Pattern Organization

[LadyStitch]

After finally being able to clear our storage shed from when we lived in New Zealand, I came across 2 huge boxes of patterns I have been looking for.  Since they were all mixed up in kinds (Men's, kids, vintage, women's dresses, costumes, self drafted patterns) I decided I might as well spend the time organizeing all my patterns.  I'm getting tired of the "I'm sure I put it in THIS box of patterns" at 10 at night when I'm trying to find something I have to have ready for tomorrows rehearsal.


I currently have them stored by Gender, type, and size. If they are not in their original pakaging unopened they are in gallon size ziploc bags. My vintage patterns are being stored on comic book bags and boards.  If ANYONE knows how to take care of 50,60, and 70 year old paper it is the comic book guys.

As long as I put them back in the right place, having them in organized LABLED boxes should work.  But how do I know what I have in my "catalog" of patterns?
So far I have seen people keep note books of photos of each of their patterns.
I've seen excel sheets with images and numbers associated with them. 

Do any of you have suggestions? How do you do it?

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Lady Stitch!!!

"Men's, kids, vintage, women's dresses, costumes, self drafted patterns."

You answered your own question. You can also label the boxes..Men and Women's Renaissance, Mundane, Accessories, etc. That way, you will find the pattern you are looking for in the correct box.

You just gave me a great idea to reorganize all of mine as well.

[LadyStitch]

My only thing is having a book or a chart or something I can look at and know I have pattern # 7542 in size small  which is a panel shirt pattern, and it "should" be in the Men's box.

This would also help on those 99 cent pattern days.  No more buying extra patterns when I already have all the sizes and didn't know it.

[LadyShadow]

I have a simple spread sheet of what patterns I have.  Although I do not have near as many as you do.  Mine fit into two shoe boxes.  But as soon as I stop being lazy I plan on adding small pictures to my spread sheet so that I have the number, size AND a picture.

[LadyStitch]

I did learn that you can not add actual pictures to excel spreadsheet cells. You can only add them as an "art" option on them. 
I ended up doing it in Access, and it isn't being easy getting it to take the images. 
Otherwise, as long as you don't do images, excel or access will work great for this.

BTW the last time I tried doing this (2 years ago) I had at least 120+ and that was not all of them.  I don't want to guess how many I've added since then. 

[LadyShadow]

Yeah adding pictures to my spread sheet would be easy, but between school work and kids, I'm too lazy to do it 

OMG, hopefully one day I can have a pattern stash that big, but right now I have no room for it.

[Lady Kett]

Actually, you can add pictures. You "insert" an "object". I do this all the time at work - of course it's an older version of Office (Office 95 I think?) running on the Windows NT platform. I have not tried it with a newer version but as a medium level Excel nerd, I can talk to you over the phone and help you bludgeon Excel into doing what you want. Send me a PM if you want to talk.

I do not have nearly the pattern stash y'all have, but at work, my archiving system is to always have not only the box # etc that the official archive system uses, but an inventory sheet. In this case, nothing more than a ruled sheet of notebook paper would be necessary at a minimum, and list the patterns. Toss that on the top and updated it every time you add something (or move it!). The key is to keep the listing in the same order. At work we scan those so if we want to see what Box 323 has in it before calling from archive, we can scan the list. Then when we get the box, open it up, scan the list, and you know sort of where in the box it is.

You could of course, convert that to the spreadsheet idea too. We just figured it was more trouble than the time it would take to type our notes in our work archives.

[Butch]

Man, I need help in this as well.  Keep the ideas coming!

[Rani Zemirah]

I need to do this as well, because I can never resist the costume patterns when they're .99, but I frequently forget if I have one or not, and right now they're not even all in the same place...  

[Lady Rebecca]

I need to do this as well, because I can never resist the costume patterns when they're .99, but I frequently forget if I have one or not, and right now they're not even all in the same place...  

That's exactly what I'm facing. The majority of my patterns are at home in CA, but I'm living in FL right now. And I have no clue which patterns I have back at home, or if I have since bought any duplicates. Thus, I have decided that when I go home in a couple weeks, all my patterns are coming back with me!

[Cilean]

I have filing cabinets, each drawer has a label and each file holder has a label. So if the drawer states Elizabethan it would have all the patterns I would have labeled Mens, Children, Womens, Toiles and the dates I made them.

Course? I have painted the icky outsides to a lovely creamy white to hold them!
It has to be pretty!

Cilean

[LadyStitch]

Yeah I tried doing the insert object into excel but it "float" over the data.  I need it to stay with the data if it is sorted.  It doens't do that, BUT I did discover a way to do it in Access.  Took me like 4 hours to get it to work, but work it does , for now anyway. 

At the momment I'm just getting the data entered and THEN I'll try to associate the photos with it. That way I can have my catalog.

