The most common question I get asked is how
do I resize foam patterns? For me the answer
1
to that question can vary project to project.
Different methods can work better on
different objects. So here are a few of the
methods I use to resize foam patterns. Please
bear in mind these methods aren’t an exact
science and a little trial an error will be involved
to get the exact size you want!
Lets start with the complete basics. Printing
correctly at the default scale. Here I’m using
Adobe Acrobat to open and print files. I supply
all my patterns in both A4 size and Letter size.
Make sure you are opening the correct version
2 for the paper size used in your country.
(Letter for US and Canada, A4 pretty much
everywhere else.)
Each one is formatted specifically for the paper
size it is named after. If you print the A4 version
on letter sized paper it will shrink to fit the
page and be smaller than it should be! Open
the print dialogue box and make sure you are
printing at actual size. In Acrobat this will lock
out the scale at 100% so you know it will print
at the correct size.
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SCALING BY PERCENTAGE
Patterns are designed to be a generic size, but
1 people come in all shapes and sizes, we’re all
different. That doesn’t mean if it doesn’t fit at
the default scale you can’t alter it to fit you!
Here’s one method you can use to scale
armour.
For this example I’ll use a shoulder, let’s say this
shoulder is too snug and needs to be bigger,
how do we make it the right size? Let’s
measure the inner diameter of the shoulder.
My shoulder is 1cm wider than the opening. So
lets add 1cm to that measurement we just
took.
Time for a little maths, lets say the
measurement we took was 19cm. We wanted
an extra 1cm space, so a new measurement of
20cm. The formula for percentage
2 difference is new size, minus original size,
divided by original size and then times by 100.
So our example will be 20-19=1, 1/19=0.052,
0.052x100=5.2. Our increase is 5.2 percent.
Lets round our number down to 5. I always
prefer to round down the percent when scaling
a piece up, as each percent can make a huge
difference in size. We are increasing the size so
this is added to our 100% so we end up with
105% scale.
If you wanted to make something smaller, use
the same formula and just reverse the first two
measurements, so our example would become
19-20 and follow the formula again. You will
end up with a minus answer. In this case -5. So
to decrease we would minus 5 from 100. Our
3 new scale is 95%. You can always use a
percentage calculator online which will do the
maths for you if this seems confusing!
Lets open up the print options once again, this
time we’ll tick custom scale and add our new
percentage. Now you can print the resized
patterns.
As mentioned earlier this isn’t an exact science,
you may find the pieces still need adjusting a
little, but this should help you get closer to the
correct size. Try adding or minusing a percent
or two depending if it is still too large or small.
A percent can make a pretty big difference!
2
Lets try another example using this method,
1 we’ll make a piece of thigh armour. Measure
your thigh from where you want your armour
to start and where you want it to finish. Now
measure the length of the thigh armour
pattern. Use the formula on the previous page
to find the percentage difference and adjust
your scale settings to match when printing.
Before building the final armour lay the paper
template on yourself and check the fit before
you cut the pieces out of foam. Once you’re
happy with your scale you can cut out your
pieces and construct your resized armour!
This method is best suited for items that need
evenly scaling all over. If a pattern fits in one
direction but not the other, we can use the next
method.
2
3
resizing along seams
So, you’ve made your gauntlet, its the perfect
1 length for your arm, but when you go to put it
on its a tight squeeze to get your hand through!
Sometimes a pattern fits you in one direction
but not the other, in this example we’ll use a
gauntlet. The gauntlet is the length I want, but
its too narrow. How do we change the width
without changing the length?
Measure the circumference of the
gauntlet at the wrist. It’s currently 25.5cm. We
want the circumference to be 2cm bigger than
it currently is for some extra wiggle room.
Our gauntlet pattern is made of four panels,
that gives us 8 edges where we can increase
the width. So lets divide our 2cm along those 8
edges. That means we’ll add just 2.5mm to
2 each edge. This doesn’t seem like a lot, but
evenly distributing the new size along all the
edges running in the direction we want to alter
keeps the pattern from becoming distorted
when built.
So lets add the extra material to our pattern
pieces and assemble the new version, much
better!
old new
4
Lets try using this method on another example,
1 this time we’ll use body armour. The length of
our body armour is exactly where we want it
but its too narrow around the waist. Splitting
the seams back open the armour feels comfier
if the sides are 2cm further away from each
other.
So we will split the 2cm between the front and
back halves by adding 1cm to the side seam of
the front and 1cm to the side seam of the back.
We’ll do the same to the shoulder seams to
keep the new spacing equal over the whole
armour.
Now the fit is much better! Add as much or
take away as much as you need.
old new
