Originally Posted by
Peckish
There is a really easy formula for this, it will work for both enlarging and shrinking the pattern. You divide the block size you have by the block size you want, or vice versa.
For instance, if your pattern is a 10" block and you want a 12" block, you would divide 12 by 10, which equals 1.2. You would enter 120% on the copier, since you want a larger block. If you have a 12" block and want it to be 10", then you reverse the numbers and divide 10 by 12, which equals .833, so you'd enter 83% or 84% on the copier.
If you're like me and can't remember which way to put the numbers, do the math on both and anything greater than 1.0 means you're enlarging, anything smaller than 1.0 means you're reducing.
Hth
General rule of thumb - if you want it to be bigger, put the bigger number on top. If you want it to be smaller, put the smaller number on top.
Once I realized that the numbers wouldn't bite me, I realized there is a certain logic to math. I'm pretty certain my step-dad, an accountant and financial wizard, told me something about that. Apparently, he wasn't lying to me when he tried to get me to understand that in high school, although for all I understood of it, he may have been lying, or speaking Swahili or Athabaskan. Or all three. It's good to see I have company, lol