What exactly is the difference between simply having a nice stash of patterns, hoarding patterns and collecting patterns? When I buy a pattern I almost always have the intention of actually use it at some point. I do realise however that it's unlikely that I will use each and every pattern I currently own! It's not quite excessive enough to call it hoarding though. We have all seen the tv shows with people hoarding heaps of stuff and it always make me feel a bit better about my own (relatively modest) stashes. Collecting has more to do with attempting to own a complete set of things, not necessarily meaning to use the items you're collecting. Like my small collection of vintage Embroidery Patterns. :)
Some of my vintage Embroidery Patterns
Sometimes I immediately use the sewing or cross stitch pattern I bought to make something (like recently the Staple dress) and more often than not I buy them just in case I might need an ingenious Totebag/cross stitch pattern of London/Tunic etc etc (please tell me I'm not the only one who does this?) A lot of the patterns are 'organised' in boxes like pictured above but what to do with PDF patterns I bought. My most recent pattern purchases are both PDF patterns, as many interesting patterns are these days, and I tend to print them as soon as I have received them. I am not a very tidy person when it comes to storing computer files though (or any files for that matter) and I'm afraid to lose track of the PDF's on my computer. Or lose all the patterns I bought when the computer crashes. So I'd love to know: how do you store your PDF patterns? Do you print them or store them on your computer? And if you print them what do you do with the printed patterns?
I put printed patterns in page protectors in a 3 ring binder. It helps control the chaos of loose pages.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also have "folders" on my computer to save them in, also. That way, if I lose it, I can always reprint.
oh I could have written this same post! I have a three ring binder with clear page protectors in it and I print all pdf patterns and put them in there. I'd never use them if they got lost in my computer somewhere!
ReplyDeleteI do print pdf patterns straight away, but if it's not on email I do immediately email the pdf to myself so I will always have it in my email account.
ReplyDeleteI put my pdf patterns on google drive now, so they're backed up "in the cloud", and I can access them from anywhere and read them on my tablet. I'm terrible at cataloging, though, and will probably buy duplicate clothing patterns before too long because I've started storing them in all sorts of different places around my sewing room.
ReplyDeleteI always print my PDF patterns immediately if I'm planning on using them in the next month or two. Otherwise, I just leave them on my computer. But I learned my lesson in December when my computer crashed and I lost all my files! Now I have a 2GB jump drive left over from college that I use specifically for PDF embroidery, sewing, and knitting patterns.
ReplyDelete~Kristin
As soon as I download a PDF pattern, I move it to the appropriate section of my crafts folder and then copy it to my Dropbox folder so it gets backed up elsewhere. I don't print them out until I'm ready to use them, or in the case of sewing patterns until I think I'm getting close to using them and want to get the taping-pages-together step out of the way.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't have an easy way set up yet to see what PDF patterns I have on the computer but haven't printed yet. I've thought of making a sort of contact sheet by taking a screen shot of the first page of it and resizing so that I could fit maybe 5-10 images on a letter-sized page, then printing the pages out to file with my patterns to have a quick reference of what I have sitting on the computer. (Hopefully organizing things so I don't have embroidery patterns randomly mixed in with t-shirts and dreses!) I haven't done it yet since it'll be easily an afternoon-long project to do my existing patterns, but if I manage to get it set up it wouldn't take more than a minute or two for each new pattern, then I could just print a sheet off whenever I fill one up.
Oh I hear you...I have so many patterns just in case I need something. I do keep files on my computer of my PDFs and only print them when I need them. But I do have a binder of things I've printed that I try to organize by type of pattern (floral, animal, lettering etc).
ReplyDeleteI have an external hard drive that I store everything on. Nothing is stored on my computer. Now, should that external drive crash, I will not know what to do but weep.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and great questions! I'm new to PDFs, however I'm now starting to acquire more than a handful and have been wondering how to keep track of everything. Love the above suggestions. My other challenge is I'm not very computer savy. I know how to google so I'm off to find out about google drive and drop boxes, hehe.
ReplyDeleteusairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
I use Evernote to store my pdfs. Then I print them out as I want them. I have 1300 patterns there. My paper patterns take up one long shelf and it's totally packed, plus I have lots of books. So I guess I would have to put myself in the hoarder catalog, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI totally do the same thing with hardcopy and pdf patterns! I have a two files on my computer, one for sewing and the other for embroidery. I back up my files once a week, just in case there is ever a crash. (Sometimes I back up a few times if I have done a lot of work I want to make sure everything gets saved).
ReplyDeleteSometimes I do print out the pdf's of patterns and I keep them in a manila folder. I paper clip holiday and special occasion ones together... so, I have a Halloween bundle of pdf's all clipped together.... I keep them in a file folder and keep it in my file drawer alongside all my other files (student files, teaching files, auto insurance files, etc.)
My pattern books take up one whole shelf of my bookcase right now.
I don't really have an ingenious system, but it seems to be working... for now... ;)
Hi - I print off my patterns and put in a binder - with an index in front (having a librarian for a daugther helps keep me organized! :) I also have a flash drive I save them to in case of computer issues . thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for sharing your wonderful tips on how to organise (PDF) patterns, I'm definitely going to sort my patterns soon and put the downloaded PDF's somewhere 'in the cloud'! :)
ReplyDeleteI have such an embroidery pattern habit to, I could never stitch all the ones I own, although I'm trying to! I see it, in a way, as an affordable way to buy art, I dunno, I know my .pdfs aren't going to turn up in an antique shop one day in the future but thinking about it, I'm sure it'll be a collection that my daughter will appreciate in the future, she certainly appreciates them now, she likes tracing them lol.
ReplyDeleteI don't print them out unless I'm going to use them, I store them on my computer and on Dropbox, it's been quite useful once or twice being able to access my files whilst in the craft store. One of my plans (if I ever got round to it), is to organise my embroidery file into subfiles, so each designer has their own file, I'm far more likely to remember the name of the designer of the pattern I want than the file name, it should make it easier to find files.
I had an extreme incident with a computer AND five EHDS crashes simultaneously - no lie! I had all my important things, photos, photoshop actions, Lightroom presets, embroidery & sewing patterns, five years of purchased digital scrap items, etc. I can't even begin to place a monetary value on it - all stored on EHDs because I felt that would be safe from hard drive crash.
ReplyDeleteA drunk driver hit the power pole at the end of our driveway, cutting it in half, and with a "POP" all was lost. EVERYTHING. Even though I was using surge protectors.
Most store owners have been helpful in helping me recover my items; however, designers change stores and retire. Stores close. Designs retire. Or it's hard to remember what I had until the instant I go to use it. I've also found some stores' policies to be so difficult - and others where I can just log into my account and download my past order history.
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to write a novel here. I did nothing for almost a year. I was going to just give up. No more Photoshop. No more Lightroom. No more buying patterns - or ANYTHING!
Then I woke up one morning and got my computer repaired, and have been trying to rebuild ever since.
So... The moral of my long, winding, story, is DON'T TRUST ANY TECHNOLOGY. I am now printing out a hard copy of every pattern that is important to me, and two copies of photos and zip files on DVD.
I wish it was easier and less clutter, but I don't know what else to do. I refuse to give up my hobbies, and if this is what I have to do, I guess so be it! But, boy, do I miss that highly organized five EHD system I used to have! LOL! I could find anything in seconds!
I download everything to my Terabyte "back-up" drive, and only pull it from there to the computer when I'm ready to print and use a PDF pattern. I don't print it out until I'm ready to use it, OR, in a few cases, I've taped a to-be-done pattern to my home office wall or door as a reminder. Used patterns are filed in folders in my home office filing cabinet (I don't know why, but I can't bear to throw them out)? :)
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