[Lady Kett]

Hrm. I will have to fuss with Excel a bit. I'm on my Mac right now and Excel on a Mac just doesn't work the same way as it does in Windows. (Unless you are working on a Mac then I'll stay put!). I'm positive there is a way to do it. And I don't like Access, so I must prove to myself that my favorite program can do it!

[LadyShadow]

Maybe if you have your patterns on say Book1 and the pictures on Book2 and then have a quick link form 1 to 2?

[DragonWing]

Okay, I now know I need lessons on excel.  You all are to organized and it's making my head hurt. LOL

[LadyShadow]

They do offer online training, training (usually at a college) and computer cd training for all of Microsoft products.  As well as on the job training for some of us 

[LadyStitch]

You can add hyper links to images in say you "Pattern Images Folder"  but they won't actually show up in the excel sheet.
(Sorry once a friend of mine showed me how to use Acess for my database work I have found I like it better than excel for that purpose.) To get it to work in Access but I had to cut and paste some code from Microsoft's tutorials into my data base to allow it to work. 
Now I have a form to enter all the information for the patterns on.  Then I have a report that I can print out a page for my catalog book.  I can also set up search parameter's so I can search the catalog for certain criteria. 

I would think you COULD do it in excel, but it would take some serious programing.

[DragonWing]

I think my work will train me in Excel, but I think they will need a few more people to do so. I will ask.

[LadyStitch]

Over the weekend I did an inventory of my patterns and actually have about half of them in my catalog. 
I used access to make a form for me to enter each one into the spread sheet. 
I have a file which is relationaly linked to it so as long as my images and catalog are on the same network they show up.
I made a "page" which will create a page with all my patterns information AND image for me to print out for my  actually catalog book for me to take places.

I have to say the funniest part is trying to find which catagory & sub catagory everything should go under.   I have to say I have crossed the "I am a pattern nut" line when I realized I had to sub catagories my Ren patterns into which monarch's reign in order to catalog them all 

[Lady Rosalind]

 I have to say I have crossed the "I am a pattern nut" line when I realized I had to sub catagories my Ren patterns into which monarch's reign in order to catalog them all 

That is awesome! My patterns are completely unorganized at this point, other than the Margo's are in one fabric drawer, and the big three are divided into men's and women's. Maybe this winter, once I am finished for the season with ren-clothes, I'll finally get really organized. My sewing room looks like something exploded in it right now.

[Sorcha]

I'm still looking for a small and neat way to store the Margos.  I know some use an artist portfolio or between two pieces of cardboard...  I'm still looking for another <smaller> way that works for my limited space. 

[Rani Zemirah]

I was just thinking I'd list them by maker and number on a single sheet of paper, so I could take it with me to the store when there's a sale.  Obviously I'm incredibly small time compared to all of you who sew regularly, and up against the professionals here I'm not even on the screen!  You all inspire me, though... 

[Adriana Rose]

Well that beats the peas outta my ziplock bags and stuffed into a basket lol

[Kate XXXXXX]

My patterns (all 13 crates of them!) are organized...  I have archived patterns going back to the 50's, a box of 70's patterns, and later ones, all organized by date...  Those still more or less current, costume patterns, kids patterns, outdoors type kit patterns etc. all have their own boxes (but tend to overflow a bit!).  Each box is labeled.

Inside the boxes, most patterns are in zippy baggies that fit fairly closely, and have all the air squashed out so I can cram all the patterns into the box!  Many of my older patterns are cut out.  Newer ones (from the last 10 years or so) tend to be traced off, so have the traced pattern ironed flat and stuffed in beside the originals.  If this gets too bulky for the original baggies, or I have the same pattern in the same size range more than once, they go in bigger baggies.  I try to make a note on the bag of the sizes cut or traced.  Costume patterns are arranged by type and/or historical period.

What I DON'T have is an index!  One day I shall try to scan all the pattern envelopes/design pix and make an index!  But don't hold yer breff!  There must be a couple of thousand of them, both commercial and home grown.

[LadyStitch]

That is what I made over the weekend is an index.   Thankfully many of mine, even the vintage, have already been scanned and are on the internet.  Granted I'm doing it one box at a time.  I just have 5 boxs and 1 crate. 

My Tutor at school was rather insistant that all patterns be organized, as well as fabric.  She also wanted us to keep fabric bible of what fabric went with which garmet, and where we go it.  I have not gotten that nuts yet, but it IS on my list for all the stuff I've been contracted to do.

[Kate XXXXXX]

I've started my samples book for serger stuff again...  Seam type, fabric type, which machine, stitch settings, etc. and a samples stapled to a sheet and filed in case I need to do it again!

[Dinobabe]

I'm still looking for a small and neat way to store the Margos.  I know some use an artist portfolio or between two pieces of cardboard...  I'm still looking for another <smaller> way that works for my limited space. 

Maybe this would work?

[LadyStitch]

If I coudl find needles again for my granny of a serger I would like to start one of those as well.  For now I have just my general technique book.