Tip and Tricks 4 PDF Sewing Patterns: Putting the Pattern Together
Tape, tape, and more tape. This is the part some people hate. I actually don't mind it. It gives me something to do while my husband is watching some boring action movie. He always insists I watch whatever movie he's picked out so we are bonding. I'd rather be sewing than watching an action flick, so since this gets to be closer to actually sewing and I can do it in the living room on the floor, it's a win-win.
This tip may be a little more geared to those that have never worked with pdf patterns before. When I tell people what I do for a living, they often give me a blank stare if they've never heard of pdf sewing patterns before. They just can't for the life of them figure out how you can get an entire pattern piece off of a small sheet of printer paper. Well, folks, this post is for you.
Getting Started
The first thing you need to do is print your pattern. Make sure you follow the tips from our previous post. And don't forget to measure your print square! Got it? Good. Now gather your tools:
I really recommend a paper trimmer if you don't already have one. I really like this one because it's cheap and gets the job done. You can buy it through that affiliate link and throw a few pennies my way for the recommendation, or just pick one up at your favorite craft store with a coupon. It's easy to use, and I also have little chance of slicing my finger off which is a plus. You also can use scissors, but I find that takes twice as long.
So the first thing I do is cut the edges off on the right and bottom sides. Now you don't have to do this with all patterns as some are no trim. Granted, you will still have small unprinted edges with no trim because a lot of printers won't print regular paper borderless, so I always end up trimming anyway. Plus I'm a creature of habit.
The Assembly
Once you have all your pages trimmed, you'll have a pile like the one above. Now its time to get taping!
All pdf sewing patterns should have a printing guide. They vary by pattern designer, but they will look similar to above. Basically, you match up the lines to make sure you tape them together properly, and then tape.
I tend not to tape the entire paper and just tape on the areas of the corresponding pattern piece. This piece looks funny because I needed to blend two sizes together, so I printed two sizes instead of just one.
Tadah! You've got the whole pattern together! Now you just need to cut!
You can now cut or trace just like you normally would with any other sewing pattern. Easy peasy. And my favorite part about PDF patterns is the instant gratification. You can purchase, print, and sew all without leaving your house (or waiting for shipping).