Frills and Flares

Thursday, October 3, 2024

How to Print and Assemble PDF Sewing Pattern Pages?

Some of the readers have been asking for a tutorial on how to print and assemble the pattern pages. So today I wanted to share a tutorial on how to do it.

1. Download the and Print PDF pattern file.

Once you click the PDF pattern download link, you will be directed to the download page. Now, download and save the PDF pattern file in a folder in your computer, and then open the file from the folder. Open the file now, and click "File" on the menu bar and select the "Print" option (shortcut for this is Ctrl + P), a "Print Page Setup" window will pop up.

I have provided the screenshot of this "Print Page Setup" pop-up window.

In the pop-up window, select "Actual size". Select "Current page" under "Pages to Print".

Print Page 1 (test page) first.

Measure the 1 inch by 1 inch box to check if your page has printed correctly.

If the measurement is exactly 1 inch by 1 inch, then proceed to print the remaining pages. (When printing the other pages, make sure you set the page range to print, under "Pages to Print", so you don't have to print Page 1 again.) Else, check whether the settings in the "Print Page Setup" window are correct, and try printing again.

Once you have printed all the pages of the sewing pattern, arrange these pattern tiles as given in the pattern assembly. (I have provided the diagram of the pattern assembly in each post on my blog where I have posted the free PDF sewing patterns.)

For example, the pattern assembly diagram is given below.

We will arrange the pattern pages according to this.

2. Trim the top and left edges of each page.

Trim the top and left edges of each page using scissors or a paper trimmer.

Let's take page 1.

This is how it looks after chopping off the top and left edges.

Do this for all the pages.

We will see it again clearly with Page 12.

Snip off the top edge.

Snip off the left edge.

After you trim the edges off on all the pages, assemble the pages as per the pattern assembly diagram.

3. Tape or paste the pages together.

Refer to the pattern assembly diagram and align the left margin of Page 2 with the right margin of Page 1, and paste or tape them together. Complete the rows one by one. Once you have all the rows aligned, align the bottom margin of each row with the top margin of the previous row, and paste or tape them together.

We can see in the pattern assembly diagram of the Kids' Pants Pattern that the front and back of the pants pattern appear in sets of two pages.

The pants front pattern spreads across Pages 1 and 2, 5 and 6, 9 and 10, and 13 and 14.

The pants back pattern spreads across Pages 3 and 4, 7 and 8, 11 and 12, and 15 and 16.

Keeping that in mind, we will first make the front pattern ready, by joining together two pages in each row, as shown in the image below.

First align the left margin of Page 2 with the right margin of Page 1, and paste or tape them together.

Then Pages 5 and 6 together.

And then, Pages 9 and 10, and lastly, Pages 13 and 14.

Now that we have all the rows aligned, let's align the bottom margin of each row with the top margin of the previous row, and paste or tape them together.

Repeat the same steps with the next sets of pages for the pants back pattern.

4. Trace the pattern using tracing paper.

Now your pattern is ready to be traced. It is better to trace the pattern than to cut the pattern out, to save yourself the time and the hassle of printing, trimming, and pasting the pages again for each size. Also when you trace you can adjust the pattern or blend between the sizes, if your waist or hip size differs from the pattern size you have selected according to your bust size.

Place the tracing paper on your pattern.

Trace around the size you have selected.

Here I am tracing the pattern for size 8 years.

Here are our traced out pants front and back patterns.

You can now place them on the fabric, trace around, and cut the patterns out of the fabric and start sewing.

Two pants front pattern pieces cut out from the fabric.

And two pants back pattern pieces cut out from the fabric.

For you easy reference, I have organized my blog posts under the following sections. Hope it's useful to you:

Free printable PDF sewing patterns

Pattern drafting tutorials

Sewing tutorials

These links appear at the top of my blog on the navigation bar as well.

Happy sewing!

---Flora

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

How to Sew an 8-Gore Flared Skirt for an 18-Inch Doll (with Free PDF Printable Sewing Pattern)

Today we will see how to sew an 8-gore skirt with elasticated waist for an 18-inch doll.

The measurements of the doll I used are

Chest 11.5 inches

Waist 11 inches

Hip 11.75 inches

This pattern will fit most of the18-inch dolls like Our Generation dolls and American Girl© dolls.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Sewing Supplies Needed:

1. Fabric (I used a patchwork cotton fabric)

2. Free printable PDF sewing pattern for the 8-gore skirt with elasticated waist for an 18-inch doll (pattern link is given below)

3. Printer paper

4. Sewing machine (Both Janome and Bernina work well for me. Brother is equally good too. I made this dress using my Janome sewing machine.)

5. Sewing machine thread (I prefer Gütermann and Coats, which are of great quality.)

6. Tape measure

7. Sewing pins

8. 3/8-inch-wide, 10-inch-long elastic

9. Serger (I am using Brother M343D, which works great)

Free pattern download link:

Click here to download the free PDF printable pattern for the 8-gore skirt with elasticated waist for an 18-inch doll.

Seam allowances:

Seam allowances are included in the pattern, 0.75 inch at the hemline and at the waistline (for creating the casing for elastic) and 0.25 inch at the side seams. Seam lines are marked in the pattern with dashed lines.

Fabric Suggestion:

You will need a 38 cm by 40 cm (15.75 inches by 15 inches) fabric to make this skirt. However you can use different colors for each gore to create a color-blocked skirt.

You can use cotton, cotton lawn, poplin, or linen, or flowy fabrics such as crepe, satin, or rayon. I used a patchwork cotton fabric to make this skirt.

How to Print Out the Pattern Pages:

This is a one-page pdf.

Print the pattern page on an A4 paper. Make sure you have set page sizing to "Actual size" before you print the pattern.

You can measure the 1 inch x 1 inch square in the pattern page to check whether the page has printed correctly.

Cut out the pattern pieces.

This is how you will arrange the pattern pieces (8 gores) on the fabric to use the fabric efficiently.

Repeat this to step cut the four skirt back pieces.

How to Sew the Skirt?

1. Join the gore pieces:

Serge the sides of all the gore pieces.

Take the two center gore pieces of the skirt front. With right sides together, join these center gore pieces with a 1/4 inch seam allowance .

Open the seams, and press the seam allowances flat.

On the right side sew edge stitches 1/8 inch away from the seam. Make sure the seam allowances remain open and flat on the wrong side when you sew the edge stitches on the right side of the skirt.

A close-up picture:

And then join the side gore pieces with the center gore pieces.

Wrong side:

Right side:

Repeat these steps for the skirt's back gore pieces as well.

I have shown here how to join the 8 gore pieces to make the skirt.

2. Join the side seams:

With right sides together, join the sides of the front and back parts of the skirt.

3. Finish the hemline of the skirt:

Fold the hemline over by 0.25 inch.

And then again by 0.5 inch, and sew along the folded edge.

Inside of the skirt.

This is how the skirt looks on the right side.

4. Finish the elasticated waistband:

There is no separate waist band in this pattern. We need to fold the waistline by 0.25 inch and then again by 0.50 inch, and sew over the folded edge leaving a small gap to feed the elastic in. Insert a 3/8-inch-wide, 10-inch-long elastic through the casing, and overlap the ends of the elastic by 0.25 inch and sew them together. Sew the gap in the casing closed.