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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Pattern Stash Confessions, Part 1

Posted on 3:34 PM by dvdsvdsdv


Help.

Readers, as you know, I am always trying to organize myself better.  In the last six months, I have discarded many unnecessary household items.  I dust my Ken dolls regularly.  I even started sorting my wigs!  Today I decided it was time to revisit my pattern stash, starting with my women's patterns.

What a wake-up call: I have more than a hundred women's patterns -- slips, coats, robes, gowns, jumpers, blouses, suits, swimwear -- everything but maternity.   I only started sewing in June 2009; at this rate, I'll need a storage locker by the 2015.

Readers, please believe me when I tell you that before I counted, I had absolutely no idea how big my stash was.   I just knew it was getting too big for the credenza shelves where I store them.  Many of the patterns in my stash I purchased, many others (more than half?) were given to me.  I've given away quite a few in turn, but somehow, I never seem to make much of a dent in my collection.  Once I own them I find it hard to part with them -- do you know what I mean?

A recently acquired favorite.
Someday I will conquer my fear of faux fur.

I decided to archive them this afternoon in a Picasa file, so that I could sort through them quickly.  What has happened a number of times is that I'll almost purchase something I already own.  That would make me very unhappy.

I'm ambivalent about a button-down evening gown.

Always nice when a pattern comes with a message!

My collection starts in the mid to late Twenties and ends in contemporary times.  (A few downloaded BurdaStyle patterns aren't included.)  You may notice a larger number of patterns from the Forties and early Seventies, but I think I have pretty much every period covered.  Notice any conspicuous absences?  Maybe the mid-Eighties Gunne Sax...

You can view my stash in the slide show below.  If I made a particular pattern, you'll see a pic immediately after it of Cathy in the outfit.  You can click through to the Picasa file itself to see the patterns full size.  They are in approximate chronological order.



I am certain nearly all of you own at least one of these.

Readers, I must ask: how big is your pattern stash?  If you purchase vintage patterns, do you buy them to use or to collect, or both?  I never wanted a collection per se, and I only purchase patterns I hope to make.  As you can see, I have a lot of work ahead of me!

In closing, friends, do you have a rule about the size of your stash --like when you get to a hundred, you refuse to add more till you've gotten rid of some of the others, or does your stash just get bigger, and bigger, and bigger?

How many patterns do you own: Too few?  Just enough?  Too many?

Confess!
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      • And Show It Goes...
      • The Ugly Truth
      • Vogue Pattern Winner + Recent Acquisitions!
      • Pattern Stash Confessions, Part 2 + Pass the Pie!
      • National Pie Day, our SECOND anniversary + Vogue P...
      • Pattern Stash Confessions, Part 1
      • Clothes Shopping for Men vs. Clothes Shopping for ...
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      • Dress Silhouettes Gone Wrong + POLL!
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      • The Wacky World of Color Forecasting
      • On "Famous Frocks" and sewing books in general
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