How do you store your patterns?

[Lady_of_Roses]

I know this sounds silly, but I'm really curious.

 

For full-size books, I keep them on the shelf. I don't know what to do with little leaflets and free printed patterns though. I don't really know how to optimally organize the printed ones either.

[Kiki]

I bought a bunch of pocket folders with 3-ring binder holes and store the small patterns and leaflets in those in a binder. It works great! I have dividers for different types of projects so they are all grouped by type!

[Ga_Rebel]

For the free printed ones I would buy for hard folders. Like the three ring binders. And buy some page protectors and see how that works.

 

***I don't know if they are called page protectors. But they look like a sheet of plastic. And you slip in the paper in between. I don't really know how to describe them. If you don't know what I am trying to say I'll try to explain better.***

[theworm]

Books go on the shelf. free printed ones go in an expandable folder. Most get saved on my PC. I either work from the screen (if I can copy it to work, I can use the mouse to highlight and keep my place) or I print it out as I need it.

[theworm]

For the free printed ones I would buy for hard folders. Like the three ring binders. And buy some page protectors and see how that works.

 

***I don't know if they are called page protectors. But they look like a sheet of plastic. And you slip in the paper in between. I don't really know how to describe them. If you don't know what I am trying to say I'll try to explain better.***

 

Yes, they're called page protectors, and somebody here had a great idea to use them and to use dry erase markers to make notes and keep your place while working.

[mudpie]

Books are on the shelf. Booklets and Leaflets in magazine holders (got a great deal on ebay last year). Single patterns go into sheet protectors (2 per protector, front page of each facing outward) and then into the magazine holders. Magazine holders hold like patterns - i.e., however many holders it takes to hold all afghan books, then baby, etc. Magazines that are multi type patterns are together as well. This collection takes up 2 full bookcases. I scan any pattern I think I would die if something happened to. I also like to scan any pattern I am making or going to make, as I like to make notations and marks and don't wish to soil my originals. This is a tedious job, because I want to make nearly EVERYTHING. And I periodically (about once a month) make a backup.

[Ga_Rebel]

Everyone here seems to have such wonderful ideas. I can tell ya'll have done this longer than me.

 

theworm..thank you for letting me know I had the right name. And that sounds like a great idea with the dry erase markers.

[sprtsbear]

Wow dry erase markers. Have never thought of that. It would have been a great help working on my Around the World afghan. Thanks for the great ideas.

[Grete]

I have my pattern here and there and everyvere.

 

I have tryed several times to make any sence in the way I keep my pattern, but it not working. I got new pattern every week, and I don`t have time to sorted it out.

[lizc]

Yes, they're called page protectors, and somebody here had a great idea to use them and to use dry erase markers to make notes and keep your place while working.

 

 

GREAT IDEA! WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT!

 

i have free saved on my computer, and print as needed. and everything else is in the end table storage space

[Lady_of_Roses]

These are great ideas! Keep them coming please!

[laffingliz]

I found a great card board pepper box at the local supermarket with a lid - when I was leaving home (1992). I painted it, added star stickers and covered the lid in some glitzy wrapping paper. I store all my loose leafers in there. I did go through a phase of putting magazine cut outs in plastic folder wallets and hooked them together with an old shoe lace - they are in the box.

 

My current patterns of interest - which give me inspiration! are in pile on a footstool by my sofa.

[artemis]

My books and magazines I keep on the shelf.

Printed patterns and flyers I keep in a three ring binder with divider tabs.

Any pattern I am going to make I photocopy and write notes right on the copy: start date, finish date, yarn and hook used, number of skeins used, who it's for.

Then I always take a picture of the finished work and put it in the three ring binder along with the directions.

Doesn't that all sound so organized? What a joke! Usually books, magazines, and works in progress are spread out all over the shelves in the office, heaped on the coffee table in the living room, piled up on the floor in the extra bedroom, even stacked up on the counter in the bathroom...but a tiny bit of me is really organized!

