Seam Material
The Seam material simulates lines of stitching. The Seam material is transparent, except where the threads are visible. This material is generally applied to a thin, straight surface that has been superimposed over the main surface.
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Lines of stitching created with a seam material.
The structure of this material is similar to that of the standard material. It is composed of two layers, a diffuse layer and a reflection layer, and it has texture properties.
Diffuse
The diffuse parts of the seam material represent the thread.
The Diffuse Color, which is principally given by the Filter color, is the thread color.
The Color Map gives the pattern of stitches. It is generally the same as the image used for the Seam Map in the Bump tab.
Reflection
Based on the type of thread used, the stitches can appear more or less shiny. As for a standard material, the Reflection Color as an additive value, the roughness, and the diffuse filter can be adjusted.
Bump
The realism of the stitching’s appearance is due, in part, to the bump texture.
The texture of this type of material is assembled from two different image maps: a Pleat Map and a Seam Map.
The Seam map gives the pattern for the individual stitches. Without this map, the material would be entirely transparent. The color of the diffuse filter will fill in the lighter areas of this image. The zones with an alpha background will remain transparent, showing the material assigned to the surface below the seam surface.
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Example of a seam map. The checkered zones represent an alpha background.
If the material is gathered or pleated under the stitching, use the Pleat map settings to impose the texture.