Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Using Evernote to Catalog Your Sewing Pattern Collection


Today, my dear readers, I'm going to talk a bit about keeping track of a large pattern collection. If you've been collecting as long as I have, you know that you can loose track of whether or not you have a specific pattern in your collection. More than once over the years, I've bought a pattern on Ebay or Etsy, only to realize later that I already have the same one in some box or other I've forgotten about.

Recently, at the suggestion of a friend of mine, I downloaded an app called Evernote to my iPad and tried cataloging 15 patterns to see how I liked it. This was on a Friday afternoon, and I liked it so much, that I then spent the rest of the entire weekend photographing and logging a vast section of my collection. It has taken me a while (months, really, the hoard is that big), but slowly and surely I have added my entire collection of sewing patterns and I am so glad that I did (more on that later).

(I'm just going to point out quickly that this isn't a sponsored blog post - I haven't been compensated for writing this, I just really love this app!)

The app is pretty user friendly and can sync across your mobile and desktop devices quite seamlessly once downloaded. To give you an idea of how handy that is, a few days ago, I was killing time in a doctor's office waiting room and scrolling through patterns on Ebay using my phone to pass the time. I found a great dress pattern and thought, I should buy that, but it does look a bit familiar... So I switched to my Evernote app briefly and typed in the pattern name and number, and sure enough, there it was in my collection! I saved $20!

The pattern in question... though having two of this gem wouldn't be the worst thing ever...
Before I go into the many benefits of having your collection catalogued, let me show you how easy it is.

A Free French Turban Pattern from 1932


 Hello my dears. I woke up this morning with the strongest urge to play in my vast (scary, like found one day dead, crushed under a stack of magazines, VAST) collection of vintage French magazines.


While enjoying a particularly lovely edition of C'est La Mode from 1932, I found a charming little turban-making lesson that I had previously overlooked.


The lesson is of course in French, but being of a mood to share, I translated the instructions for you over my morning coffee, (oh, freshly-roasted Costa Rica beans from Acme Coffee in Seaside, how I adore thee!) cleaned up the illustrations for you, and voila!
We have a pattern/ tutorial for a lovely French turban that you can make out of square scraps of slightly stretchy fabrics.


I would recommend using matte jersey, or perhaps even a stretch silk charmeuse blend. You might try it with woven fabrics, or even ribbon, but you'll want to braid the body more loosely, I imagine. The pattern doesn't include any suggested yardage so I would say you'll need at least half a yard of fabric to be safe, and about 1/2 yard of matching grosgrain ribbon for the band.

Anyhow, I'm off to get a haircut, do some shopping, and enjoy the rest of my hopefully relaxing weekend.

Happy sewing!


Happy Independence Day and Free Pattern Winners!

Hello everyone!
I'm happy to announce that we have some giveaway winners! If you're on the list below, email me at afewthreadsloose@gmail.com to let me know where I can send your prizes!

Our 6 winners, as chosen by a random number generator are: