Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Quick sewing tip

For those of you who sew, do you download and print a lot of patterns and then wonder how to keep them all together and sorted?


I've had that problem, and I came up with a solution that works well for me, so I thought I'd share it with you. I bought a bunch of clear plastic sleeves, and I put the pattern pieces in them, then insert them into a 3-ring binder. For bigger pieces, I fold them until they fit. I make sure the right sides of the pieces show, because they usually say what the pattern makes, so I don't even have to label them.


I find this works particularly well for doll clothes patterns, because the pieces are so small and easy to lose. I put the pieces into the sleeve as soon as I take them off the fabric, so there's no chance for them to slip away. If I need to, I can see them through the sleeve to note any markings or anything, or I can quickly pull them back out if I need to.

That's how I do it. I hope this was helpful to someone. If anyone has any other tips they'd like to share - about storing patterns or anything sewing-related - please feel free to do so in the comments!

4 comments:

annie dee said...

Call me cutting edge or a youngin' but I try to save everything only electronically. I save instructions and pattern pieces for projects I have on my virtual to-do list (electronic again) in a folder. When I copy it down from a site I record the name of the website and the author in the document in case I need to go back. I only print the pattern pieces when I'm actually working on the project and after they go into an envelope and are filed in a 3 ring binder labeled the same as the folder on my pc. OK no jokes about OCD.... And I haven't been at this as long as others so my paper files are relatively small.

Auntie Kris said...

Great tip for saving pattern pieces. Way better than the paper envelopes I've been using. I do use the page protectors for keeping my quilt patterns together. Time to start another binder! I also like Annie Dee's idea of keeping files electronically, which I do for patterns I haven't used yet, but if I already took the time to find it, print it and cut it out, I don't want to repeat those steps the next time I want to whip up a doll shirt.

Grandma G said...

Oh, I never print out instructions... just the pattern pieces. I store all the PDF files on my iPad (and a backup copy on my PC) and have that next to me when I sew to read the instructions from there (as I listen to Pandora or other music from it as well). :) Saves a LOT of paper!

JHNickodemus said...

Great idea!