A4 vs US Letter for sewing patterns: learn the size difference, how to tell which paper your printer uses and why printing the wrong file causes scaling errors.
If you sew with PDF patterns, you have probably seen two versions of the same file: one for A4 and one for US Letter. They look almost identical, so it is tempting to print whichever opens first. Choosing the right one, however, avoids clipped edges, scaling problems and pages that do not line up.
A4 is the international standard paper size used in most of the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, as well as Pakistan and the wider region. US Letter is the standard in the United States, Canada and a few other countries.
A4 is narrower and taller. US Letter is wider and shorter. The difference is only a few millimetres in each direction, but it is enough to matter when a pattern is designed to fill the printable area of a page.
When a tiled pattern is designed for A4 but printed on US Letter, the bottom of each page can fall outside the paper. Many PDF readers respond by shrinking the page to fit, which changes the scale. In the opposite case, an A4 page printed from a Letter file can leave the content offset, so the overlap marks do not land where they should.
The results are familiar to many sewists:
If your test square is already off, our guide on why a sewing pattern prints too small walks through the printer settings to check.
It is usually obvious from where you live, but it is worth confirming, especially with a printer bought abroad or a shared office printer:
Always print the file that matches the paper in your tray. Every Digital Creation pattern download includes both versions: the A4 files sit at the top of the ZIP, and the US Letter copies are in a "US-Letter" folder. You never need to convert one to the other.
The pattern pieces themselves are identical in both versions. Only the tiling changes, so the number of pages and their arrangement may differ slightly. Use the assembly map in the file you print, not one from the other version.
Regardless of paper size, check the scale before printing the whole pattern. Digital Creation patterns include a 5 cm test square and a 2 inch test square on the cover page, and every page has a 5 cm ruler. Use whichever unit your ruler shows. If the square measures correctly, the paper size and settings are working together.
For the full printing basics, including the test square and taping, see our guide on printing a sewing pattern at actual size on A4 or US Letter.
You can try printing at 100% scale with no fit-to-page option, but parts near the edges may be cut off. It is better to use a file made for Letter, or to print the large copy-shop sheet instead.
Neither is better. The best size is the one your printer is loaded with, because matching file and paper is what keeps the scale accurate.
Yes, when printed at 100%. The pattern pieces are drawn at the same full size; only the way they are split across pages differs.
Digital Creation includes A4 and US Letter files with every pattern, plus an A0 copy-shop sheet and a projector file, so you can print the way that suits you. Try turning a garment into a pattern with photo to pattern, and see the Pricing page for download plans.