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:
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.
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.
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!
Great idea!
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