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5 Ways to Print Your Sewing Patterns
Whether you’ve purchased your sewing pattern online in PDF format or designed it personally on the computer (for example, with the software, “Valentina”) it’s essential to print it on paper in order to create your sewing project.
There are several options available, suitable for all budgets and needs. Let’s explore them together!
1. Home A4 Printer
Let’s start with the simplest and cheapest method, your home printer.
If you’re wondering how to print an A0-sized sewing pattern on standard A4 sheets, don’t worry, it’s not difficult. To divide it into “portions” of A4 size, or rather pieces, you can use both Adobe Illustrator and “Puzzle” by “Valentina” (if you’ve never done it before, I explain how to do it in the course Draw Your Skirt with “Valentina”). Once you have printed all the sheets, you can use a glue roller and scissors to assemble them together, following the instructions. As you can see, with this solution you’ll only pay for the paper, glue, and ink.
However, be aware! If it’s a very large sewing pattern, it will require a lot of elbow grease.
PROS
- Cheap
- Directly at your home
CONS
- Requires a lot of time and patience
2. A3 or A3+ Printer
An A3 sheet allows us to halve the work compared to the standard solution with A4 sheets, as A3 is exactly double the size of A4. To divide it into A3 “portions,” or rather pieces, you can use both Adobe Illustrator and “Puzzle” by “Valentina” (Check out point 1. Home A4 Printer, in this article).
If you have Adobe’s suite program, Illustrator, you can download the file found below by filling out the form and insert your design into a new layer. After that, all you have to do is print ensuring that the scale is at 100%. If you don’t have Adobe and prefer a completely free solution, you can use “Puzzle” from the “Valentina” program, as in the previous method, only changing the measurements of your portion.
If you have an A3+ printer, you can print on sheets up to 1 meter long (sizes may vary depending on the printer). This will save you a lot of glue and time. To find such long sheets, try and ask print shops for scrap sheets, which are often thrown away due to minor defects or stains. Ask if you can get some for free or at a discounted price. Remember to get them cut into the desired size.
You’ll save money, the print shop will get rid of scrap material, and the environment will be happy!
PROS
- Cheap
- Available immediately
- Requires much less time than A4
CONS
- Still requires time and patience
- You need an A3 or A3+ printer
3. Plotter: Large Format Printer
This solution is certainly not within everyone’s reach.
There are plotters, also known as large format printers, even for domestic use. Even though there are models that are quite affordable (compared to the standard models), you still get a bulky solution with a high cost compared to a simple home printer.
However, if you have a small business and need to frequently print very large sewing patterns, then this could be an investment to consider. I decided to purchase a plotter last year (HERE is the affiliate link to my model on Amazon) after several years of business, and I can tell you that having the sewing pattern ready simply by clicking “PRINT” is quite satisfying.
PROS
- Professional result
- Single large-format sheet
- Saves time
- Available immediately
CONS
- Requires a high initial investment
- Bulky
4. Printo Shop
If you don’t have the money to invest in a new printer and don’t have the time to glue dozens of A4 sheets,
one possible solution is to turn to a print shop. The effectiveness of this solution depends a lot on the type of businesses in your area. If you are near a university area, especially near technical faculties like Architecture, you can often find print shops offering printing services at advantageous prices. On the other hand, if you are in a city far from these areas, you may receive printing quotes of up to €70 for an A0 print (speaking from personal experience, unfortunately).
In this case, if you want a practical and money-saving solution, I suggest you read the next point…
PROS
- Single large-format sheet
- Professional result
CONS
-
It can be expensive
-
Time spent travelling
-
.
For all individuals like you who want to transfer their ideas onto paper and print their digital sewing patterns in large format, achieving a professional and practical result, I have created the service: “Sewing Pattern Printing”.
I wanted to provide a solution to those who, like me, have needed to print large-format sewing patterns at reasonable prices, avoiding the hassle of gluing hundreds of A4 sheets together, wasting hours.
After choosing the desired printing format and type (color or black and white), all you need to do is, upload your printing file.
However, since presentation matters, you can customize your envelope with a cover, making everything organized and easily recognizable.
Your sewing pattern will then be printed and folded to fit into an A4 envelope and shipped directly to your home. How convenient is that?
PROS
- Affordable price
- Professional result
- Directly at your home
- Ready for cataloging
CONS
- Ready for cataloging
