How do you? I have a lot of quilt magazines, free pattern print outs.
Do you cut your magazines and keep just the patterns and how do you organize them? (Folder, zip locks, etc.)???

Mine are in page protectors in binders and sorted by type...aplique, rotatry cut, holoday, etc....

I use binders and use sleeves to put the patterns in then have index tabs for types, etc. I find them easier this way than in a magazine. I used to mark the magazine pages with address labels folded down so I could find it.
And I put Magaziner name and date in case I miss something. LOL.

I keep mine in folders. I cut out of magazines as I have no space to keep them all.

I am in the process of doing this. I remove the pattern from the magazine, put it and any templates in a clear page protector and put it in a binder. I've divided mine only by type of item - quilt, wall hanging, bag, etc.

I do it in two parts. First I remove the pattern and put it in a pile, then in a week or so I go through the patterns again and usually end up realizing I don't want about half of them!

Great question....I will be watching this topic, as I need to make some heads or tails of my moms stuff.......I don't even know what all I inherited.

I save them for a while, magazines, then I tear out what I just can't live without and put it in a page protector and a large 3 ring binder. Free patterns are just that free. If it something that really sets my britches to blazing, then I keep it and give it the same storage as before. My while is a year. If I have not looked for it in a yr, it has to get passed on. I also keep photos of colors that interest me. This could come from greeting cards, magazines like BHG or WD, FC. I treat these the same as the above. the colors are kept in another binder. I use it all the time to make color choices for quilts.

I put them in page protectors and then into binders. I try to keep a binder for different things, like one for baby, one for PPing, etc. Sometimes I keep the whole magazine if it has a lot of patterns I like, sometimes I just cut out the pattern I am interested in. Also, don't forget to add the tear out pattern pages if there are any.

This is a good one thank you.

I put them all in clear plastic folders..then into binders by types !!

I tear out the patterns that look interesting and then put a free ad in the local paper and give the magazines away. I don't keep very many, and the people who get the magazines seem to like them.
Sue

I do this and just filled a 3" binder, perfect for when I want to browse for inspiration

:thumbup:

I have them organized all over the floor till company comes or the cats get rowdy. I plan on note books with a hole punch and divider tabs. I have many but working on quilting right now... I will get organized later. Still waiting on a snow day! :lol:

I put them in clear plastic sleeves and into binders. If I pull a pattern that I know I am using with fabric, I put an index card in that sleeve with "a reminder" of which pattern and fabric- otherwise I forget what I did with it. AND I have limited myself to just TWO 3 inch binders to hold purchased patterns and magazine tearouts or freebies with purchase. My online freebies are kept on the computer and during the winter months when it is so cold- I grab a cup of tea and spend some time looking at them. Ones I have used and know that I will not make again get re-labeled ZZZ "name of pattern"- that way those are at the end of the quilt pattern file and I don't have to sort through them. When I make something from a tutorial, I take a picture and in a notebook write the web address - just in case someone asks.

Sounds like I might be one of the few that keep the entire magazine. I use tiny post it notes to hold the pages I want.

I have one of those metal spinning racks (like you find at the library for paperbacks or magazines) and store my magazines there.

amen!! me too.... I can actually find something.

I have mine inserted in document protecters in a binder.

I just finished stage 1. Going through magazines I want to keep. The ones I didn't want to keep I gave to a neighbor. She took what she wanted and I took the rest to a community second hand store.

From what I've read today Step 2 will be removing the patterns I really like and putting them into binders.

Limiting the number of binders is a great idea. (They're really big binders right? :wink: )

Thanks for the tips.

I'm a keeper to. If I cut the papers out, I just know I will miss something.

In my sewing room I have a file cabinet drawer. I have folders organized by my own crazy method.. i.e. table toppers, totes, paper piecing, etc. Each pattern is in a sheet protector. I also have a three ring binder with sections from info I get online... such as "how-to"s, tips, info specific to my machine, etc. I also have many quilt sites, youtube videos on my favorites list/folder on my computer...

I use the post it notes on my magazines; the magazines are stored by the specific magazine; by months; by years in clear magazine holders. Does it work? Looks nice but I don't seem to get back to the magazines and forgot the "beautiful quilts" on my wish list.

I also have pulled pages in plastic folders. Then I have downloaded patterns "wish list" to do in clear folder binders. Those are not printed in color and "have lost some of the grab" to do.

