Every sewist has a shoebox of paper patterns that have seen better days — tissue torn along the fold lines, notches punched through, the one pattern you traced twice and still can't find the right size line on. Paper patterns are fragile by design, and the moment you need to alter, duplicate, or enlarge one, the fragility becomes the whole problem. Pellon's answer is to stop drafting on paper entirely and draft on interfacing instead.
What Tru-Grid is
Pellon® 810 Tru-Grid® is a sew-in, non-fusible interfacing printed with an accurate 1-inch graph grid — think of it as graph paper that behaves like fabric. It's made from 100% polyester, and despite being strong enough to survive repeated handling, it stays sheer so you can see pattern markings through it when you trace. Sold here as a 45-inch-wide, 10-yard bolt in white, it gives you yard after yard of reusable drafting surface.
What makes it special is that it handles exactly like cloth: it cuts, sews, gathers, and bastes like real fabric, and it stays "true" to the straight of grain. The printed grid isn't decorative — it's a built-in ruler and alignment guide, so every line you draw, every dart you move, and every seam you lengthen stays square and on-grain without constant measuring.
What it's best for
Tru-Grid earns its place in the studio anywhere a pattern needs to be created, changed, or saved:
- Tracing patterns: lay it over an original tissue pattern and trace along the grid lines. The sheer fabric shows every marking, and the grid keeps your lines straight.
- Preserving originals: trace a fresh working copy and fold the fragile original away — no more taping torn tissue back together.
- Altering patterns: blending between sizes, adding length, or redrawing a curve is far easier on a stable cloth surface than on wrinkled tissue. The 1-inch grid makes measuring adjustments quick.
- Duplicating and enlarging: the accurate graph is made for scaling designs up or down — transfer a craft design square by square, or enlarge a motif to quilt-block size.
- Test fittings: because Tru-Grid can be basted and sewn, you can pin and baste pattern pieces into a mock-up and actually try it on, checking fit before cutting into your good fabric.
How to use it
Start by laying the Tru-Grid over your pattern or design with the grid aligned to the straight of grain — the printed lines do the alignment work for you. Trace the pattern lines with a fine-tip permanent marker or a sharp fabric pencil, copying all notches, grain lines, and size markings. For alterations, use the grid as your measuring guide: the 1-inch squares let you add or remove length precisely and keep mirrored pieces symmetrical.
Because it's a real sewable fabric, you can baste traced pieces together with a long machine stitch, try the mock-up on, and mark changes directly on the Tru-Grid. When you're happy with the fit, unpick the basting and you have a durable, reusable pattern that won't tear at the folds. Fold it, roll it, pin it — it survives the handling that destroys tissue.
Tips and care
Store the bolt rolled rather than folded to keep the grid flat and easy to work with. Use a light hand with markers — a fine tip keeps traced lines crisp at the grid's 1-inch scale, and testing on a scrap corner first shows you which pens bleed. When tracing, weight or lightly pin the Tru-Grid to the pattern underneath so nothing shifts mid-line. Because the interfacing is sheer and non-fusible, it never gums up a needle and there's no heat setting to worry about; care of your traced patterns is simply keeping them clean and dry.
A traced pattern you can baste, sew, and try on changes how you work with patterns altogether — alterations become experiments instead of gambles, and the original tissue stays pristine in the envelope. Once you've drafted on Tru-Grid, going back to flimsy paper feels like a downgrade.
Shop the Pellon® 810 Tru-Grid® 45" x 10 yards Bolt. Color: White. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
