The Perfect Puzzle Sew-A-Long: Print, Assemble, Trace & Cut your Pattern

Continuing with our Sew-A-Long with Hailey Bug's Patterns The Perfect Puzzle Set, we are now ready to print and assemble our patterns!

If you've never used a PDF Pattern before, you are really in for an awesome experience.  I WILL NOT ever go back to using paper patterns.  I've used them a handful of times in the past, and in a word, they suck.  Who wants to deal with the super thin tracing paper pieces and the directions that make no sense?  PDF patterns are where it's at.  You download the pattern and print it right to your own computer.  You can do it in your jammies.  Done.  Sold.

So, open up your Perfect Puzzle pattern and get to printing.  Make sure that you:

• Print pieces at 100%
• Set scaling to NONE
• DO NOT check "auto rotate and center"

I also like to set my individual printer settings to print at the lowest quality to save ink.  On my printer, that setting is called "fast draft."

If you did everything right, once you print all the pages out, your test square should measure 2 inches on every page.  Check a few pages and make sure it's right.  If everything checks out then you're ready to start cutting and taping this bad boy together!

I like to cut the bottom and the right edge off all my pages with pieces that go to the edge and then I tape one over the other like this:

I cut the bottom edge of the page on the left and then I just overlap and line up the pattern lines (ignore the grid lines in the background, some of those don't line up right), and tape it together.  Follow that procedure for all your pattern pieces and pretty soon you'll have a pile of pattern pieces all nicely taped and ready to go!

Next, you'll want to measure your little girl/boy that you're sewing for.  Measure their chest with their arms at their sides, the waist measurement will be the smallest point around their torso, and the hip is right around where their hip bones are.

Compare those measurements to the handy dandy size chart in the pattern to help you decide what size pattern you're going to use.

I decided to do a size 6 dress this time around, but I don't like to cut my paper patterns and then have to reprint an entire pattern every single time I want to make a different size.  Instead, I use freezer paper to trace all my patterns pieces.  Freezer paper is amazing!  I use it for all my PDF patterns and it saves me a ton on ink costs for my printer.

You can get it at the grocery store in the aisle with the foil, saran wrap, etc.  (It's different than wax paper or butcher paper so look specifically for that box.)  If you can't find any, you can link on that picture above and it'll take you to a listing for it on Amazon.

Freezer paper has a shiny side and a paper side.  I trace all my pattern pieces, paper side up and then I label them right on the freezer paper.

Then, I just cut each pattern piece out of my freezer paper and use those.  That way, I can just print one time from my printer and use that pattern over and over until I get all the sizes all traced and cut out. Works for me!

Once you've got all your pattern pieces you're DONE for this step.  Make sure you hop back over here on Monday (July 14), and we'll start cutting our fabric!!


Links:
Hailey Bug's Patterns Facebook Group
Craftsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set
Craftsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set Boy Add-on
Etsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set
Sugarplum Cuties Facebook Group

Sew-A-Long Blog Post Links:
Intro to the Pattern
Print, Assemble, Trace & Cut your Pattern
Cutting your Fabric
Constructing your Bodice
Attaching the top to your Bodice
Sleeve Construction