Why size goes wrong
A pattern, a label template or a poster is only useful at its real size. Most print dialogs can quietly resize a page to fit the paper, and a small change adds up across a full pattern. The cause is nearly always a scaling choice in the print dialog, not the printer. Our guide to A4 vs Letter explains how the two paper sizes make this worse.
Choose actual size, not fit
In Adobe Acrobat or Reader, the print dialog has a page sizing section. Its options include Fit, Actual size, Shrink oversized pages and Custom Scale. For anything with measurements, choose Actual size, or Custom Scale set to 100%. Names can differ slightly between versions, so look for the option that means no scaling. There is also a checkbox to choose the paper source by PDF page size. Pattern makers such as Cashmerette say to leave it unchecked.
On a Mac in Preview, Apple’s print options include a Scale box where you enter a percentage. Enter 100. The other choice, Scale to Fit, resizes the page, which is what you want to avoid here. Closet Core Patterns tells Mac users to choose 100% in Preview and PC users to choose no scaling or actual size in Acrobat or Reader.
Open the PDF in a PDF reader, not in a web browser, when the instructions come from the pattern maker. Sew Liberated gives the same advice for digital sewing patterns.
Print one page first and measure
Both Cashmerette and Closet Core ask you to print the first page on its own and check the test square with a ruler before printing anything else. The square’s size is set by the pattern. Cashmerette uses a 1 in (2.5 cm) square and Closet Core uses a 4 in (10.2 cm) one, so measure the square your own pattern states. Also check that the print sits centered on the page, as Cashmerette suggests.
If your pattern has no test square, use ours. The scale check sheet has a 100 mm bar, a 4 in bar and a bank-card-size box. Print it with the same settings you will use for the pattern, and measure the bar. If it is the right length, your settings are correct.
Label sheets
Labels add a second problem, alignment. Print a test on plain paper first and hold it against a blank label sheet up to a light, so you can see whether the design lands inside each label. Use actual size or 100% here too, and set the paper type to match the label stock if your printer offers it. Home printers cannot print right to the edge, so keep the design away from the edges of the label. Our alignment test page shows how much of the page your printer reaches, with margin frames at 3, 6, 9 and 12 mm.
Posters and large sheets
For a poster, first make sure the paper size in the print dialog matches the paper in the tray. Printing a large page onto a smaller sheet with a Shrink or Fit option makes it smaller than intended. Our ledger, tabloid and legal guide lists the larger sizes. If your printer cannot take the full size, a tiled print at actual size puts you back in the pattern situation: print one tile and measure first.
If the size is still wrong
If the bar measures short or long with actual size selected, check the paper size setting in the printer driver, since it can override the app. Then read prints come out too small, which walks through the usual causes. If the edges are cut off, the cause is usually the paper size or the printer’s unprintable margin, not scaling.
Checklist
- Open the file in a PDF reader.
- Choose Actual size or 100%, never Fit or Shrink.
- Leave the paper source by PDF page size box unchecked.
- Print page one only and measure the test square or our scale check bar.
- Check the print is centered on the page.
- Print the rest only after the measurement is right.
Sources checked: Apple Preview printing options, Closet Core Patterns and Cashmerette. Adobe’s option names come from its print help, which we could not open directly, so names may differ in your version. Last checked 2026-10-05.