The new version of CorelDraw is being released so now is a good time to buy the last version. The New version is X5. You can get a deal on version X4 at Amazon right now. Many of you know that I use CorelDraw to design all my patterns. It's an investment in money and time but it does give the tools needed to design patterns. Don't buy it if you want a quick path to designing patterns. There is a learning curve. If you are serious and want to take the hobby to a new level then CorelDraw Graphic Suite X4 might be a good investment for you. Designing patterns for the scroll saw requires only a small subset of the features of a vector graphic program like Draw. Because of this the older version are generally fine for us.
After this post I will get a bunch of email telling me that Inkscape is just as good as CorelDraw and it is free. Inkscape is a fine open source vector graphics program. I don't personally find it as easy to use as CorelDraw. By all means give Inkscape a try. If it works for you then use it. You sure can't beat the price.
Just for the record I am an Amazon affiliate but I receive no money from the link above. I only wanted to share this info because I think it's a good deal.