Dec 28, 2011

Looking after and using your sewing patterns

I have collected a vast number of historical sewing patterns over the past twenty years. Most of them are stored in filing cabinets according to their historical era, a few of the smaller modern ones are in plastic boxes in my attic and my regency patterns live semi-permanently under my sewing table.
It is these ones that I decided to organise today. Although I already have paper copies of the Sensibility Sewing Patterns, I have gone online and ordered them as e-patterns (and right now there is a 15% OFF SALE) so I have their instructions and pattern duplicates stored on my computer in case of an emergency or if I'm travelling away from home and want to do some sewing in my hotel room. It just takes one child carrying a hot chocolate in their hand to walk past, see a soccer ball....need I say any more?
I have just printed off all the instructions onto A4 paper and put two pages at a time, side-by-side, through my A3 laminator. Not only does it make them waterproof, it also makes them easier to read. All I need to do is punch a hole in the corner, tie them together with a ribbon and store them on the hanger that I store my pattern trace-outs on.
Have you got a pattern organising method you would like to share? What has worked for you?

2 comments:

Joanna said...

I love the Sensibility patterns. Thanks for this hint :)

Courtney's Musings said...

I use those big manila envelopes to organize my used patterns. Then I can store them neatly in a bookcase. I usually try to trace off my patterns, so I put one size in the envelope, then on the outside I put the pattern number, a written description, the size, and then any notes from making the pattern. In the bottom corner I put the date I used the pattern so if I need to go back to a previous incarnation of a project, it's easy to do so.

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