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DIY Tutorial: Pattern Book Organizer

How many times have you gone on a fabric expedition and found a fabric you just NEED but you have no idea how much is necessary for this pattern you know you have but you left at home?
 
Or perhaps you did remember your pattern but it was thrown into your purse and in a shabby condition once it retreated from inside the time capsle.
All you need is:
 5 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in binder
5 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in sheet protectors
Stick-On Note Tabs
Your Sewing Patterns
Photo Copier

Once you have your supplies you are ready to make your book.
All you need to do is take your pattern and photo copy the front and back.
Cut off the excess and insert the pages with the pattern sides facing out into your sheet protector.

Now when you find that perfect fabric you can flip open your pattern book and know exactly how much fabric you will need to purchase.
Yep, it's that simple! 
Now the hard part is remembering to put it in your purse!
 
Fabric Mart trip, anyone?!
p.s. The Retail Store is on sale for $1.00 a yard!
Visit our location at 3911 Penn Ave, Sinking Spring PA
and shop the round tables!


Comments

  1. Thanks for the tip! Surely the girls and I will have fun this weekend working on these organizers… Cheers!
    TheLegacyDrawer.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. What brand binder did you use? It's really cute and cheerful looking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We used a Martha Stewart Brand Binder from Staples. They are offered in Blue, Red, or Black. You should make one! Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I started to do this before, but never finished it. I will have to look for the binder at Staples.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If your patterns are fairly current, you can probably see them on the Web, but the publishers' Web sites are NOT mobile-friendly and most patterns do eventually go out of print and get dropped from the sites.

    I created a Web page where I show the pattern front image and link to either a screen capture of the pattern's Web page (for Butterick/McCall/Vogue where the full pattern envelope info is displayed on one page) or the downloaded envelope back PDF (Simplicity/Kwik Sew). Which is still not optimal for mobile ...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I did this with all of my patterns over the last couple of years. They filled two 3" notebooks. I also put the scanned files on a usb flash drive. It was a very worthwhile project. All of my patterns are filed, by number, in plastic bins with start and finish number series marked on the bins. So...no more purchasing the same pattern more than once!!

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  7. There are also apps for your phone that you can keep this information handy. app names: 1. Sewing Kit 2. PatternFile Mobile 3. craftgawker

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this. I have an app on my phone that I could use, but the app doesn't recognize certain patterns, including the ones that belong to the pattern running the app. More importantly, my Joann's is an internet "dead zone" so I cant use it. A binder could help in those situations. I certainly will make this cute binder.

    ReplyDelete

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