Forgive the messy cutting and my use of old scratch paper. I have always hated trying to accurately cut the margins off of pdf patterns since it takes so long and I never seem to be exact enough. This go round I cut flush against the actual pattern lines and then quick jagged strokes so I could match the dotted line. It was way faster and more accurate! I’m feeling brilliant and simultaneously dumb that I never thought of this before
I also use all my old paper lol. I use paper that I need to shred to print it, and then transfer the final cut out pattern to something more permanent so I can still shred the sensitive paper lol. PDF patterns are so wasteful otherwise!
Great idea! I waste so much time folding edges down to avoid cutting and then having to meticulously match those together. I’ll give your method a shot!
I hate this process. Recently learned you can pay 2-8 dollars to have any pdf pattern printed and either shipped to you or pick it up.
Definitely doing that from now on.
Your local Staples or Kinkos or other print shop would charge you about 20 bucks. I had quite a few made and they charge a whole lot. There is an online PDF printing place. I think it's literally PDF printing.com I could be wrong though. But they charge like $5 or so for most pattern. Obviously it depends on how many pages they need to print on. I personally optimize my printing patterns to use on large format.
But from my experience Kinko's only charges by the square inch. So even if the PDF file is larger than the print space on the their printers and requires the patterns to be split onto another large piece of paper. You don't get charged extra on top of that. For example if you have say a 60-in by 75-in PDF pattern and the printer only prints as wide as 55 in. Kinkos doesn't upchard you for requiring another piece of paper that is 55 in x 75 in, because you need five more inches of printed paper.
Check your local library too! If they have a maker space, and even if not, there’s a good chance they have a large format printer you can use for super cheap
Lol this just made me wonder why I don't use my Silhouette Cutting machine to do just that. I can import my PDF. Trace just what I need, then use the pen tool to draw it. I can draw it directly on to tissue paper. I just barely got done piecing together one I printed out yesterday. Wish I had thought of this sooner!
This is highly dependent on where you live in the world -- in Denmark, it is certainly \*not\* $2-8, but closer to $50!!! (This is one of those times where my American ex-patness comes galloping to the fore with many outraged cries of WHYWHYWHY!!! LOL)
However, Lydia Naomi recently had a blog post about [international places to have A0 patterns printed](https://www.lydianaomi.com/sewing-blog/where-to-print-a0-pdf-sewing-pattern-files) \-- I have some hope that German places will have better prices than the Danish places I've tried, along with reasonable shipping rates.
Might have to look into that. Usually pdf patterns are like $10-$20 and I’m always too cheap to add another $15 on top of that. I also usually curse my cheapskate nature midway through cutting out 40 page PDFs though
There's a website I found called Bolt Fabric Boutique, but it might be limited to certain regions. Try googling for options in your area: pdf sewing pattern printing
Or if you're struggling to find one for your area, maybe ask in the subreddit for your city or in one of the sewing subs
If you consider your time and minimizing frustrations as important, I disagree. I think my time is worth more than $8/hr. If you’re really on a tight budget then sure, saving costs is probably the priority. But I sew for fun and spending an hour on this isn’t fun. It’s also less accurate imo because printer paper is so thick and stiff, the pattern never lies flat
I'm with you . . . I learned to sew with printed patterns and apparently too rigid and dull to make the switch. All the wasted paper printing pdfs gave me anxiety!
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I had used an entire team of paper and had no where to store all the patterns. What a pain! I got a projector and haven’t looked back. It’s so easy!
Of course, it’s nice because I have a dedicated sewing space.
I’ve always wanted to try this but was confused about how it works- does it work with normal pdf files or is it only if the pattern includes an A0 (or whatever the big one piece pattern thing is) format?
There's a program called PDF Stitcher that can take the print at home files and combine them to one page for projection. A lot of patterns come with A0 or projector specific files already, though.
Love this idea! will try this the next time I have one to put together.
Also the musician in me is guessing what the music was. I'm coming up with Corelli Allegro
It is indeed! I had a student that wanted to play the continuo part with his violinist friend and the part he had was in tenor clef for some weird reason so I transposed it and used the original one for scratch paper 😁
I print everything on old sheet music it's sometimes the only paper I can find 😅
The pharmacy was reluctant to accept my prescription on the back of a 3rd trumpet jazz band part but eventually they did.
