Basic Usage
Download the archive and extract it such that all of the files are contained in a sub-folder of your extensions folder.
Your extensions folder can be found at Edit->Preferences->System->User Extensions
On Linux, this is usually:
~/.config/inkscape/extensions
On windows it's usually:
c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\inkscape/extensions
You should then have all of the files in the sub-folder (I call mine living-hinge)
Inkscape versions below 1.0 have slight differences in the extensions API. Download
the compatible release, and extract the files living_hinge.py and living_hinge.inx
into your extensions folder, the same as described above. Do not place them into
a sub-folder, Inkscape will not see them.
Once installed and Inkscape has been restarted, you can open the extension dialog by
finding it under Extensions -> Render -> Living hinge.... The dialog will look
similar to the below:
At the top are a series of tabs, each tab is used to select a specific pattern (except the
About tab of course) and choose parameters for that pattern. These will be described shortly.
Below the tab content are some parameters that are common to all patterns.
To create a basic pattern, select the tab for the desired pattern, specify the Width, Height
and units of both for the pattern, then select either Live preview for an instant preview, or
Apply to render the pattern onto the canvas.
Selecting the Draw swatch card checkbox will also render a complete sample
swatch card for
the pattern. This is great for cutting real samples of patterns. The parameters used for the
pattern are also engraved.
Next: Patterns