Preparing patterns in ready-made sizes

1. Pattern files

If you have purchased one of our multi-size patterns as an e-book, you will receive two PDF pattern files.
The A4 file consists of several pages that you can print and glue together yourself.
The A0 file (A0 format in width – the length can be shorter or longer than A0, depending on the pattern) must be printed out on an appropriate plotter.
You may have a copy store near you that can print the file, or you can send it to an online print shop.

You can see the format of the respective pattern file at the end of the file name.
The A0 file also contains the page size in mm, which is required for layer printing.
Both files contain PDF layers for each clothing size, which you can show and hide individually.
I use Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download here for free.

2. Show and hide layers in the A4 file

To show and hide the layers of your pattern, the corresponding navigation bar must be visible.
Depending on the program version and settings, this is located on the left, right or top edge.
You can use the small black triangles – marked here with a red arrow on the left and right – to show and hide the navigation bars.
In the picture you can see the symbol for the layers in the bottom left bar.

If you click on the layer symbol, you will see all the layers contained in the pattern.
You can recognize all visible layers by the fact that an eye is displayed in the box.
The layers can be shown or hidden by clicking in the box.
By default, the section lines of all sizes, i.e. the layers with a size designation that are not preceded by an “F”, are shown.
The layers with “F” are the seam lines of the respective sizes.
Only the smallest size is shown by default.
At the very end of the list you will find the info layer.
This contains information that is valid for all sizes, e.g. the names of the pattern pieces.
These can also be pattern pieces or contact lines.
The info layer is always colored black and lines are always continuous.
Always leave this layer displayed.

If you only need size 44, for example, you can hide the cutting lines of all other sizes and show the corresponding seam allowance, i.e. layer F-44.

If you activate the cutting lines for several sizes because you want to make a pattern adjustment, I recommend always showing the seam line for the smallest activated size.
This way you can see from the difference between the seam line and the cutting line, which seam widths and turn-ins are included in the pattern.

3. Print test page

Now print only the first page of your pattern.
There is always a test square on this, which is used to check whether the pattern is printed to the correct scale.
The length and width of the test square must be exactly 10 cm.
If this is the case, you can also print the remaining pages.
Otherwise, the printer settings must be adjusted.

4. Adjust printer settings

If both sides of the test square are not exactly 10 cm long, set the scale in the print options to “original”, “actual size” or “scale: 100 %”. Different terms are used here depending on the printer model and manufacturer.

5. Assemble the pattern

On each side of the pattern you will find a letter in the background with a number next to it, e.g. A1.
The pages are arranged so that the letters go down and the numbers go up to the right.

Now cut off the bottom and/or right-hand edge of the sheets that have a following page to the bottom and/or right.
You can tell which page is the next page by the lettering in the triangles, which point to the next page like arrowheads.

Then glue the edges together with the edges of the following pages until you have assembled the complete pattern sheet like a puzzle.

6. Prepare A0 file for plotting

It is also possible to show and hide the different layers on the A0 pattern, which only consists of one page.
If you only want to print individual layers, I will explain how this works here.

As described above for A4 patterns, I first show the required layers and hide all those that are not required.

Now I need a virtual PDF printer to create a new file.
I am using the PDF24 printer here, but of course you can also use other products.
I click on “Properties” next to the printer selection to make the necessary settings.

In the “Paper/Quality” tab, I click on “Advanced” at the bottom right to adjust the paper properties.

In the drop-down menu for the paper source, I select “Custom page size for Postscript”.

The page dimensions are entered in the window that now opens.
As briefly mentioned above, you will find these at the end of the file name.
In this example, the width is 2080 mm and the height is 810 mm.

Make sure that the correct unit of measurement – millimeters – is selected and then click “OK” twice in succession.
Check again that the scale is set to 100 % and then click on “Print”.
The file can now be saved as a PDF.
Remember to assign a new file name so as not to accidentally overwrite the base file.
I have added the suffix “Plot38” (38 for the selected clothing size).
When you open the newly created file, it will only contain the layers you have selected.
You can then send the file to the copy store or online print shop.

7. Cut out and sort pattern pieces

Cut out the individual shapes = pattern pieces on the outer lines of the selected size/cutting edge from your pattern sheet.
All seam allowances are already included in the smartPATTERN patterns.

To make cutting easier, I sort the pattern pieces by material. You will always find this information in the labeling of a pattern piece in the 5th line on the right in capital letters (see colored marking in the magnifying glass). This means that you sort all parts with the same material designation, e.g. MAIN FABRIC, INTERFACING, TEMPLATE, etc., into one pile. There may be different materials depending on the product. However, every model has at least one MAIN FABRIC.

Here you will find some links to the next steps:

• Cutting fabrics and materials
• Sewing darts on trousers #AB01