stitchu / sewing guide / How to print a PDF sewing pattern at actual size
Print a PDF pattern at true scale.
A paper pattern is only right if every line prints at its real size. Choose the paper, switch off scaling, measure the test square, and only then tape and cut.
A4 at home or A0 at a copy shop?
A4 paper is 210 × 297 mm and A0 is 841 × 1189 mm (ISO 216). An A4 file spreads the pattern over many sheets that you tape together at home. An A0 file uses one or a few large sheets, printed by a copy shop or plan printer.
US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in, 215.9 × 279.4 mm) is shorter than A4. An A4 page printed on Letter can lose its edges or be shrunk to fit, so print A4 files on A4 paper.
Switch off page scaling
- Choose actual size. In the print dialog choose Actual size or 100%. In Adobe Acrobat and Reader, Fit reduces or enlarges each page to the printable area and Shrink oversized pages shrinks large pages; Actual size prints without scaling.
- Print the test page only. Print the page that carries the scale square before you print the whole file.
- Measure the square. Measure it with a ruler. If it is the stated size, print the rest. If it is not, check the scaling setting and print the test page again. Do not cut from a print that fails this check.
Tape the A4 sheets together
Lay the sheets out in the order shown on the pattern’s sheet map. Neighbouring sheets overlap: lay one over the next until the marks on the shared edge sit exactly on top of each other, then tape. Work row by row and check the marks at every join before you cut out the pieces.
Printing A0 at a copy shop
Send the A0 file and ask for every sheet to be printed at 100%, with no scaling or fit-to-page. When you collect the sheets, measure the scale square before you cut.
In stitchu’s sample patterns
Read from the five published sample patterns on 17 October 2026.
- A4 file, page 3: a 100 mm square and a 4 × 1 inch ruler. Measure from the centre of one line to the centre of the opposite line; 100 mm, give or take 1 mm, means the print is true.
- A4 file, page 2: the sheet map. Sheets are named by row and column, with 1A at the top left. Grey sheets carry no pattern but are printed anyway, because they keep the grid square.
- Every A4 sheet has a 10 mm band along its left and top edges that repeats the edge of the sheet before it, circled crosshairs at the corners and short ticks along the edges. Trim the outer dashed line on the left and top, lay the sheet over its neighbour so its crosshairs sit exactly on the neighbour’s crosshairs and the ticks meet, then tape.
- The assembly notes inside the files mention “black corner squares”. The sheets carry circled crosshairs instead: match the crosshairs, and keep the 10 mm band, because it is the part that overlaps.
- A0 file: 841 × 1189 mm sheets, each with the same 100 mm square and a list of the pieces on it, for printing at 100% at a copy shop. The keyhole mini fits on one sheet, each gingham mini on two and each wrap mini on three.
- The 10 mm seam allowance is included: cut on the outer line.
Sources
- ISO 216 paper sizes, summarised by Markus Kuhn, University of Cambridge
- Adobe: Adjust page size for printing PDFs in Acrobat
- Simplicity: PDF pattern information
- Thread Theory: printing PDF patterns
Next: how much fabric to buy, then make a toile before you cut. Before printing, check the size against your measurements. What each line and mark on the printed pieces means: pattern markings.