Thursday, June 24, 2021

Hourglass Patterns©: Taping printed pattern together.

It does not happen often, but occasionally a customer will say that a pattern is not aligning correctly. Here are some common things to look for:

Did you print the correct pattern for your printer? Some patterns are formatted for USA paper and others for A4 paper. If you do not print the correct format it will not line up. All my pattern covers are color coded with the paper version.
Did you Print at 100%? It will never align without the correct print settings.
"There's a gap of missing print between the connection keys." Yes....this is how it's designed so you don't have to overlap pages to put the pattern together. My objective here was to give you a pattern that can be assembled quickly and can be stored easily.
The paper was not placed in the printer neatly. This will cause some misalignment.
Did you measure the connection box? Did it measure 1"x1"? If it did not, then the pattern will not go together as designed. New patterns have a 2"x2" box, this is denoted on the 1st page of all my patterns.
It's also important to note that some of my patterns have sizes 4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28. That's 13 sizes on one pattern! It's best to trace out the pattern with a contrasting ink color so you can easily see the size. With all those lines intersecting, it can get confusing. This ensures you make not mistakes and you're cutting out the correct size. Plus you will be filling in the non printable area simply by tracing out the pattern. My new patterns are graded from XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL (7 sizes).

1st page of my patterns:

This is how all my new patterns look on the 1st page. Before you print all pages, which for some of my patterns can be as many as 30 pages, I suggest you print just page 1 and 2 and tape them together by abutting the edges. Now follow the directions and measure the connection key, which is a 1" x 1" box. This must measure 1" x 1". Newer Patterns will have a 2" x 2" box.