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A couple of months ago I got into a very strong organisation mode. I organised everything I possibly could. Eventually, I got to my sewing cave and it went through a massive reorganisation of fabric, patterns, books, etc. One of the things that I have to deal with is my traced out BurdaStyle magazine patterns.

I have accumulated quite a collection of my baking parchment traced patterns. The physical organisation was the easiest bit but I needed a way to know what I have and I needed a system that was accessible to me whenever I wanted.

Enter Pinterest. I realised that I could actually leverage Pinterest to work for me rather than spend the countless hours scrolling through impossibly perfect looking rooms and cakes and food. ( I had banned myself from Pinterest as it sets such an impossible level of perfection that meant I feared trying anything on there.)

Anyway I digress, I could rant on about Pinterest but it is an easy to access site. Plus, it is free to use.

I went through every single traced pattern I had and added it to a board. I have a board that has ALL the BurdaStyle magazine patterns that I have ever traced. I made sure to pin the line drawings as that is my primary way of deciding whether I like a pattern or not.

I also decided that I needed to have each year group as well. Then I needed each category of Tops, Kids, Dresses, Skirts, Activewear, Jackets/coats and Trousers.

Here is what I pictured happening…

Scenario 1

Hila woke with an overwhelming urge to sew up a skirt from her BurdaStyle magazines. Though she was feeling revitalised and energetic, she most definitely did not have the desire to trace out a new pattern. What can she do? Go check the BurdaStyle board to see what is already traced out of course! Scroll through and voila she is bound to find something.

Scenario 2.

Hila has set herself a challenge to sew one item each month from the 2015 magazines collection just to spice things up and avoid doing the same old same old while also appreciating the older magazines in her collection. First thing is to check what patterns are already traced out that she may like on her Pinterest boards of course! Go to the 2015 section of the BurdaStyle Magazine Traced patterns board and voila!

Scenario 3.

Hila is on a camping trip. Its raining and humid. While stuck in a tent feeling bored she decides to fantasize about what she is going to do in her sewing cave when she gets home. How to help the fantasy? Log onto Pinterest of course! And browse the patterns that have been traced out to figure out which will be the first one to get made as soon as she gets home!

…..Ad nauseam

That was my rationale for my categories of boards.

Once I had input all my BurdaStyle patterns into Pinterest, I now have a routine for adding any new traced pattern immediately to its relevant boards. It’s a quick addition to the routine that saves me oodles of mental space that would otherwise be allocated to trying to remember if I traced this or that out.

So far I am pretty pleased with this system – it is working and fit for purpose.

There is one more step I need to take before I can say that I have completed my organisation – I need to photocopy each page of the “All the styles at a glance” line drawings and keep in a folder. For bedtime reading :-).

I will write up a separate post to share how I organise and store the physical traced patterns.

How do you organise your sewing magazine traced patterns? I’d love to know down in the comments below. In the meantime if you’d like to have a gander in my Pinterest boards and see which patterns I have traced you can do so  here:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-magazine-patterns-traced/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-kidswear-sewing-patterns-traced/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-activewear-sewing-patterns-traced/

 

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-magazine-dresses-sewing-pattern-traced-/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-tops-sewing-patterns-traced/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-trousers-sewing-patterns-traced/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-jackets-coats-traced/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SatNightStitch/burdastyle-skirts-sewing-patterns-traced/

 

 

Thank or stopping by,

Until next time Happy Sewing!

Peace and love,

Hila

#burdachallenge2018