How to Print PDF Sewing Patterns
Every pattern in the shop downloads as a set of PDFs. One file tiles across US Letter or A4 so you can print it at home. One file is a single A0 sheet for a copy shop. Both hold the same pattern at the same scale, so use whichever suits you.
Print at 100%
This is the one step that can quietly ruin a pattern. Printer software defaults to shrinking a page slightly so nothing gets clipped, and a pattern printed at 97 per cent produces a garment that does not fit.
In Adobe Acrobat, open the print dialog and set Page Sizing and Handling to Actual size. In Preview on a Mac, set Scale to 100%. In a browser, set Scale to 100 and switch off Fit to page. Turn off anything called Shrink oversized pages.
Print page one on its own first. Do not send the whole file until the test square measures correctly.
Check the test square
Page one of every tiled file carries a square marked with its true size. Measure it with a ruler in both directions. If it measures what it says, print the rest. If it is a few millimetres out, go back to the print dialog rather than trying to correct for it as you cut.
Tape the tiles together
Each tile has registration marks along its edges and a grid reference in the corner. Lay the pages out in grid order before you tape anything, so you can see the shape forming and catch a missing page early.
Trim the top and left margin off each page, then overlap it onto the page above and to the left until the registration marks line up. Tape from the back. Working along each row and then joining the rows is faster than working outward from the middle.
Use the A0 file at a copy shop
A0 is one sheet, roughly 33 by 47 inches. Any copy shop, print bureau or blueprint printer can run it, usually for a few dollars.
Send them the A0 PDF and tell them to print at 100% with no scaling and no fit to page. Ask for plain bond paper rather than anything glossy. It saves an hour of taping and it is more accurate than a taped sheet.
Print one size only
The files are layered. Open the PDF in Acrobat Reader, open the Layers panel down the left side, and switch off every size except yours. The sheet becomes much easier to read and you are far less likely to follow the wrong line where sizes cross at a corner.
If your PDF reader does not show layers, print all sizes and trace your line onto pattern paper instead of cutting the printout.
Cut out
Cut on the line for your size, not between lines. Seam allowance is already included on every piece and the amount is printed on the piece itself. Transfer the notches, grainline arrows and drill holes before you lift the paper off the fabric.
If something looks wrong
- Pieces do not meet at the notches: the print was scaled. Reprint page one and measure the square again.
- Two lines run almost parallel at the shoulder: you are reading two sizes. Switch the other layers off.
- A tile is blank: the layer for that area is switched off, not missing from the file.
Not sure which size to cut? Read find your size. Still buying fabric? Choosing fabric covers the weight to look for. Once the pieces are cut, seam allowance and finishing takes over.
The full pattern catalogue lists what is included with each pattern, and the FAQ answers the rest.