Microsof Excel spreadsheet for enlarging patterns/drawings

[Betty J.]

Most of us have Excel as a standard piece of software that comes with our computers or windows updates. I found a neat thing. If you have your drawing or pattern in digital format (scanned in, or some other method), you can do this:
Open Excel
Insert
Picture
From File (choose picture file and hit the insert button)
Format
Picture
Click on the "size" page
This brings up a dialogue box where you can specify size in inches
Save, File, and Print

The resulting printed pages will come out with some overlaps between pages, so you have to cut the margins down on one page to tape it to the other matching the lines or other elements. proceed to cut, tape, cut, tape until you have your nicely sized pattern ready for use. I have used this method to resize some Dover coloring book pages into wonderful elements to use for design work, sometimes cutting out the flower, or person, or animal to add to my design.

Have fun!

[Betty J.]

What a super discovery! Thanks. As soon as I read this tip, I went and tried it out -- perfect. I can see my quilting design choices expanding by leaps and bounds! What fun!

[Betty J.]

what a nifty idea! Who'd a' thunk an office/statistical tool would work for art!?! Florence