Pattern organizing

I seem to have a problem with patterns (I know I'm not alone )

As my stash was growing I was finding it harder to control them so that I knew what I had and didn't end up with double's. I found a solution which I blogged about here
The problem I then found was that if I was out shopping I was never sure of how much fabric to purchase for a pattern or what notions were required.
My solution to this problem is a programme called Evernote.

I have been using evernote for a while now for other things and decided to start exploring it more and then realised I could use it as an effective sewing tool. It syncs between all my devices so no matter where I am I can access my patterns to see what fabric, etc is required.

Here is step by step of how I filed my patterns.

I have them stored differently to my physical patterns but can still find them easily thanks to tags.

In evernote you can have various notebooks, these then contain notes which you can then tag.
The below photo shows a list of all my notebooks to the left.

 The next picture shows my notes for each pattern brand in my main sewing patterns notebook

The last picture shows how I have a note for each separate pattern I have within each brand.
Each note contains a picture of both the front and back of the pattern envelope.
This includes tags so that I can search for items, eg dresses.

Now when I am out shopping and see a fabric I like I can easily search all my patterns to see if I have a suitable one.
An example - if I search for trousers it will show all my trouser patterns regardless of brand as they are tagged.
I can also add text to each picture so if I have made a particular pattern I add this information.

I am now planning on doing the same for all the fabric I own.

If you would like to try evernote for yourself please use this referral link, I get no money just more evernote space.
evernote referral


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Thread Storage

When I started to sew more regularly and do more embroidery I purchased a bulk set of threads. The set consisted of around 70 colours plus 5 black and 5 white spools of thread. To begin with I left them in their original boxes. This was fine to start but eventually  I got fed up of trying to find the correct box for the colour I wanted so I came up with my own storage solution for them.
I needed the storage to be solid enough to hold the threads but also be portable in case I needed to move it.
Below is the instructions on how to make your own storage.

First step is to find an old cardboard box that is suitable for you storage needs ( I required 2 boxes and they are both now full)

I then covered the boxes with sticky backed vinyl. I'm lucky that I got both the boxes and the vinyl from where I work.

Measure your threads to see how wide they are. You also need to know the height of your threads and length of your box. Example my thread is 5.5cms high and 4cms wide. Box is 26cms long.
Double the width measurement so that you will have cardboard under the threads, add these measurements together by the length of the box.
I also added an extra 2cms to join to the adjacent divider and made the height just under the thread height. So my final measurement was 4cms x 3 + 2cms = 14cm's x 26cms long.
Mark this out onto a piece of thin card, marking all the sections.

Cut out the amount of dividers you can get across the box width (mine holds 6 cardboard dividers giving 7 sections)
Fold the cardboard on each of your marked line
Attach double sided tape to one of the middle sections, stick the 2 middle sections together (sections B and C)

Attach the cardboard dividers to the cardboard box using double sided tape, ensuring that the 2cms section is attached to the adjoining divider (section A of one divider will be stuck to section D of the neighbouring divider)
Arrange your threads. I arranged mine by colour.

On the second box I changed the dividers slightly.
I  added more cardboard to attach to the adjacent divider  the final measurement was 16cms x 26cms. I put double sided tape to one of the end sections, attached this to the side of the previous divider. Add more double sided tape to the middle section, stuck this to the section I had just taped.

As a final finishing touch I added a colour chart to the inside lid of the box so I know where each colour sits in the box, this helps when replacing colours but also to find the colour you require.

Decorate the outside of the box if you wish.

I have also started to do the same thing with my bobbins using an old ferrero rocher plastic box. I just need to purchase some more empty bobbins to finish.

Hope these instructions are clear, if you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment below.

Lace and trim storage

As well as fabric I am also starting to get quite a stash of various laces and trims. As the stash has been growing so has my struggle to store it all.
Then I had a light bulb moment whilst shopping for yet more trim. Pulling out various trims on the plastic storage from the shelves I had a picture of how I would be storing all my lace and trim from now on.
 First I measured the shelf it would sit on - both the height and width of the shelf. I then cut a piece of plastic to the size of my shelf, (you can also use cardboard but it would need to be fairly thick to hold the weight and be stable)
 The 2nd step was to cut a 'u' shape out of both sides to create an indent to wrap the lace/trim around.

Mark a 'U' shape in each end

Cut the 'U' shape out

 I use 3m magic tape to stick one end of the lace/trim to the plastic. The length of lace/trim then gets wrapped around on itself until you get to the other end. This is then secured using a 2nd piece of magic tape.

Attach lace to plastic using magic tape

Wrap the length around the plastic

I use the magic tape as it is sticky enough to hold the lace/trim in place but also peels off easily plus you can write on it.

Magic tape to secure.

 I then write a number or letter on the 2nd piece of tape. This corresponds to my fabric log book with the amount I have, the cost and where I purchased it from. I sometime also add when I purchased it so I know how old it is (especially the lace)

My fabric log sheet.

More lace storage.

The last picture is of the first lace storage I made.

How do you store your laces and trims?
     
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Sewing room re-organizing Machine cabinet

I managed to buy this handmade sewing machine cabinet on EBay. It had been donated and was being sold by someone for charity. It has a removable solid top that reveals a air lift. Sadly my machines do not fit this so I leave the solid top on all the time.

Sewing machine cabinet.

The top is big enough for me to fit both my machines on except when I'm embroidering then one has to be moved. Behind the machines sits my daylight lamp, a mini dummy pin cushion and my sewing box for when I'm sewing on the go.

Sewing box

Daylight lamp and pin cushion

The pincushion was made using this tutorial from Debbie Shore.

As I don't use the air lift the inside cupboard space was being wasted. There was already a piece of wood across the back so I just added two more pieces across the sides (level with the back piece) and then added a shelf. This now holds my embroidery unit and my bobbins box (used Ferrero rocher box). I will also be adding another shelf just below this to hold my thread boxes. The ruler will end up being hung in the side of my bookcase (just need some hooks)

The table also has four drawers down the left. The top one holds my scissors plus machine items (tweezers, tape measures, etc ) the second drawer holds my machine booklets, etc. The third one has some storage boxes made using empty cereal boxes, these hold embroidery stabiliser, etc.

The fourth drawer is currently being used by my dad for his packing materials (he sells his old football programmes on eBay)

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Wardrobe storage

So as a little aside to sorting out my sewing room, I have been re-organizing some parts of my bedroom, just to give me a bit more storage. One of the things I wanted to sort was the bottom of my wardrobe, where I store all my shoes, which looked like this;

Bottom of wardrobe shoe storage.

After cutting the top for my cutting table I had some wood left so decided to make myself a shelf for my shoes. It basically consisted of a piece of MDF with four 2x3 legs.
This is what my wardrobe looks like now;

Wardrobe with shelf added.

 It's still not completely perfect but is an improvement on what it was.

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