Each of the blocks in this quilt were designed using an algorithm-based tool developed by Stanford researchers. (Image credit: Mackenzie Leake)
Each of the blocks in this quilt were designed using an algorithm-based tool developed by Stanford researchers. (Image credit: Mackenzie Leake) When it comes to the art of quilting, determining the feasibility and order of steps in advanced patterns can be notoriously complicated - and frustrating. By automating that process, a new algorithm enables quilters to focus on design and creation. Stanford University computer science graduate student Mackenzie Leake has been quilting since age 10, but she never imagined the craft would be the focus of her doctoral dissertation. Included in that work is new prototype software that can facilitate pattern-making for a form of quilting called foundation paper piecing, which involves using a backing made of foundation paper to lay out and sew a quilted design. Developing a foundation paper piece quilt pattern - which looks similar to a paint-by-numbers outline - is often non-intuitive. There are few formal guidelines for patterning and those that do exist are insufficient to assure a successful result.
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