How I Organize My Sewing Patterns

Hello, Snazzie People,

I thought I would share how I store and organize my sewing patterns. I believe we each have our own ways of staying organized. It kind of depends on how your mind works; we also each have our own unique situation, be it space, number of patterns, or even types of patterns, so I’m hoping that by sharing my system I might inspire someone else. I actually got this idea from a video by Tomkat Stitchery on YouTube. There was something about her system of storing patterns that just clicked for me, and I immediately jumped on Amazon and purchased all the supplies I needed.

Please note: I am sharing Amazon links of items I bought but I am not affiliated at this time.

Here’s what I used to implement this system:

• Binders – I got mine from my office when they decided to do a clean-out and tossed a bunch of stuff
• Plastic Sheet Covers – I already had a bunch of these
• 5×7 Kraft paper envelopes with brad closures – for commercial patterns
• Comic book covers – for PDF pattern printoutsLabels – for the comic book covers – I already had a bunch

You will also need something to contain the patterns. When I first started this system, I used comic book boxes, and I stored them in the closet in my sewing room. I kept them on the top shelf where I had to grab a step stool and pull a box down whenever I needed to get a pattern out. Fortunately, the binders made this easier, but more on that later. At that time, I was also not sewing clothes as much so I had fewer patterns and I wasn’t getting them out as often.

Today, I store everything in this pie safe that my mom gave me. I can’t remember exactly where she got it, either an auction or from a family member, but I remember when we got it and it was consent in my house during my teen years, and it moved with my mom twice, and she was quite proud of it.

I wanted to put the pie safe in our living room, and there is a perfect spot for it there, but my husband said no because that’s where our 12’ tall Christmas tree lives one month out of the year (two to three if my husband had his way). Fortunately, I was able to make room and find a purpose for this cabinet in my sewing room.

I can store my books, user manuals, and sewing patterns in the section on top and my interfacing in the section below.

As you can see, I now keep the patterns in these cloth bins I bought on Amazon. These were bought after extensive research lol. I measured the width and depth of the shelves and the width of the envelopes to make sure I found just the right size to maximize the space. I think I did pretty good!

When I buy a new paper sewing pattern, I remove it from the original envelope and put the pattern and instructions into one of the Kraft paper envelopes, which I label with the pattern company and pattern number. I then store them grouped by pattern company/designer and in order by pattern number.

I press the paper envelope with a dry iron to flatten it down with the flap out so I can see everything. I then put the envelope in one of the binder sheet protectors.

For PDF Patterns, I try to print a cover or image from the pattern to place in the binder. Different companies have different images or covers.

As you can see, Itch to Stitch has a full-color photo, while Sinclair Patterns has line drawings.

If I’m thinking about it, I try to print a double-sided sheet with the measurements on the back, but sometimes I forget. It’s not a big deal because I can just open the PDF file on my laptop and look at it.

I only print out PDF patterns as I use them. I don’t like assembling the PDF patterns, but I also don’t want to pay the shipping to get the patterns printed. I used to do this, and I felt the need to get a bunch printed to save on shipping, and then I would get overwhelmed by all the patterns I had. They took up space, and I still needed to cut them down and fold them up to put away.

Printing PDF patterns myself means I only need to print the pieces and sizes I need. I also started printing my PDF patterns on newsprint, which really reduces bulk.  When I do print out a PDF pattern, I fold it up and store it in a comic book envelope, which I label with the pattern company and pattern name.

I try to group the PDF patterns by pattern company, but I don’t have them stored in any order beyond that.

On to the binders. This is a pretty simple system. I currently have the binders separated into five categories:

• Tops – Woven
• Tops-  Knit
• Dresses and Bottoms
• Jackets, Loungewear/Athletic, Outerwear
• Costumes, Accessories, Other Crafts

The binders don’t have a specific order. I just flip through them and find what I want. If I’m going to sew a pattern, I pull the page out, and when I’m done, I return it to the front of the binder.

That’s pretty much it! I love this system because I can just quickly flip through a binder when I want to look for something rather than having to go through a stash of pattern envelopes or a bunch of files on the computer.

Are you going to try this system for yourself?

Let me know how you store your sewing patterns.

Happy Sewing,

Kelly