How to Print Your Armor Patterns

Every pattern you buy from the Academy is a digital PDF, designed to print at home on standard 8.5 x 11 printer paper. Any printer works: larger pattern pieces are split across multiple sheets (“tiled pages”) that you tape together into the full-size piece. This guide walks the exact process Prince uses in the tutorials, plus the problems that catch people most often.

What you’ll need

• A PDF reader that can print tiled pages. Prince uses Foxit PDF Reader, which is free. Many basic readers can’t tile, and this is the single most important setup step.
• A printer and plain paper. Nothing special; a typical home printer on 8.5 x 11 paper is exactly what the tutorials use.
• Tape and scissors for assembling the printed sheets.

Watch: Prince demonstrates printing and scaling, in the Scale Armor guide (2:16)

The process, step by step

1. Open the pattern in a tiled-capable PDF reader

   Foxit Reader is Prince’s pick because it’s free, prints tiled pages, and has a print preview so you can confirm the layout before committing paper and ink.

   Watch: the PDF reader requirement, explained in the Spaulders tutorial (0:31)

2. Check your print settings

   The most common printing failure is a scale setting quietly resizing the pattern. Double-check the settings in whichever reader you use, and print at 100% for the default size. Select the Tiled Pages print option so big pieces flow across multiple sheets.

   Watch out: settings like “fit to page” or “shrink to printable area” usually cause a wrongly-sized print. If your printed piece looks off compared to the tutorial, check the scale setting first.

3. Print

   Large pieces will come out on multiple pages; that’s expected. Use the print preview to see how many sheets you’re about to use.

4. Assemble the tiled sheets

   Two shortcuts straight from the tutorials: if your pages print with margins, trim the edges where the pattern lines connect so the pages align accurately, and tack the pages together with small bits of tape first so you can adjust alignment before taping all the seams down.

   Watch: Quick Tip: working with patterns and sizing for a custom fit

5. Cut out the pieces, but don’t touch your leather yet

   With the sheets assembled, cut out each pattern piece. Then stop: before any leather or foam gets cut, make a quick paper mockup to confirm the fit. It’s the cheapest insurance in the whole craft. Full guide: Test the fit in paper or foam before you cut.

Common problems

Where to go next

Once your paper pieces are cut, the path is: mockup to confirm fit, adjust scale if needed, then cut your real material. Detailed printing and sizing guidance is also taught inside the lessons and courses that accompany our patterns, so you’re never working from the pattern sheets alone.