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I use a Xyron hand-crank laminator to stiffen and preserve my cardstock pattern pieces. It's easy to use and the cartridges are a snap to remove and re-install.
To store my patterns, I keep a plastic accordian file on hand. I've got labelled sections for:
-- Side head
-- Gusset
-- Body
-- Ear
-- Arms
-- Pawpads
-- Legs
-- Footpads
-- Clothing
When I create a new pattern, I use a unique paper color and/or type. Then I label the pattern. I have a pattern, for example, that's called "PURPLE" -- because it is! I store the PURPLE pieces individually, in the appropriate sections, of my accordian file. And, because they are all the same color and "name," I can easily put them back together again if I want to re-use the pattern again.
With this system, though, it's also VERY easy to "assemble" a bear out of my stash of pieces... kinda like putting together a puzzle! This way, I don't have to "reinvent the wheel" each time I make a bear. But I can still have variety galore!
Baird'sBearsShelli, by 'cardstock' do you mean those large sheets of Bristol Board?
Eileen
Past Time BearsI have a large plastic file containing all my patterns. I start with labeled pocket folders . . . very small (under 8"), small (8"- 10"), medium small (10"-12"), medium (12"-15"), medium large (16"-18"), large (18"-24"), huge (>24"). All the pieces for one pattern are stored in plastic bags and placed in the proper pocket folder. I have the names of all the bears I've made from one particular pattern labled on the plastic bag that the pieces are in. Whew . . . that all sounds like a lot of trouble, but it seems to work for me!!
Shelli, by 'cardstock' do you mean those large sheets of Bristol Board?
Eileen
Oh, no. Cardstock is just thicker paper, and is frequently used in scrapbooking. It just adds a little bit of weight to the pattern; it's a little less thick and stiff than, say, a manilla file folder.
You can get it by the sheet (very expensive) or in pads or reams (less costly per piece.) I tend to get it in pads so that I have several sheets of each color which I can use in my pattern making. Then I can label my patterns, "BROWN," or "PURPLE" or "LIME" according to the paper I use.
Haven't run out of colors yet!
Just Us BearsSo Shelli...do you mean you mix and match your pattern pieces to make different bears? How can you do that with head gussetts and side heads?:/
Good question, Hayley. I don't mix and match the head pieces; they travel as a "pair" from one bear to the next. The other pieces, though, get mixed and matched. I like to mix up the proportions!
Kim-Bee BearsI laminate my patterns - have used card stock (which is really thick paper) but they still had wear and tear so I laminate now
You ladies are so tidy minded! You put me to shame. 
I am a very messy designer. I have a large portfolio case (like an artist uses for A3 size paintings) with wallets on a ring binder in it. The idea was to have a separate wallet for each size of bear BUT that hasn't worked out. All my patterns are hand drawn onto large sheets of thin card and then stored in the folio ... trouble is, there are so many now that they are all muddled up and it takes me ages to find what I'm looking for! :P:P;):D
Wisdom BearsHi All,
Will I hang my head in shame!!!!. I draw all my prototypes onto heavy paper, and once I have them just as I require ,I put them on to Kelloggs Cornflake Pakets which are Great. I am also doing my bit for Recycling at the same time.:lol:. I do keep Excel Sheets on my computer of every detail of every bear,by the year in which they were made,otherwise I would lose track of everything. Hugs Rita xx
Upstate New YorkI enlarge picture of bear and print on large label (the UPS/DHL kind that are about 5ish x 7ish). Then I stick that onto a brown envelope (9ish x 12ish). Then I comment on the outside (center seam gusset, fat belly, one piece body, two piece body, short legs, etc.). I also keep an spreadsheet like Rita was saying, including mohair details and my thoughts about it, approximate cost of making bear, what inspiration was, etc.
I don't have a laminator. Expensive? Though my file system works for me, I could do better at protecting pattern.
Looking forward to hearing all your preserving/storing processes.
Deb
Winneybears and FriendsHi...To start out with... when I have a new design I am working on..I love to use those colored folders...I stick a white label on the front with the name of the critter on it ...
For BEARS I use RED, mohair, synthetic ( 1/4" seams ) BLUE is for real fur ( 1/8" seams)
YELLOW is for dolls.
PURPLE is for bear techniques I may be working on...
