How to Tape & Cut Pattern Pieces
Today's tutorial is a quick one to help those who have not yet used printable pattern pieces! I love that PDF patterns allow me to choose a design, print it right away, and be sewing within minutes! At first it may sound annoying to have to tape the pages together, but after just a couple times it becomes second nature and super quick to do.
The process really is as simple as taping and cutting, but I like to have a visual before starting projects. So if you're like me, this tutorial is for you!
First, print your pattern pieces. Some patterns may have one or two pages, while others have 30! For this tutorial I am using our free slouchy beanie pattern, which is four pages. After printing, check real quick to make sure the 1" squares actually measure 1". If they are off even a little bit they can mess up the fit of an outfit. Check your printer settings and try again until the 1" square is exactly 1".
As far as choosing the best tape, you can use anything sticky to hold the pages together (or even staples, I guess!) but my favorite is a sturdy tape dispenser like the one shown above, so I can pull it off one-handed.
Alright, you're ready to get taping!
Lay the first pattern piece on a flat surface. Find where the overlap lines are located. On this piece they are the bottom and right edges.
Each of the overlap lines has letters that help you know which pages to match, and exactly where to line them up. In the picture above, you can see that there are two sets of letter A's.
You need to overlap the pages just enough to have the rectangles with A's stack right on top of each other. Notice in the photo above that you can only see one set of the A's, and that's because they are directly on top of the other set. The blue lines are lined up neatly too and this show that you have it placed correctly.
Match the letter boxes on both ends of the paper, which should also make the horizontal lines match up perfectly too. Tape them in place, as shown above.
Take another page and find more letters that match. In the photo above, the letters E and F will match up on the horizontal lines to connect pages 1 and 3.
Overlap them and match the boxes and lines, and tape in place. Then find the next matching letters and do the same. In the photo above, we are matching the G and C from the upper and left pages with the G and C on the lower right page.
Tape those in place.
Now all the lines and rectangles are taped in place and it's looking good!
At this point I check to see if I need to add more pieces of tape. I will be cutting off the excess paper so I don't want to lose my taped parts in the process. I added another piece of tape near the center intersection and blue line, because I know I will be cutting off the right sides.
That's it! We're done taping!
When it comes to cutting, it's totally fine to use regular scissors. Just cut along the lines as you would any other paper project.
If the pieces are large, however, I find it saves a lot of time to cut the pieces using my rotary cutter on my cutting mat, as shown above.
Be aware that cutting paper definitely dulls your rotary blade, just like using fabric scissors on anything other than fabric. I still think it's worth it to cut with a rotary cutter though, so you can either have one cutter for paper and another for fabric, or you can just be aware that you will need to change your cutter blades more often if you use it for both. I already change my blades often so it's not a problem.
After you cut out your pattern piece, it should look similar to the photo above. The overlap lines are still there but you can just ignore them while using the pattern piece.
That's it! You're at the end of this tutorial and ready to get out the fabric!
If you're interested in making the slouchy beanie that uses this pattern piece, you're in luck because it is free here on the Polka Dot Umbrella blog!
Happy Taping, Cutting, and Sewing!