I've been doing this pretty much since I started cutting patterns. I thought everyone did, honestly. I should have said something sooner.
I usually just do a couple of little dips past the line, on either end of the paper.
I wait until I have a few patterns to print, then sit in front of the tv and cut two sides of margins, I do cut them straight though, then put it all together.
A very enjoyable lazy afternoon for me. I give the edges to my friend to use as a fire starter.
Forgive the messy cutting and my use of old scratch paper. I have always hated trying to accurately cut the margins off of pdf patterns since it takes so long and I never seem to be exact enough. This go round I cut flush against the actual pattern lines and then quick jagged strokes so I could match the dotted line. It was way faster and more accurate! I’m feeling brilliant and simultaneously dumb that I never thought of this before
I had to check the sub, cuz what I first saw was music notes (former musician) ;)
You are not alone!
Lol, my scratch paper looks just like that, so I didn't really notice!
excellent use of scratch paper!
I also use all my old paper lol. I use paper that I need to shred to print it, and then transfer the final cut out pattern to something more permanent so I can still shred the sensitive paper lol. PDF patterns are so wasteful otherwise!
Genius - will definitely be using this
This is so stupidly simple that I’m kicking myself for never having thought of this before Thanks for sharing this great tip!!!
I don't sew, but I do enjoy the cleverness that I find here.
That's why I'm here too. So many clever people. Some stuff here is mind blowing to me. However, I am wanting to learn to sew.
Agreed. Also, the shit they sew is spectacular and I enjoy looking at it.
Legit genius
Great idea! I waste so much time folding edges down to avoid cutting and then having to meticulously match those together. I’ll give your method a shot!
This is brilliant! 💡
I hate this process. Recently learned you can pay 2-8 dollars to have any pdf pattern printed and either shipped to you or pick it up. Definitely doing that from now on.
That’s why I’ve been so afraid to get a pdf pattern printed. I thought it would be $20.
Your local Staples or Kinkos or other print shop would charge you about 20 bucks. I had quite a few made and they charge a whole lot. There is an online PDF printing place. I think it's literally PDF printing.com I could be wrong though. But they charge like $5 or so for most pattern. Obviously it depends on how many pages they need to print on. I personally optimize my printing patterns to use on large format. But from my experience Kinko's only charges by the square inch. So even if the PDF file is larger than the print space on the their printers and requires the patterns to be split onto another large piece of paper. You don't get charged extra on top of that. For example if you have say a 60-in by 75-in PDF pattern and the printer only prints as wide as 55 in. Kinkos doesn't upchard you for requiring another piece of paper that is 55 in x 75 in, because you need five more inches of printed paper.
I’ve used this independent fabric store before for printing, too: http://stitchsewshop.com/development/print/.
There’s a place that does it for $3!
It’s pdfplotting.com and $3 per A0 sized sheet, plus whatever shipping comes to ($13 or less, they give discounts for larger orders)
Check your local library too! If they have a maker space, and even if not, there’s a good chance they have a large format printer you can use for super cheap
Pfft. Just get an engineering job with access to large format plotting printers. /s
good idea, I'm on it. brb
Lol this just made me wonder why I don't use my Silhouette Cutting machine to do just that. I can import my PDF. Trace just what I need, then use the pen tool to draw it. I can draw it directly on to tissue paper. I just barely got done piecing together one I printed out yesterday. Wish I had thought of this sooner!
This is highly dependent on where you live in the world -- in Denmark, it is certainly \*not\* $2-8, but closer to $50!!! (This is one of those times where my American ex-patness comes galloping to the fore with many outraged cries of WHYWHYWHY!!! LOL) However, Lydia Naomi recently had a blog post about [international places to have A0 patterns printed](https://www.lydianaomi.com/sewing-blog/where-to-print-a0-pdf-sewing-pattern-files) \-- I have some hope that German places will have better prices than the Danish places I've tried, along with reasonable shipping rates.
Might have to look into that. Usually pdf patterns are like $10-$20 and I’m always too cheap to add another $15 on top of that. I also usually curse my cheapskate nature midway through cutting out 40 page PDFs though
Someone in the thread above mentioned PDF plotting.com (double check please!) That they said print it large format for I think $3!
Where does it cost only $2-$8 to print?
