We report on the development of a new microfabrication technique for atom chips which is based on femtosecond laser ablation of thin films and allows the production of arbitrary patterns of microwires. We describe the ablation procedure and present the results of microwire quality analysis, which involves SEM imaging and magnetic field microscopy. We also discuss the designs of magnetic fields above the microwires using particular patterns of wire edges. Simulations of the magnetic fields are compared with the magnetic sensor measurements.