So I would say none of these are really working for me if I don't ever do anything but file.

I "file" mine in plastic craft boxes with file tabs listing name of pattern, etc. I then "stack" thes boxes in a closet and love to get them out every now and then. Mostly, then. lol

I wish I could bring myself to do any of that...A friend had a quilter friend who asked if she knew anyone interested in quilting...she said yes...So the woman came by with 25 hardcover books and now wait for it I'm not kidding 4 shopping bags of Quilter's Newletter Mag going back to the early 80's -thru early 2000....I literally have gone thru all the mags and did the post it thing but like one of the ladies you forget what you wanted to do.
I'd love to just start tearing, binding and throwing out the rest of the mag, but I just don't have the heart to do that. So I cont. to go thru the mags again and again, then put them back in rubbermaid bins and store in the garage.

I think you can get 5" folders but I find that 3" folders are heavy once you fill them.

Limiting the number of binders is a great idea. (They're really big binders right? :wink: )

Thanks for the tips.[/quote]

This is exactly what I do. I also go through the binders from time to time and give away/throw out patterns that no longer interest me.
I sort the binders by type of quilt or specialized fabric

Thanks for the great ideas -- I need to organize my patterns better.

I put all my patterns in sheet protectors and then in a binder. Never thought to sort them with dividers, will have to do that. I also have separate binders for projects finished, projects I want to do and blocks I want to try (3 binders).

My bought patterns are in binders by size. Then by type, like if its a christmas one its in the christmas section. and I did the same for the ones I have on a jump drive.

Great ideas - thanks! My pattern stash is beginning to become unmanageable. I'm going to try your idea on organizing on the computer with the ZZZ.

My patterns from magazines are in a binder in page protectors. I divide into sections of, pieced, appliqued, FMQ quilting patterns, and tips. Also have started a binder of pictures of the quilts I have made and am now keeping the thank you notes with them. :D

I like your color idea. I always have trouble with colors.

Same here...

If you intend to keep all those magazines, you could print the index for each year and mark the ones in which you are interested directly in the index. Or, you could copy the pertinent info for those articles from each index to a "favorites" document.

Index for 1969-1994 (Issues 1-269) in single PDF file
Index for 1995-2009 separate files
http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/ar..._QN_Newsletter

< corrected to show only one URL>

I download patterns from the web and put them in indexed binders. Have 4 large binders full.
Just cannot cut up mags. I have them by name and date in mag holders on a book shelf. Never have made a quilt from one but love to get new ones in mail. Eye candy.
Tried making a list of the quilts to make in a notebook but my tastes change so now if Im looking for a pattern I just pull out mags and its like a new mag all over again.

Same here!

I scan whatever patterns i want to keep and store them digitally. With space being at a premium, this works better for me.Magazines i don't want go to local library for others to enjoy.If i need a certain pattern i can always print it out.

I keep mine in a 3 ring binder also and move the pattern to the back of the section when I complete the quilt. Only problem is I keep putting new ones in and don't move pages to the back at the same rate!

Hello, I go through the books and jot down the pictures I like and the book name and page and date of book, then I made an excell spreadsheet logging in all the information. so if I wanted that barn quilt picture I go to barns on my excell sheet and it tells me which book it is in. Then I have the books in alphabetical order. sounds like a lot of work but is was fun going through all the books. (sometimes you see things you did not like before. I even gave some away. good luck.

I use a combination of binders, plastic sleeves and the computer. I scan the magazine patterns I want to keep and just print out one if I want to use it. (I have an external backup system so I won't lose any.) This saves space and I can separate patterns into files. One other thing I use is a box that will hold patterns that come in envelopes (eg. McCall's). The box is just the right width. I have covered it with some wall paper I had so that it looks nice in the sewing room I am in the process of setting up.

I can't cut up the magazines -- I always seem to forget something. I use the flags for specific patterns that I like. If I don't have anything marked in a magazine, they go to DD who passes those she does not want to a friend.

I have tried to keep the magazines organized, and I like your ideas. Unfortunately, when I look for a pattern I can't remember which magazine I found them in so I go through every one until I find it. Need to figure out a better system.

I do use binders for the EQ patterns or patterns/blocks I print off the internet. I have one binder for ideas and one for patterns that I have made.