Print and Check Your Barn Quilt Template

Every pattern download includes two different PDFs, and printing the wrong one, or printing it at the wrong scale, is the most common way to end up with a pattern that is the wrong size. This guide covers both files and how to print the one that matters for cutting and painting.

Two different PDFs, two different purposes

The painting-map PDF is a reduced-size preview showing which palette color goes in each zone. It is a reference to keep next to your work, not meant to be printed at full size. The full-size outline PDF is the actual cutting and painting template, printed at true Actual Size (100%).

US Letter versus A4

You choose US Letter or A4 paper when you set up your pattern in the planner, and the full-size outline is tiled specifically for that paper size, not simply cropped from the other one. Picking the paper size your printer actually loads avoids a mismatch between the file's tiling and your printed pages.

Print at 100%, not Fit to Page

In your PDF reader's print dialog, set scaling to Actual Size or 100%. Do not use Fit to Page or Shrink to Printable Area, either of which prints your pattern smaller than intended. Each page carries a control line you can measure with a ruler to confirm your printer actually printed at 100% before you commit to cutting or transferring anything.

Assembling tiled pages

Because a 24 inch (or larger) panel does not fit on a single sheet, the full-size outline is tiled across multiple pages, sized by the width you chose. Adjacent pages overlap by 6 millimeters and are labeled by row and column. Trim one overlapping edge on each page, then align the pages using the row and column labels and tape them together from behind before transferring the outline onto your board.

Your pattern notes (JSON and plain text) record the exact number of rows, columns, and pages for your file. For where these files fit in the overall download, see downloads and license, and for grid sizing behind the outline, see grid measurements.