[yarnlover66]

I keep my books on a shelf. My magazines are in those plastic magazine holder thngs. I try to sort them by magazine name. I can just pull the whole container out and take it to bed with me when I'm trying to find a new project. Put the magazines back in--place it back on the shelf. My loose leaflets I also put in the plastic page protectors and keep them in a 3 ring binder. I also put tab dividers in the 3 ring binders so my leaflets are divided by afghans, sweaters, doilies, toys, etc.

[smokeyp81]

My books and leaflets are stored in milk crates. Any freebies and patterns printed from the internet are stored in page protectors in a 3-ring binder. I haven't gotten organized enough yet to divid by pattern type....but at least most of them are somewhat organized!

[BlondieeAggiee]

I do pretty much what everyone else does. I keep the books in the bookshelf. Currently my leaflets and in a folder and my internet patterns saved on my computer, but I'm working to change that.

 

I'm planning on scanning in all the leaflets, and printing them and the internet patterns onto cardstock. I then place them in page protectors in a 3 ring binder, organized by pattern type and alphabatized.

 

It's hard to get it done though. It takes time away from crocheting.

[eyenowhour]

I store ones from the internet on my computer. I have a separate folder for them. Books I store in a box (that has a opening on one side so it's kind of like a bookshelf). I've been debating trying to make a 3 ring binder and organize everything by category, but never got around to it.

[theworm]

I can't take credit for the dry erase marker idea. I read it hear somewhere, but I don't remember who posted it, so thank you - whoever you are!

 

Isn't it great to have a place like Crochetville where we can all share ideas!

[wildthing1058]

My books are kept in boxes but free ones and down load printed one I put in protector sheets the kind you would put reports in and put them in a 3 ring binder and have them sorted according to acseseries, baby,doilies,ladies,mens ect. I have 2, 3 inch 3 ring binders one for threat one for yarn.

Deborah

[KateCrochets]

I keep booky books on the shelf, but leaflety books (for example, 63 Easy to Crochet Pattern Stitches) I keep in binders using magazine holders:

http://www.geocities.com/pdgoodwin/plastic2.html These are great, because they work for full size and smaller leaflets (like "12 Dishcloths" or whatever). In theory, you can buy commercially made magazine holders for binders, but I havne't found any. Making them is fairly easy and cheap.

 

I, too, use the open sided magazine holder boxes for "regular" magazines, like Crochet!, but "special edition" magazines also go in binders like leaflets.

 

I have a gMail account just for crochet, and when I find a pattern I like, I email it to myself. I set up my filters so that it labels it afghan, fridgie, square, whatever. It doesn't use up space on my hard drive (although I routinely download and save to CD), I can get to it anywhere I have internet, and it has a search function. Neat!

 

Other printouts I, again, use binders. I like sheet protectors, but I usually just use them for WIPs... it would cost too much and be too bulky to use for all of them!!

[KinkyLilBlackDress]

Books are shelved.

 

I do the three-ring binder and page protector thing. When my binder gets full 100s of pages later, I separate the pattens into topic (clothes, afghans, amigurumi, etc.) and use the binding machine at work to bind them all together. Then I have my own lil pattern books.

[SDmom]

I also have collected many loose patterns, etc. I have put each seperate pattern in its own plastic page protector. Then i sorted all the patterns into categories. Then got out the 3 ring binders and put each category into the binder, I also used index tabs to seperate the categories.

[christinascrochethaven]

I use separate baskets to organize my print outs from web and smaller magazines. Leaflets and other print outs I store in 3 inch binders on a bookshelf. Books and leaflets are on the bookcase standing up. I keep them closeby for ideas.

[KateCrochets]

When my binder gets full 100s of pages later, I separate the pattens into topic (clothes, afghans, amigurumi, etc.) and use the binding machine at work to bind them all together. Then I have my own lil pattern books.

This is such a great idea! Not that I need another project - crocheted, crochet-related or otherwise - but this would help a lot in organizing my insane PAS acquisitions! Thanks for the idea

[RickyRebel]

I've got a big, thick 3 ring binder, full of sheet protectors. I still have a ton of patterns from before all my stuff got stored away for 6 years.