A4 & US Letter pattern
Tiled across several sheets to print on a home printer, with every size layered into the one file so you print only your own.
Printing & assembly
How to use your PDF sewing pattern
Every pattern arrives as three files, not one, and each answers a different question: what to print at home, what to hand a copyshop, and how to sew what you have cut. Here is what to do with each of them.
What's in your download
Three PDF files, every time, delivered as a ZIP you unzip once you have paid.
A0 copyshop pattern
The same pattern on one large sheet, sized for a print shop's wide-format printer — nothing to tape together.
Illustrated sewing guide
Cutting layouts, fabric and notions, and every construction step illustrated in order.
Printing at home (A4 / US Letter)
Open the file in Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader is free, and it is the only reader that reliably handles the size layers. Other PDF viewers can print every size at once.
Switch off the sizes you don't need
Open the layers panel on the left and leave only your own size visible. You will use far less paper and ink, and the pieces are easier to cut apart.
Set scaling to 100%
Choose Actual Size, and make sure Fit to Page or Shrink to Fit is switched off. This is what keeps the pattern true to size.
Print page one and measure the test square
Every pattern's first page carries a square marked with its real measurement. If it measures correctly, your settings are right; if not, check the scaling before printing anything else.
Print the remaining pages and assemble
Line up the registration marks printed at the edge of each sheet, trim where the assembly diagram says to, and tape the pages into one pattern.
Printing at a copyshop (A0)
Skip the taping entirely by sending the A0 file to a print shop instead.
What to ask for
Hand over the A0 file by USB stick or email, and ask for 100% scale (actual size), no tiling. That is the whole instruction — a print shop that prints technical drawings or blueprints will already know what you mean. You get one sheet back, cut and ready.
Choosing your size layer
A layered file holds every size in one PDF; the layers panel is what lets you print just one. Not sure which size to cut first? See how to measure yourself and read the size chart.
Seam allowance
Already drawn into every pattern piece, so you cut on the printed line and sew where the guide tells you to — nothing to add yourself.
New to layered files? Read what a layered PDF sewing pattern is, or compare PDF and paper patterns. More answers in the sewing guides.
Still stuck?
Send us a photo of the page that isn't printing right, or the step that doesn't read clearly, and we'll walk you through it. Live chat is open seven days a week, or write to contact@indie-patterns.com. A person reads it.