Hi everyone!
Next on the Chestnut Sweater and Top Sew Along is..., yes, the dreaded assembling of a PDF pattern but, have you ever thought that when you buy a pattern in paper, you usually trace your pattern so not to ruin the rest of the sizes just in case? And that also takes time...
So in my mind I always think that the printing and assembling part corresponds to the tracing / copying the pattern. Then you have to cut both versions either way so, should we try the PDF and see how it goes? ;)
Also! All the CocoWawa Patterns come with a copy shop version so that you can skip the assembling part. Just save your pattern file on an USB or similar and take it to a copy shop to print it out on an A0-A1 format.
How to print a pdf pattern at home and assembly it
But! Let's imagine you are using your trusty printer at home :) First of all, you need to open the 'print at home' version of the pattern (here you can choose either the sweater or the top, or both, hehe) on Adobe Reader (the usually software that reads PDF files). Then, click on print and make sure the bit 'Actual size' is selected and that the 'fit to size' one is NOT.
Once you have printed all the pages, the first thing to do is to make sure they have been printed correctly (start with just the first page with the test square on it and if it turns out right, then keep on printing the rest).
Now for the assembling part. Here, what you usually do (at least it is what I used to always do in the past) is to cut along the rectangle that you will see on each page, but! instead of cutting all the sides, do it differently this time. Just cut the right and bottom lines on each page and overlap the edges.
Then follow the numbers on each page and use the little black triangles to align the pages.
On the instructions there's also a printing and assembling layout on page 7 that you can follow to see how it should look.
Another tip here is to find along the whole layout which pieces are the ones you actually need for the version you have chosen. Then go to the number pages and assemble those, instead of all of them, saving a lot of time as well.
Also, if you are using cello tape, cut small bits instead of trying to join two pieces with a big piece of tape that will end tangled up and only stick it on the actual pieces; this way you will save time and cello tape :)
At this stage you can just cut out the pieces along your chosen size or you can trace the pattern on a different paper if you want to keep the other sizes as well for the future. And... you are done! Easy, right? Hope now you are less afraid of PDF patterns and that you would like to give them a go :)
Happy sewing and see you on a new post of the Chestnut Sweater and Top Sew Along... It will be all about how to sew with knits!
xxx
Ana