Saving & Printing Quilt Patterns from the Web

Guest Author - Kim Noblin

Have you ever wanted to save one of our quilt patterns as a PDF or Word file but didn't know how? I've got the answers for you!

Q. Is it possible to save patterns from the BellaOnline Quilting Site as Word document files?

A. Yes! If you are using Internet Explorer 6, you should have an icon on the browser toolbar that looks like a pencil in front of a webpage. This is your "Edit" button. Click on the down arrow to view the programs that will display the webpage. Choose "Edit with Microsoft Word" from the drop down menu and the page will open in Word. Click on "File" and choose "Save" or "Save As" from the drop down menu and you've saved the page in word. Note that this is a "Read Only" page, meaning that you can not edit it. You can also print it in Word. Tip: At the bottom of each BellaOnline article you will find a "Printer Friendly" button. Always choose this option before printing and before saving as a Word document to avoid printing the advertisements.

Q. Would it be possible to have patterns in pdf form or post them in that form?

A. I post all of the paper-piecing patterns as PDF patterns to make sure that they print to the correct size. The regular piecing patterns are not usually offered in that format because that is an extra step for me that I usually don't have time for. Here are a couple of options for you:

Create Adobe PDF Online - This is an online tool from Adobe (the makers of the Acrobat Reader software that we all use to read PDF files) that allows you to convert webpages or files from your hard drive into PDF files. Simply login and add the URL of the webpage that you wish to convert and they will convert the file and email you a link to the converted file. You click on the link and it opens the converted webpage in Acrobat Reader. Click on the "Save" option and save it to your hard drive. Cost: Free Trial includes 5 free conversions. After that, you'll need to subscribe for $9.99 per month. Good option if you do a lot of conversions, but maybe not cost effective for the occasional user.
PDF995 - Download this software from the web and you will be able to choose PDF995 in your print screen to convert anything you can print into a PDF file. This includes webpages. Cost: Free version includes advertisements. For a one-time charge of $9.95, you can get rid of the ads.

Of course, if you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, you can always use the method described in the first question to save and print our quilt patterns.