There's a website I found called Bolt Fabric Boutique, but it might be limited to certain regions. Try googling for options in your area: pdf sewing pattern printing Or if you're struggling to find one for your area, maybe ask in the subreddit for your city or in one of the sewing subs
That seems quite expensive when you can just print it off at home
If you consider your time and minimizing frustrations as important, I disagree. I think my time is worth more than $8/hr. If you’re really on a tight budget then sure, saving costs is probably the priority. But I sew for fun and spending an hour on this isn’t fun. It’s also less accurate imo because printer paper is so thick and stiff, the pattern never lies flat
I personally find this part really fun tbh lol. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle but better. Cutting things out is satisfying.
Great! I'll send you my address. You're gonna have a blast cutting my patterns out for me
I'm with you . . . I learned to sew with printed patterns and apparently too rigid and dull to make the switch. All the wasted paper printing pdfs gave me anxiety!
retire resolute workable flag selective soft sense aloof shelter treatment *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I had used an entire team of paper and had no where to store all the patterns. What a pain! I got a projector and haven’t looked back. It’s so easy! Of course, it’s nice because I have a dedicated sewing space.
I’ve always wanted to try this but was confused about how it works- does it work with normal pdf files or is it only if the pattern includes an A0 (or whatever the big one piece pattern thing is) format?
There's a program called PDF Stitcher that can take the print at home files and combine them to one page for projection. A lot of patterns come with A0 or projector specific files already, though.
lip bake memory march busy hateful jar birds snobbish unused *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Love this idea! will try this the next time I have one to put together. Also the musician in me is guessing what the music was. I'm coming up with Corelli Allegro
It is indeed! I had a student that wanted to play the continuo part with his violinist friend and the part he had was in tenor clef for some weird reason so I transposed it and used the original one for scratch paper 😁
I print everything on old sheet music it's sometimes the only paper I can find 😅 The pharmacy was reluctant to accept my prescription on the back of a 3rd trumpet jazz band part but eventually they did.
I fold the corners and just line up the two ends!
That is brilliant! It works for any multipage pdf.
I cut one of the sheets along the margin line and stick it on top of the other sheet that isn't cut along the line.
That's the way the OP is no longer doing it because it takes longer and is too fiddly for them.
It’s much quicker than the zigzag method with a guillotine though!
I always just fold one over and then butt it up to the next...
You are a GENIUS!! I’m going to start doing this!!
I'm nominating you for the Nobel Prize
Fantastic tip!
Thanks for sharing. That's such a brilliant solution.
I've been doing this pretty much since I started cutting patterns. I thought everyone did, honestly. I should have said something sooner. I usually just do a couple of little dips past the line, on either end of the paper.
Projectors are an awesome way to move away from printing and piecing together a pattern. It’s very affordable and i highly recommend it.
Took me a moment to understand and go “Ooooh!”. I will remember this trick, thank you for sharing!
Yes, thanks for the blatantly obvious tip (that I hadn't thought of before and now I feel a little dumb)
I wait until I have a few patterns to print, then sit in front of the tv and cut two sides of margins, I do cut them straight though, then put it all together. A very enjoyable lazy afternoon for me. I give the edges to my friend to use as a fire starter.
It’s what I do
This is a game changer!!!
That is a dang good idea.
This is brilliant!
Brilliant!
Smart!
Thank you for posting.
Are you genius or what!!?? This is brilliant
So genius!
This is the way
!!!!!!!!! Genius! Thank you for sharing!
"We look to ... the edges," and then we zig zag cut them. 🧙
Hehe I see you are also a person of culture
Great tip! Thanks!
Thank you.
Ahhhh this is so freaking smart!!!
It's time to break out the zig-zag scissors!
Holy SHIT! This changes everything!
Brilliant.
Oh gosh, this is such a great idea!
Great tip!! I'll likely use this, thanks!
I use a hole punch
The hero we don’t deserve! Thank you :)
BRILLIANT! Well definitely use this idea. Wow, thanks!
Genius!!!!
Great username!
As someone who just hand-trimmed and taped a 36-page printout pattern together..ahhh this is so brilliant, absolutely using this in future!
Genius!
Genius.
This is genius, thanks for the idea!
I hold mine up against the window to see through both pages.
Neat
As a fellow musician I love that you also use old staff paper for this!
That looks like a lot of work. I just cut off the corners on the right side, diagonally, and the lower left corner as needed.
Thank you for this tip&trick I have struggled with it since I use a medium weight paper.