How to Organize Patterns - Tip Technique Tuesday

For those of you new to basket weaving, sheet protectors are a must have for your patterns. Most times when you take a class, your pattern will already be in a sheet protector. When you print a pattern off the internet, you need these on hand to place the paper in. Sheet protectors will keep your pattern dry and free from smudges. Their three ring holes make it handy to keep all your patterns gathered together in a notebook.

Once you acquire a collection of patterns, you need to organize your patterns into categories so they will be easy to find. I have several large three ring binders for my patterns and I have labeled the spines so I can grab the correct notebook off the shelf. Two notebooks are for patterns I have written myself. In my other notebooks, I have my patterns grouped together according to style. I have a section for twill, and then I have sections for baskets such as wall baskets, market baskets, Easter and Christmas baskets. This is just a small sampling, of my categories, but it is what works for me. If you have several patterns by one author, you may wish to group those together. If you made several baskets at a convention, you may wish for those to be in one group. Group them though in a way that will make them easy to retrieve. You can use tabbed pages to keep your categories separated.

One final very large notebook that I have is not for patterns, but for ideas. Throughout the years I've seen baskets that I like for one reason or another. Perhaps it is the colors used, the style, or a weaving technique. Many times I've seen baskets I like in catalogs that come in the mail. I just rip out the page, slip it in a sheet protector and add it to my idea book. I might even write a few notes on the paper to jog my memory. This is a fun notebook to go through to spark inspiration.

A final tip: If your pattern is two pages, put the pattern back sides together in the sheet protector. This way, when you are ready to go to the next page, you only have to flip the page protector over without removing the pattern. Also, if it is more than two pages, consider using more than one sheet protector. When your hands are wet, just touching the sheet protector and not the pattern itself is a good thing.

Oh....One more final tip! On occasion, I get a pattern without a picture. Most patterns have pictures. If you have one that doesn't, when you weave the basket, be sure to take a picture of your completed project and slip it in with the pattern. Years later you will be glad you did this.

How do you organize your patterns? I'd love to hear.
Happy Weaving,
Nancy