Overview
The pattern maker draws closed internal lines on shapes to mark where artwork should go. VS Artwork Placement scans the garment, detects those frames, lists them, and places an imported artwork file into each selected frame — sized, centered, and rotated to match.
Requirements
VStitcher 2025.3.0 or newer (bw-api 3.x)
Artwork files: PNG (with alpha for transparency), JPEG, BMP
Shapes must have closed internal lines drawn (not open lines or cross-seam lines)
How to Place Artwork
Step 1: Draw Placement Frames
In VStitcher, draw closed internal lines on the shapes where artwork should go.
Step 2: Launch the Plugin and Select Frames
Open Plugins → Artwork Placement → Place Artwork. The plugin auto-scans and lists all detected frames. Use Auto-mirror to show only original lines (VStitcher mirrors containers automatically) or Show all to pick individual mirror copies.
Step 3: Choose Artwork and Fit Mode
Browse to a PNG, JPEG, or BMP file, then choose a Fit Mode:
Mode | Behavior |
Stretch | Fills the frame exactly, ignores aspect ratio |
Fit Inside | Preserves aspect ratio, letterboxes within frame |
Cover | Preserves aspect ratio, crops to fill frame |
Step 4: Set Rotation and Apply
Set Artwork Rotation (0°/90°/180°/270° presets, or Match frame angle for diagonal frames), choose Draw On (Outside/Inside), and click Apply.
Symmetry Modes
Mode | Behavior |
Auto-mirror | Shows only original lines (line ID < 5000). VStitcher automatically mirrors any container placed on an original to its symmetric copy. |
Show all | Shows every detected line including mirror copies (line ID ≥ 5000). Use when you need different artwork on each side. |
Rotation Guide
VStitcher has a 90° internal coordinate offset:
Our Control | What appears in VStitcher |
0° | Sideways |
90° | Upright (default) |
180° | Upside down |
Match frame angle mode formula (for diagonal frames): final_rotation = 90° + diagonal_component_of_frame_angle. Axis-aligned frames (0° or 90°) always resolve to 90° (upright); a 45° diamond frame resolves to 135°.
Debugging
All activity is logged to:
MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Browzwear/VStitcher/Logs/vs-artwork-placement/vs_artwork_placement.log
Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Browzwear\VStitcher\Logs\vs-artwork-placement\vs_artwork_placement.log
Troubleshooting
Issue | Fix |
"No garment open. Open a garment then click Rescan." | No garment is loaded — open one, then click Rescan |
No frames listed after scanning | The shape has no closed internal lines — open lines or cross-seam lines aren't detected as frames; check the line is fully closed |
"No colorway found. Add a colorway before placing artwork." | The garment needs at least one colorway before artwork can be imported |
"Unsupported format" error on file pick | Only PNG, JPEG, and BMP are supported — convert the file first |
Apply reports some frames failed, others succeeded | Partial failures are normal — successfully placed frames are kept; check the error list for the specific reason per frame (e.g. "shape no longer exists — rescan to refresh") |
"non-finite frame coordinates — rescan" | The garment changed after the last scan; click Rescan to refresh frame data before applying again |
Duplicate/unwanted artwork material left in the colorway panel after a failed apply | Delete it manually from the colorway panel — the plugin's own message flags this when it happens |
Artwork appears sideways or upside down | Adjust Artwork Rotation — see the Rotation Guide above; the default 90° is "upright" due to VStitcher's internal coordinate offset |