You can do much more with your sewing patterns. By following these 3 simple tips you can begin to get much more out of your existing patterns.
- Change & Modify The Patterns
You may have a wonderful sewing patterns to begin with, but there are some great reasons for you to change them around. A slight alteration can create a great deal of difference in the overall looks, creating a novel product as a result.
A simple example of the useful pattern modification: By removing an additional feature or reducing the measurements, you can reduce the overall cost, without compromising on the design & utility. Similarly, by adding an additional feature in the design, such as lining or a zipper, you can make your craft much better.
Either way, keep yourself open to bettering existing sewing patterns & try to inculcate improvements.
Take Good Notes
When you try to sew with patterns for the first time, you usually have to go through a learning curve. You make mistakes. You learn a different way to do things. You spend a lot of time learning to get it right.
If you do not take down good notes at this time, you will miss these important lessons the next time you make the same project. You will have the same pattern, but do not presume that you will remember all the steps. It does not happen, even with the patterns that you have made many times over.
Make it a habit to take down important observations & instructions to self, and keep them in with the pattern. This will make the job go much faster the 2nd time around and you will avoid making the same mistakes.
Organize Your Patterns
We need to refer to our favorite patterns repeatedly even after having sewn the same project numerous times. So why not keep your patterns more readily available & preferably in plain view? Not only can you refer to them with ease, they can also be a source of inspiration to create.
There are different ways to organize your sewing patterns. The method you decide will have a lot to do with the kind of space you have.
For example, do you have space to put in an open cupboard where you can hang your patterns with hook? After putting them in see-through plastic covers, of course.
Do you have wall space where you can put up a soft board & pin your pattern printouts & notes?
Files, folders & plastic sleeves work just as well to store your patterns on shelves and in cupboards & drawers. Paper printed & PDF files for patterns are becoming more & more common. Keeping the paper patterns in sleeves prevents them from going to tatters.
A large part of getting organized is to sort out what you have & reduce the junk. There are likely to be patterns that you have never used more than once, and in all likelihood will not use them in the foreseeable future. Either throw them away or save a digital copy of them on your computer. That way you can print them if you ever need them.
Reduce the clutter so that you have all the important patterns ready on hand, constantly inspiring you to create more.
