How to print a PDF sewing pattern

Every pattern on SewSize can be downloaded in three ways: a PDF tiled on home-printer paper, a one-sheet PDF at full size, and an SVG file. Pick the paper — US Letter or A4 — with the switch at the top of the page before downloading.

1. Print at 100% scale

Open the PDF and choose Actual size (or “Scale 100%”) in the print dialog. Turn off “Fit to page”, “Shrink oversized pages” and similar options — they make the pattern smaller.

2. Check the test square

Print the first sheet only and measure the square with a ruler. It must be exactly 4 × 4 in10 × 10 cm. If it is not, the printer is scaling the page: fix the setting before printing the rest. A difference of just 3% adds up to more than an inch around the hips.

3. Tape the sheets together

The first sheet also shows the layout: each sheet is labeled “row-column”, and gray cells in the layout are empty and need no printing. Neighboring sheets overlap by a shaded strip. Trim or fold the right and bottom margins, lay the next sheet over the strip so the lines continue, and tape. Work row by row.

4. Cut out the pieces

Each piece has two outlines: the outer one includes the seam and hem allowances — cut along it. The inner one is the stitching line. Transfer the notches, darts and the grainline arrow to the fabric. “Cut 2” means two mirror-image pieces; “on fold” means the edge marked “fabric fold” goes on the folded edge of the fabric.

Copy shop and plotter

The one-sheet PDF puts the whole pattern on a single page at full size. Copy shops can print it on a wide-format printer (ask for “actual size, no scaling”). The SVG opens at full size in Inkscape, Illustrator or projector software.