Next step in carrying out my 2020 resolutions: after the organizing of fabrics comes the organizing of patterns!
Indeed, when you start sewing, you begin with a few patterns. As time goes on, more patterns accumulate,... And the more patterns you have, the less you know what you have... which can lead to buying very similar patterns, even the same ones (so in terms of saving money it's rather a fail!)
So I decided that organizing was necessary to have a better view of what I owned.

The first step for me was to unpack everything, the printed, the folders, the books, the magazines, the envelopes containing patterns, the PDF files on my PC, referencing Marie Kondo and her method. This had worked well for the organizing of my fabrics and I had made progress... so I repeated it.
And then, horror, I have a lot of patterns... way too many and as I thought I had forgotten half of them. So I make a note in the back of my mind for later: no more buying patterns before checking what I already have.
And I tell myself this note will join the 2020 resolutions.

Second step: sorting
I sorted the patterns, books... and classified them into:
- to keep
- to throw away
- to give away

Third step: the actual organizing
I suggest we review the different categories starting from the easiest to organize to the most complicated.

Let's talk about books first, the easiest category!
For these, I quickly flipped through them and all those that were "well constructed" with correctly made patterns were returned to the library.
I made several categories to find them easily:
- garment patternmaking/construction method
- fashion books (fashion history, iconic pieces, inspiration...)
- technique books (using the sewing machine, sewing techniques, sewing stretch fabrics...)
- Japanese clothing patterns (Tomoe Shinohara, Ryuichiro Shimazaki...)
- French clothing patterns
- lingerie and swimsuit patterns (Marie Poisson's printed, Charlotte Jaubert's lingerie...)
- accessory patterns
- DIY books related to textiles (kumihimo, kanzashi, embroidery...)
At a glance in my library, I find the book I need or at least where I can look for a pattern that would best match my desires.
Only two books were thrown away because the patterns are poorly constructed and the assembly instructions are not correct (e.g., missing pieces...) and I did not want to give them to someone or resell them since I knew they were of poor quality.

Then, I tackled the organization of sewing magazines and journals
I divided them into 3 categories of magazines:
- the Maison Victor of which I own about 4 years of publications
- the burda style +/- 20 magazines
- the others: like Modes et travaux, Fashion style...

For La Maison Victor, I am really happy that they created a sheet of the available women's models. So at a glance, you can find the pattern you want to make.
So I arranged my Maison Victor in magazine holders sorted by year.
I am eagerly waiting for them to do the same for children's and men's patterns.

For the patterns from La Maison Victor, I use small colored bookmarks to easily find the models I would like to make.
A color code: women, men, and child/baby make spotting easier.
The advantage with La Maison Victor is that there are many publications on the internet. So if you are looking for a particular pattern, by doing a Google search with the right keywords, you can find it and since the La Maison Victor website was redesigned, it is much easier to find the patterns you are looking for.

For the burda Style, I sort them by year. I admit I don't really reuse them once I've made the pattern that interested me in the issue. As a result, I am less inclined to organize them differently even if it's not very efficient. In any case, what is practical with burda is that it sorts the patterns well by season. So if you are looking for a summer dress pattern, you can already narrow down the number of magazines to browse.

For the others, they are all filed together in the same magazine holder. Often they are special issues so it’s quite easy to remember. For example, I have the 60s special issue of Burda, if I’m looking for a trapeze dress, I’ll go directly to see the copy of the Courrège model.
All my magazines are now stored in cardboard document holders within my bookshelf next to the books.

The printed patterns
I own different types of printed patterns from independent authors often Deer and Doe, Maison Fauve, Louis Antoinette... I don’t cut into the patterns but copy the size I need. I carefully keep the full sheet in the printed. I only take them out when I need to make another size.
To store them, I chose a large shoebox to slip them into a drawer of my wardrobe.

The PDFs on the computer
I created a general file and within it sub-files including the name of the pattern, its author, and the type of garment.
This sorting took me a bit of time but it’s much easier to find what you’re looking for.
Ex: Wonder Mini - Vanessa Pouzet - skirt

remained the most difficult category to organize: the cut-out patterns
After watching several tutorials,
After searching for information on blogs, sites, and books,
After testing different methods,
I chose the one that suited me best, that is to say to classify them by type of garment distinguishing the men’s, women’s, children’s, and accessories versions in folders with 10 integrated plastic sleeves.
I no longer distinguished the brands as I did for the first sorting. I find it much simpler when you want to sew a skirt to take the skirt folder and choose among the brands inside than to have to remember that in this or that brand, there was a nice skirt... you see what I mean.
In each plastic sleeve there is therefore a pattern (sometimes in several well-identified sizes). I added a label on each sleeve including:
- the name of the pattern
- the size
- and the edition if it comes from a magazine or a book (sometimes with the page).

I still have a few patterns to sort but overall, I am quite proud of myself! Things are clearer and it's much more pleasant.
And you, where are you with your resolutions?