Getting started

From a blank page to a folded, stitched model in 3D, using nothing but your browser.

1. Open the app

Go to leather.visimake.com. There is nothing to install and no account to make. Your designs stay on your computer.

2. Meet the two views

Pattern is the flat drawing you cut from: every piece, with its stitch holes and hardware.
Assembly shows the same pieces placed and stacked as they will sit, with fold lines.

The 3D button beside them shows the assembled piece. Change a part in either view and the other follows.

3. Draw a part

Choose the Rectangle tool (press R), or open the Draw menu for the others.
Type a width and height in the bar above the drawing before you click, and the rectangle comes out that exact size. The size shows on the drawing as you go.
A closed outline becomes a part and appears in the Parts list on the right.
Made a mistake? Ctrl+Z, or the undo arrow at the top of the tool rail.

4. Punch stitch holes

Choose the Stitch tool (P), set the pitch of your own chisel or iron in the bar, and click along an edge. The holes are real cut shapes, so they show in every export.

5. Place hardware

The Hardware tool (U) places snaps, rivets, Chicago screws, rings and buckles as their exact holes. By default a hole goes in the piece you click; use the Through option to carry it through the pieces under it.

6. Put the parts together

Switch to Assembly. Drag pieces into place; a piece sits on top of the ones it overlaps.
Select a piece to see its name and size in the bar. Change the size and the Pattern view follows.
Use the Fold tool to draw a hinge: click two points. Select the line to drag it, or to type its angle, position and length.
Drag the Open / Closed slider under the 3D view to fold the model, and Together / Exploded to pull the layers apart.

7. Sew it

In the side panel, Detect seams lists the pieces whose stitch holes line up. Choose which seams to sew, set the thread, and the 3D view shows the stitching and works out how much thread you need.

8. Save and export

Save downloads a project file (.vmk) to your computer. Open reads one back. The browser also keeps a recovery copy of unsaved work, but save a file for anything you want to keep.
Under File you will find SVG and DXF for lasers and cutters, and tiled true-size PDF templates to print. Check the first print against a ruler using the printer test page.

Open Visimake Leather

All guides · In the app, Help > Take a tour walks through the same steps on screen.