How to Print and Assemble a PDF Sewing Pattern

Just downloaded a pattern and not sure where to start? This guide takes you from the ZIP file to a full-size paper pattern on your table, step by step, with our own files.

1Choose the right folder

After unzipping, you get the same pattern laid out for three kinds of paper. Pick the one that matches your printer:

2Open the file for your size

Each folder holds one PDF per size, for example Size 00 to Size 22 for our women’s patterns (kids and pets have their own size ranges). Find your size in the size chart on the pattern page, then open only that file: no extra lines to follow.

Open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader, the free desktop app. Browsers and phone apps often shrink pages to fit the screen, which changes the scale without telling you.

3Know what is inside the file

Every size file follows the same order, so you always know where to look:

• Page 1: the calibration test page, with the 4 × 4 in square and quick printing notes.
• Pages 2–3: seam allowance, the list of pattern pieces with how many to cut, and the pattern measurements.
• Page 4: the layout map, showing how all the pattern pages fit together.
• Next pages: the pattern pages to print and tape (or the large sheets in the A0 file).

4Print page 1 and check the scale

Print only page 1 first, with these settings:

Measure the square with a ruler. It must be exactly 4 × 4 in (10.16 cm) on each side.

5Print the pattern pages

With the same settings, print the pattern pages (from the page after the layout map to the end). Keep them in order as they come out of the printer.

6Trim and tape, row by row

Each pattern page has a number like 2/1: the first number is the column, the second is the row. Every page also has a dashed border.

1. Group the pages by row: row 1 is 1/1, 2/1, 3/1…, row 2 is 1/2, 2/2, 3/2…
2. Trim the right edge of each page along the dashed line. Do not cut past it.
3. Lay page 1/1 over 2/1, overlapping the trimmed edge. Match the corners, crosses and lines, then tape.
4. Finish row 1, then build row 2 the same way.
5. Trim the bottom edge of row 1 and tape it over row 2. Continue until the pattern is complete.

7Printing the A0 file at a copy shop

Send the A0 PDF for your size to a copy shop and ask for black and white, 100% scale, no fitting to page. The first pages of the file are A4 information pages, so ask the shop to print only the large sheets, or print pages 1–4 at home.

8Cut out and transfer the markings

Cut along your size line, or trace it onto pattern paper so you can keep the original. Before removing the paper from the fabric, cut the notches and transfer every marking: grainline, fold line, darts, pocket and button positions.

Troubleshooting

Questions

Do I need to print every size?

No. Each size has its own file, so you only print yours.

Can I use a projector?

Our files are made for printing. You can project the A0 file if your projector software lets you calibrate it with the 4 in square.

Is seam allowance included?

Yes, on every pattern. The amount is written on page 2 of the file and on the pattern page.