Organizing my workspace : Storing patterns cut in tag board

Well over a year ago I had made the final adjustments to my t-shirt pattern. I usually draft my first patterns on medical examination paper. It is a less expensive paper to draft on, but more durable than regular tissue paper. Once I feel the pattern is perfected (or good enough for now), I transfer the tissue paper pattern to tagboard. It took me well over a year to transfer my pattern to tagboard. Really, it is amazing I managed to keep all the pieces together without losing any. The pieces floated between my craft table and the floor in all that time! Now I can use these pattern pieces for some other design ideas that have been floating around in my head. I store the tissue paper patterns in 6" x 9" envelopes for future reference. Both the tagboard pieces and the envelope are labeled with the style number, size, piece name, seam allowances, and cut quantity.

Pieces cut in tag board are put on pattern hooks and then on racks. I prefer punching a hole in the pattern with a smaller hole punch so I can use book rings. The book rings are used to hang all the pieces of a style together but make it easier to remove one piece from the collection. The pattern hooks can be looped around the book ring and then hung on a rack.

*There are different work flows for pattern making. This is mine. Some professional pattern makers do all of their pattern making directly on oak tag and some are CAD only. Also, I do things a little differently in my home studio versus work. For example, the t-shirt pattern pieces are cutout in half because I place the piece on the fold at home. This would not happen in a factory. Generally, a production ready pattern would be the full piece (left and right sides) and not placed on a fold. It's not always so simple though. The pattern pieces are created to meet the specs of the fabric and production facility so variations may exist.

The blouse pattern revisited : recutting tagboard pieces

About a year ago I cut my blouse pattern out of tag board. I had cut the interior of the darts out because I thought it would be more convenient to just trace the dart onto the fabric. Sometimes this is done in the industry, but there is a better way. Anyway, this didn't work out very well.

So after I had made my most recent modifications, I recut the front and back blouse pattern pieces. This time I drew the darts in with the addition of drill holes. You can't really see them in the photo, but I used an awl to poke holes into the tag board. A pencil tip fits into the holes to mark the dart on the fabric. This should work better

Now I'm finally ready to buy some more fabric for blouses.

Transferring patterns to tag board : notches and guides

As part of finishing up my pattern blocks, I needed to add the armhole notches. Double notches for the back and single for the front. The front and back notches are a different distant from the side seam rather than symmetric. This helps ensure that the front sleeve matches the front armhole and vice-versa. The notches indicate nothing other than front and back.

This is my original sleeve from blouse 1.0 and 2.0. This sleeve can be used as the basis for any future variation. The original blouse has an elastic casing, so I noted the details related to that on the pattern piece.

I also finally got around to making the buttonhole guide. My awl from my book making helped make the holes in the tag board, but really any basic awl will work.

Further pattern making work:
1. Redo collar band shaping - again. [sigh]
2. Make a straight, short sleeve pattern in oak tag.
3. Buttonhole guide for collar band.
4. Long sleeve pattern with shirt sleeve placket and cuff.
5. Study/test block fusing of collar

Transferring patterns to tag board : an example of a blouse

 After sewing up Blouse 2.0, I felt confidant enough to transfer my pattern pieces to oak tag or tag board. Tag board is the same stiff paper product used in file folders but available in large sheets or rolls. Some pattern makers do all of their patternmaking on oak tag, which is a better practice. But, I usually do my initial patterns on tracing paper or medical exam paper. At some point I do transfer it oak tag for durability. These patterns aren't necessarily production ready. They are designed for the way I work at home. The darts are cut out so I can trace the dart shape on the fabric. In industry darts are marked with drill holes, just as an example.

I still need to create a buttonhole placement guide and place the armhole notches. I figured out about how much fabric I need to make a blouse and noted it on the main bodice piece. Fold lines and seam allowances that are different from the norm are indicated. I should have marked the interfacing piece in red ink - forgot to go retrieve the red pen from the office.

Anyway, my paper pieces are stored in an envelope for future reference.

Tag Board for pattern making

I have needed to order tag board (manila folder paper for patterns) for a while. Up till now I haven't needed very much. My patterns are small and a large, heavy roll of the stuff seemed excessive. I think I have found a reasonable alternative until I need larger quantities.

I did a search for tag board among the big box office supply houses. Sure enough I found one that sold it in large pieces (24 x 36) in a box of 100 sheets. The pieces are big enough that I can cut out quite a few pieces at one time and still have left overs. I further economize by not cutting out square or rectangular pieces. Technically, every pattern piece should be cut out of tag board and if I were to send them to a contractor, I would. Square/Rectangular pieces are cut using cutting guides & charts. I have a cutting guide for sleeve cuffs and skirts indicating the dimensions for each size, for example.