Pattern Pieces in PDFs

Hey, everyone! I continue to get emails from a few mystery fans out there who are working on Delta Dawn. Several of you have written to let us know (and some of you are wearing your grumpy pants!) that the templates on the PDF on our website are a different size than the ones we printed in the magazine. Probably true, but here’s why:

When you print any PDF that has size-specific material–templates, applique patterns, quilting motifs, etc.–you have to make sure you TURN THE SCALING OFF in the print dialog box. Depending on your system’s default settings, you might be allowing your system to shrink the page to fit inside some predetermined/default print margins. So, in the print dialog box, look for the drop-down menu next to “Page Scaling.” You’ll have a few options there–my system has six (I’m on a PC with XP). Open the drop-down menu and choose “None” before you hit print. Your templates should be the correct size to yield 3″-finished units. But measure the printout to be sure, and always make a test unit/block before cutting into all that expensive fabric!

Also: I’ve had a couple people write to tell me that the C’s (part 2) should be cut at 3-1/2″, not 3-7/8″. Well, no. The C is a half-square triangle (HST). When you cut a square in half diagonally, you get two triangles. If you want both triangles to have 1/4″ seam allowances all around, you have to add 7/8″ to the cut size of the square. Therefore, if you want the short side of the HST to finish at 3″, you need to add 7/8″ to the precut square. If you’re still skeptical, draft the finished-size triangle on 1/8″-grid draft paper, and then draft 1/4″ seam allowances all around. You’ll see right away where the 7/8″ comes from! By the same math, if you cut your squares 3-1/2″ and then cut them in half diagonally, your HST units will finish at only 2-5/8″. Yikes!