Burda Style For people who sew

How to print and assemble a pattern at home. For more information regarding patterns and pattern purchases, please see our FAQ section.

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• Get Instructions (PDF, 2.2 MB)

35 Comments

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  Jan 29, 2012, 12.26 PMby lyndybin

  Hi there,

  I just purchased a pattern but it has not downloaded. It is from the new upcoming Burda Magazine. Where is it?

  Thanks.
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  Nov 23, 2011, 10.06 PMby dellakilleen

  I bought a downloadable copy of a pattern and all I got when I open the PDF was a shrunk version of my pants that fits on one page. Where is my pattern? What did I do wrong? della
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  Sep 8, 2011, 02.54 PMby MarieMauceri

  HELP please. It is the first time I bought patterns here, and am trying to print them. I may be doing something wrong, because I keep printing instructions and all the comments, but can’t find my patterns. Where they are supposed to be?
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  Aug 30, 2011, 06.10 PMby Bluet Almeida

  Hi! today was my first time buying a download pattern from this site so let;s see how it works. The size seems weird to me honestly and how come that the program doesn’t ask you for your printer paper size? that’s weird, because THAT can cause several problems. What I know for sure is that from www.sewingpatterns.com all the patterns you buy for download come in the right size, but the program ask you first what’s your paper size ;)
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  May 15, 2011, 07.49 PMby trintsik

  how do i mark the pattern on the fabric? this all seems so difficult..
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  Apr 26, 2011, 07.20 PMby alia91

  Hey, It’s the first time to download a pattern and i’m completely clueless.. i downloaded the newest version of Adobe , but when I press Get it now to download the pattern all i get is.. save it as a Chrome HTML document.. Can anyone help?!
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  Apr 20, 2011, 06.18 PMby beeflisa

  I have struggled and struggled to the point of near insanity to get my “Print at Home” patterns to print properly. I have scoured the Adobe help pages, downloaded and installed new drivers for my printer, checked and unchecked various options in the print menu, hit the printer really hard (hey, it worked on old TVs!), but nothing worked; I always ended up with one edge of the pattern missing on each page. The line on the side was always missing and one of the “match-up triangles” was always only half there. Today, desperate to make it work, I finally selected the “Shrink to Printable Area” option in the “Page Scaling” dropdown menu. I know, this is a no-no… but guess what? Now all of the lines are on the pages, and the test square is EXACTLY 10cm!

  Also, one obvious but sometimes forgotten piece of advice: Make sure to select the “Fast Draft” option for print quality, to save time and money.
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  Feb 8, 2011, 02.10 AMby jenstrope

  I’m trying to print the JJ blouse pattern at home and am having several problems.

  First, when I open the PDF, I’m getting the message: “An error exists on this page. Acrobat may not display the page correctly.”

  The first page is blank and the last page has what appears to be very tiny pattern pieces that would be too small for a Barbie doll.

  I don’t see a square that would allow me to determine if things are going to print in the correct size.

  I went ahead and printed out the pages just to see how it would go together, and a lot of the pages do not match up with their assigned numbers. I taped together pages with their matching numbers and “arrows” (1C to 1C, 2B to 2B, etc) and many of the pattern pieces just stop on one page and do not continue onto the next one, or an obviously different piece is on the next page and they clearly do not match up.

  I see that a lot of people have made this blouse. Did everyone else pay to have it printed at the copy shop? Is there an error in the print at home PDF?
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  Nov 21, 2010, 09.57 AMby lilacpurplemarks

  hi i want to find out how to download patterns
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  Nov 8, 2010, 09.55 PMby carottesauvage

  Gee, I wouldn’t imagine that there will be some snares about the pattern download procedures. I find it fun to assemble the tiles together. The process helps me envisage potential variations , and what the heck: seam allowances are included to all Burdastyle ‘in house’ patterns… so it actually speeds up the whole cutting thing.
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  Nov 7, 2010, 11.05 AMby varenoea

  Haha, the test square. The most useless thing in the world.

  Once I print out the pattern, it’s never the size it’s supposed to be. There’s this little square for size comparison – it’s mostly at least an inch too big.

  Is there a trick to make sure the pattern is printed out in the correct size (before I print)? I mean, I can hardly import all these files individually into Photoshop and make them smaller!

  As it is, with the patterns coming out too big (therefore useless), I never pay for a download pattern. Once you’ve got a certain experience, it’s actually easier to work without a pattern than with one the wrong size.

  1 Reply

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    Nov 10, 2010, 10.06 AMby hand-quilter

    If the test square is too big, see if your printer settings have an option to print to a smaller scale? I know mine scale in % so if that was me I would try the test square page at 90% and see what happened. Good luck :-)

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  Nov 5, 2010, 03.12 PMby hcbouma

  Once you bought a Burdastyle pattern, you spend hours cutting and pasting. This is definately NOT the fun part of sewing.

  3 Replies

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    Nov 5, 2010, 07.03 PMby rachelnyc

    Hey hcbouma,

    I’m wondering why it is taking you hours to assemble a pattern. We’ve heard from most users that is only takes about 30 minutes at max, once printed.

    Maybe this tutorial can help cut down on your time spent?

