Earlier this week I shared with you about my online shop and the types of things I sell there. Having received a few comments and queries regarding the PDF patterns, I’d like to talk a bit more about my patterns and how to use them.
My patterns and their accompanying instruction booklets are sold as PDF files. This means that once payment has been made, you gain immediate access to the files and don’t have to worry about postage costs or waiting for the postman (or post-lady!). My patterns are designed to be printed off on your normal, home, A4 colour printer. It’s quite important for the printer to be colour as the different sizes are indicated by different colours. When you first print off your pattern you will need to measure the scale check rectangle on the first page to check that the pattern has printed off to the right size. You will have a stack of pages that will look something like this:
Each piece of paper will have text in the top left hand corner indicating their order, which is helpful when you’re sticking them together. Each piece of paper also has little crosses in each corner. These crosses indicate the margins so the pattern can be stuck together accurately. Use a ruler and sharp pencil to join the crosses along the bottom and right hand side of each page. Following the lines you have just ruled, cut off the bottom and right margins of each page. Don’t worry if the margins are not all the same width, this doesn’t matter as everything within the page will align beautifully. In the image below the grey sections indicate the margins that have not been trimmed. Apply an adhesive such as craft glue (or rubber cement) in the margins along the left hand side and upper edge of each page, (except for the left edges of the far left column and the upper edges of the very top row). Work on one page at a time. You can now overlap each page one at a time, carefully lining up the crosses and pressing the edges you have cut over the glued margins. Starting with the top left page, work across the top row then add each page in the second row, one page at a time and so on until all the pages are joined together. The first time you do this it might take a while, but you will get quicker with practise!
While the adhesive is drying, it’s a good opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea and read through the instruction booklet. Once it’s dry you can cut out the appropriate size and get on with making your new garment! The instruction booklet is in a separate file to the pattern so you can choose whether you want to print it off and have a hard copy, or save paper by reading it directly from your computer. The instruction booklet contains more information on how to print off your pattern and stick it together, as well as sizing information, tips for selecting an appropriate fabric, general sewing techniques and step by step instructions for how to make your garment. The booklet includes lots of illustrations and photos, too.
I hope this answers any questions you may have about my patterns. Remember also, that in my shop, each item has multiple images (and the clothing patterns also have line drawings). You can click on the small thumbnails of the images to enlarge them and get a better look. The written descriptions in the shop also include some technical details of the garments, such as zipper placement. If you have any more questions, you can leave a comment on this post, or send me a message via the contact page.
© 2012, Angela. All rights reserved. On reposting any images contained herein you must provide link to original post. Please don’t repost entire posts without my permission.
My goodness, I can only imagine the amount of work you’ve put on those…
They look super acurate and amazing!
Oh, thank you! Yes, a LOT of work has gone into them!