  Things like: "Undefined offset: -1" and "Undefined variable: _lang"  Seems to be happening with patterns where these files used to generate without issue.

I wanted to make a flag for one-piece or two-piece sleeve and then call a different template accordingly.  But, this causes a system error: 

I thought maybe I could just set the template string an if statement and then make a call after the loop, but also not possible.

My goal is to write things in a way that will be as useful as possible later, even though typically I might only use a given design once.  Right now, I mostly just start a new design by calling an old template and reusing those points/paths.  But whenever I try to be more clever than that, I seem to run into a limitation.  E.g. I thought I might put a couple of definitions in a template to use as a header.  But since templates can only be called once, I have to make sure only one template I'm using calls the header template.  Which defeats the purpose, because I'd rather every template call the header if it's definitions I always use, and I don't want to check whether some nested template has already called the header.  So, I'm back to just pasting the code I want into each template, at least that doesn't cause an error.  

Similarly, I can write a template to generate a waistband, and it's good to collect that code in one place, but if I write a template for a patch pocket, it's not as useful, because I can only call the template once, and, unlike a waistband, I might want two different patch pockets in the same design.  Templates don't preserve variables, so there would need to be some preparation to call a pocket template a second time--renaming the first pocket/points--so that it doesn't get destroyed.  But two calls aren't allowed, so I either make as many pocket templates as pockets I might want, or take the simpler approach and just paste the code into the garment template multiple times.

I'm sure the limitations exist for a reason, and maybe it can't be otherwise, but it would be good if this was explained in the documentation.  Trial and error becomes frustrating.

E.g. if we talk about a patch pocket, we may describe it as a private function 

function patchpocket(point1,point2,depth,convex_radius)

{

}