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    Nov 7, 2010, 11.10 AMby varenoea

    RachelNYC, Hcbouma is completely right. The Danielle dress took me an hour to put together. The trousers with the knee padding from the last “easy style” magazine took another hour – and I’m nto exactly slow at these things.

    If I pay money for a pattern, I want the pattern, not the download code. Download patterns are good when they’re free. To pay money and to have to assemble a pattern afterwards? Nope.

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    Nov 10, 2010, 10.07 AMby hand-quilter

    I hear you! But think of the time saved by not having to drive to the pattern store :-) I don’t paste I use sticky tape which makes it all a lot quicker.

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  Sep 14, 2010, 09.11 AMby mausflee

  Do you have a special program to print it or is it just ordinary program from printer?

  1 Reply

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    Nov 5, 2010, 01.50 PMby rachelnyc

    The instructions will download as a PDF, so you’ll need a program that reads PDF files. After that, just press “print.”

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  Mar 26, 2010, 05.30 AMby spinebill

  I downloaded my first pattern, the coffee date dress, but the instruction PDF has no detailed instructions. Is this normal?

  2 Replies

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    Nov 5, 2010, 02.04 PMby rachelnyc

    Hi spinebill,

    The Coffee Date Dress was created by one of our very talented members, elainemay. Patterns uploaded by our members may or may not have instructions.

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    Nov 5, 2010, 07.50 PMby estelleperdita

    there are instructions – but its a separate download – its a great dress to make!

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  Dec 28, 2009, 09.38 PMby ritat56

  This is my first time downloading pattern to print – where do I find the test square on the Coffee Date Dress pattern? HELP want to make this quickly for my daughter!

  1 Reply

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    Nov 5, 2010, 02.06 PMby rachelnyc

    Hi Rita T56,

    Hi spinebill,

    The Coffee Date Dress was created by elainemay. Patterns uploaded by our members may or may not have test squares.

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  Jul 11, 2009, 04.11 PMby sweca

  Do you cut out the pieces when you’re done putting them together??

  1 Reply

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    Nov 5, 2010, 02.41 PMby rachelnyc

    Your choice. Once you find your size, you can cut out the pattern and begin creating your garment or, you may decide to trace off the pattern, to save for multiple projects.

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  Oct 17, 2008, 02.18 AMby ginkothai

  I’m not too sure either if the test square prints at a different size?
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  Sep 17, 2008, 11.30 AMby fossana

  Note: 10.0 cm = 3.94 in (or 3 15/16 in) so don’t expect the test square to print out at exactly 4"

  1 Reply

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    Oct 14, 2009, 05.56 PMby tangled-thread

    Thanks fossana,
    I’ve been tearing my hair out for the last few days but my square is exactly 10 cm.
    Tracey

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  Sep 16, 2008, 10.48 AMby lizpf

  I printed out my test square, and adjusted the Scale % … the square is now spot on in one direction, and about 1/32 inch (approximately a millimeter) short in the other.

  Is this close enough, or should I try again?
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  Sep 6, 2008, 01.12 PMby kellyann

  I got it. I kept trying to adjust the percentage of the scale in my printer’s properties, but that only made it worse. Then I saw an option, “shrink large pages”. I tried that and it’s perfect.
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  Sep 6, 2008, 12.31 PMby kellyann

  Can someone explain how to adjust the scale of the print? My test square is a little larger than 4 inches. Thanks.
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  Aug 14, 2008, 03.13 PMby kortison

  Awesome! This will help me understand how to sew according to patterns ;P (not my strong side) Thanks!
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  Aug 3, 2008, 10.47 PMby samyiamy1

  I am trying to open the pattern and for some reason, my software on the computer wont let me encode the pattern. It just comes out it Chinese or something. Can you please help? Do I need a certain software to open the patterns?
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  Jul 2, 2008, 08.44 AMby mezza

  To save paper, time, ink & electricity, I would recommend that you first print ONLY the test square of the pattern to make sure it’s correct… I did this by browsing through the PDF file and finding the test square … e.g. on the Anda Dress pattern it’s on page 12… if the test square is not correct you can adjust the scaling of the print.
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  Jun 20, 2008, 01.46 PMby lukastoka

  Hi thanks alot for explaining it put i want to know what if there is no ( print at home ) and i can’t print it in a copy shope and sometimes it doesn’t work it says that there is an error and the creator is gonna fix it in the most of these patterns in fact i can’t work till now i found alot of nice things but i can’t download anything but the instructions so please help me out thanks alot
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  May 29, 2008, 09.36 AMby erogers0203

  this is really helpful. i found that using a scrapbooker’s paper cutter makes the cutting and assembly go much faster. they can be found at any craft store and are pretty cheap!
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  May 29, 2008, 04.17 AMby chel07

  i dont know if you have your answer loraly but before you click into the pattern you will see a little box under the picture, it says print at home. click in there. you should get it from there
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  May 29, 2008, 04.14 AMby chel07

  what if the pattern you have downloaded doesnt have a test square
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  May 8, 2008, 05.53 AMby styliko

  My test square isn’t measuring up…. How do I set it to be 4"???
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  Mar 3, 2008, 09.42 PMby loraly

  I’m new and completely clueless. How do I even get the pattern I want? What do I click on? I want the pattern for the “Yoshimi Hand Warmer”. I’m sure I’ll know how to print the pattern once I learn how to download the thing.