Test Square Scaling Calculator

Test Square Scaling Calculator

Every printable sewing pattern has a test square — usually 2 cm, sometimes 1 inch — and it exists for one reason: printers lie. A “fit to page” setting or a driver default can shrink or enlarge your pattern by a few percent, and a few percent on a bag is annoying while on a fitted piece it is a disaster. The fix is not to guess or “adjust in your head” — it is to reprint at the right scale. Measure your printed square with a ruler, enter the number here, and this calculator gives you the exact percentage to set in your printer dialog. Then reprint, measure again, and only cut when the square reads true. Every LoomVella pattern puts its test square on page 2 for exactly this reason.

How to use it

1. Print your pattern’s test-square page at 100% (“actual size” — never “fit to page”).
2. Measure the square carefully in millimetres and enter it below.
3. Set your printer to the percentage shown and reprint.
4. Measure again — cut only when the square reads exactly 20 mm (or 1 inch).

Printed true? Pick your next project in the LoomVella shop.