How To Size Up PDF Sewing Patterns

Using a Nora Waugh pattern to make some 1790s stays proved to have a few challenges, so I thought a would make a tutorial of sorts to walk through the process.

First take a screenshot of the pattern you want to use. Try to crop out everything except the pattern. Image copyright Nora Waugh - Corsets and Crinolines.

Next, open Adobe print - it's automatically installed on all Windows computers, and can be opened by searching "paint" in the toolbar.

Open where it says "Page setup". This button can be found by hovering your mouse over where it says "file", and then when it opens those options up, by hovering over where it says "print".

Now go to scaling and click adjust the size. It may take a few tries to size up the pattern to its original size, and then you will still probably want to size it up more, as the pattern I'm using was taken from an original garment (i.e. it's probably wayyyy to small).

Mine had to be scaled up around 400%, but I ended up attempting to use it at 415% percent, as it was very small.

Now the key is to click "adjust to", not to keep it on "fit to", as it will then just print out doll size on a single piece of paper!

Now click print! Your pattern should come out of the printer on several pages, in just the right size!

If you don't have a light box, I recommend taping the pages together on a window, so you can make sure everything lines up. If you are using a pattern for stays (or any two-sided garment) I also recommend flipping the image around and printing it again, just to be convenient. This makes a paper mock up easier.

Then cut out the pieces, leaving a lot of seam allowance (this can be trimmed down later).

Ta da! A full size pattern!

If you are looking for some free patterns, here are some great sources:

http://www.marquise.de/en/index.html - this site has a ton of free Victorian patterns - be warned that they are often free hand when scaling up - with no scale to tell you how big they were originally.

http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/freepatterns/index.html also has a bunch of free patterns - some even have a grid, which makes sizing up a lot easier!

Nora Waugh and Janet Arnold's books also have lots of gridded sewing patterns. This technique can be used for patterns in books as well; just scan them or take a picture from an even angle.

And there you have it! I hope this was helpful for people who struggle with technology, such as me!

Note: I do not own the pattern above. Copyright belongs to the original owner.