Mac Preview shows all the sizes? Print just yours

Why Preview prints every size

A layered PDF pattern keeps all its sizes in one file and puts each size on its own optional layer, the PDF feature behind the "Layers" list in Acrobat. Turning a layer off is a job for the app showing the file. Acrobat does it; Preview has no layers panel and simply draws everything on the page. An Adobe community expert put it plainly: Acrobat hides layers that are set to hidden, while "other PDF viewers, like Preview on the Mac, will ignore that and show the hidden layers".

So nothing is wrong with your pattern or your Mac. The sizes are there, stacked, and Preview has no way to leave some out.

What each Mac app does with pattern layers

Fix 1: save a copy with only your size

This works on any Mac without installing anything, and the copy behaves in Preview like any ordinary PDF.

1. Open Print only your size in Safari, Chrome or Firefox and choose your pattern PDF. The file is read by the browser on your Mac; it isn't uploaded.
2. The layers appear by name with each size's line style. Click only next to your size, or tick two sizes if you grade between them. Leave layers such as notes, labels or the test square on.
3. Check the preview, then Download PDF. The other sizes are removed from the page drawing, and every page keeps its original size.
4. Open the copy in Preview and print it at 100% (see below).

Fix 2: use the Layers panel in Adobe Acrobat Reader

1. Install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Double-clicking a PDF opens it in Preview unless you've changed the default, so Control-click the pattern and choose Open With > Adobe Acrobat Reader. To make it the default, choose File > Get Info, pick Acrobat Reader under "Open with" and click Change All.
2. Open the Layers panel from the right-side panel. If you can't see it, Adobe's help says to use Menu > View > Show/Hide > Side panels > Layers.
3. Click the eye icon next to each size you don't need. A layer with a lock icon can't be hidden in Reader.
4. Print with Actual size selected under Page Sizing & Handling.

Acrobat prints only the visible layers, but the choice lives in Acrobat. If you later open the same file in Preview, all the sizes come back. A single-size copy keeps the choice in the file.

Fix 3: ask the designer for single-size files

Some designers include separate files per size or a "print only your size" note in the instructions. It is worth checking your download folder for files named by size before printing a layered one.

Printing from Preview at 100%

Once your copy has only your size, Preview prints it like any PDF. In the print dialog, open the details if they're hidden and set Scale to 100%. Don't use Scale to Fit, which enlarges or shrinks the page to the paper. Choose the paper size that's in your printer, print the page with the test square first and measure it. The print-to-scale guide explains what a wrong measurement tells you.