Help

Printing, taping, cutting

Everything you need to know before the first stitch: which file to use, how to print correctly and how to get the pattern onto the fabric.

What you get

After your purchase you'll find all files of a pattern on your order page. You don't need all of them, just pick the one that fits.

A4 file per size: for printing at home. Page 1 is the print page with the test square and taping plan, the pattern pages follow.
A0 file per size: for the copy shop or plot service, whole pattern pieces without taping. Larger sizes come on two sheets.
All-sizes file, in A4 and A0: all sizes nested, each in its own colour and on its own layer. Use it to draw between two sizes.
Instructions as PDF: size chart, fabric requirements and every step explained with drawings.
With made to measure you get the same files, calculated from your measurements.

The per-size files contain only your size. In the all-sizes file the sizes are nested, each in its own colour. The pattern pieces themselves never lie on top of each other, so you can cut or trace calmly.

Any ordinary printer will do. The only important thing is that nothing gets scaled.

Open the A4 file in a PDF app (for example Adobe Acrobat Reader, not the browser) and print page 1 only at first.
Set scaling to “Actual size” or 100 %. “Fit to page” must be off.
Measure the test square on page 1: it must be exactly 5 × 5 cm. If it is, print the rest.
Double-sided printing is not suitable. Ordinary 80 g paper is fine.

In the all-sizes file every size is its own layer. Hide the sizes you don't need in your PDF app (Adobe Acrobat Reader: layers icon on the left). To blend, keep two sizes visible.
If your app can't handle layers, it prints all sizes. Colours and line styles help you find your line.

Pages without any pattern lines aren't in the file at all. The taping plan marks them as “blank”, just leave that spot free when taping.

Laid out together, the A4 pages form the pattern pieces. Each piece has its own pages, and every page shows its name at the top left.

Lay out the pages following the taping plan on page 1. The name tells you the position: V-A1 means piece V, column A, row 1.
Trim every page all around along the grey frame.
Butt the edges together, with no gap and no overlap. The half crosses at the edges form whole crosses, and the pattern lines run on smoothly. Tape them, first each row, then the rows to each other.
A ruler or the edge of a table helps keep the pages straight.

If you'd rather not tape, have the A0 file plotted. This usually costs two to five euros per sheet.

Hand in the A0 file for your size or the all-sizes file, never the A4 file.
Say: “Please print 1:1, no scaling.” There's a test square (10 × 10 cm) here too for checking.
Black and white is enough. Ordinary plotter paper (80 or 90 g) is fine, thin paper is even easier to trace through.
Larger sizes need two sheets, the second one is sometimes smaller (A1 or A2). It says so on the sheet, e.g. “Sheet 1 of 2”.
Online plot services mail you the sheet if there's no copy shop nearby.

Both work. Tracing pays off if you want to sew the pattern more than once.

Lay pattern paper, baking paper or painter's drop sheet over the sheet and trace the lines with a pencil or fineliner.
Transfer all markings too: grainline, fold, matching marks, piece name and “cut how many”.
A curve ruler helps with sleeve caps and necklines but isn't a must.

Cut directly on the outer solid line. Seam allowance is already included in all our patterns, you don't need to add any. The dashed line inside is the stitching line.
Use paper scissors, not your fabric shears. They go blunt otherwise.
Between two sizes, or is your bust an M and your hip an S? Use the all-sizes file and draw a line that blends smoothly from one size to the other between bust and hip. Even more precise is made to measure, calculated from your measurements.

Our sizes follow body measurements, not shop sizes. It's best to measure in your underwear.

Compare with the size chart on the product page, where the size finder also suggests a size. For tops and dresses the bust matters most, for trousers and skirts the hips.
For loose fits between two sizes take the smaller one, for close fits the larger one.
If your measurements don't fit any size well, order the pattern made to measure.

A few minutes of preparation save trouble later.

Pre-wash and iron the fabric the way you'll wash the finished piece. Many fabrics, jersey included, shrink after the first wash otherwise.
Lay out the pieces with the grainline parallel to the selvedge. The arrow on the piece shows the direction.
Transfer the matching marks: diamonds (e.g. on Hanne) are marked with chalk, not snipped. Short notch lines (e.g. on Merle) are snipped 2 mm at most. Each pattern sheet tells you which applies.

Every set of instructions explains each step with drawings. And if that's not enough, write to us via the contact page, we're happy to help.