Other colors can be anything, it helps when looking for something that I need to find it NOW...I can! I have some colored folders I have had for several years.... like there is the rat I want to create...so I file anything in that folder from my ideas to stuff I clip out that wil help me do it. THat way if I suddenly get an idea for something I want to add...I can dig up that Rat folder real quick before some other thought crowds it out...You know what happens when you start digging !..one thing leads to another.
I draw a master pattern on vellum then use tracing paper over that, glue that onto card stock ,cut out ....Note any specs on the pattern head; mm eyes, actual nose emb. diagram..note the joint size on the other pieces..AND DATE IT .If I change anything in improving that pattern I note that change and DATE THAT...and temp. retire the old piece in the zip lock until I am sure the new piece is going to work.
If I did not have time to make and date that change then I use a bright pink post it and flag the pattern INSIDE on top so I can see it must be done first before I make up another bear.
Slip all that in to a Lg. zip lock bag and then file that into a notebook with the smallest size first.
Neat thing is when I make up the bear I fill out a spec./ instructions sheet, any diagrams ... that I also put into the notebook if front of the pattern but not into the zip lock bag..
If I have added a costume or one of sorts or drawings, ideas ... I file those with the pattern but not in the zip lock ...This has worked for me really well as I can take that notebook to my kitchen table to flip thru it... work on some ideas or add some .
I have several notebooks on my sewing book shelf ( easy access)...each pattern notebook sometimes has only one pattern in it ...but in different sizes like my real fur patterns ..they also have 1/8" seam instead of 1/4" seams.
I like to play with my patterns and ideas so I can continue to build upon new ideas . This method allows me to do that very well...
Its fun to see how people have devised different methods for keeping track of their patterns.
........... Winney
Flying Fur Studios...I can dig up that Rat folder real quick before some other thought crowds it out...You know what happens when you start digging !..one thing leads to another.
Winney, you are soooooo true, I thought it was just me. I don't even dare look at my supplies while I'm in the middle of a bear, or my mind will start wondering on my next project.
Other than that, I don't have too much to add, don't make my own patterns yet. But i did see somewhere, maybe even here. Where all the pattern pieces had a hole punched in them and they were hung on rings. I liked that idea. easy to flip thru and not much organizing to do.
Just my 2 cents
Heather
Im a ziplock bag freak. All of my patterns are on cardboard and labelled with size, name, eye and joints size etc in ziplock bags. Then they are in folders (which are also labelled with size and name) and then in a file box by size and alphabetically!!
It works for me so far!
Jane
Amy Thornton, who just joined (MUTZ), is the one who puts her patterns on rings after hole-punching them. Then she hangs them on a sort of peg-mug-rack kind of wall hanging gizmo.
I actually just this week redid my pattern storage method, so it's interesting that this thread has re-emerged today. I ran out of room in my accordian file so I've moved to a zip-binder method (zip-binder, by the way, so that when turned upside down, the pieces don't fall out of the page sleeves.)
I use plastic sheet protectors and store each entire pattern, as originally created, in the sleeve, with a photo of the bears I've made entirely from that pattern on the front, and a label like "O'NEILL 100%" or "MAGENTA" or whatever I happened to have named that pattern, typed beneath. Check out my photo.
Then, there are also extra pockets at the back for misc. heads, arms, legs -- not designed as part of a complete pattern -- which I created as revisions or alternatives for a particular pattern(s) already in use.
Most of my bears are similar in size so I don't have to keep careful track of which limbs go to which bodies, etc. I made them to more or less mix and match.
Will let you know how this system ends up working for me...
Mutz's Tootsz Bears & BudsHi All,
Shelli, I was just about to pipe in on this subject. I use old colored file folders from work and punch holes in them. I use the old style wire shower curtain hangers to hang pattern. I have recently added a tag on each one so I can keep track of the mohair used color & date. . I will upload a picture, but I have toread the instructions on how to first.
TTFN
Amy
Oh, Amy, uploading is easy cheesy. Go to any existing post you've made and click EDIT at lower right. Then scroll down to the little box that lets you BROWSE and upload from your hard drive. No need to host elsewhere. Although I have to say, if your photos are too big, they just won't show up and you'll have to resize them smaller.
Hope this helps!
bears by beesley TMShelli I keep my patterns in plastic bags in a bin. I am so very disoragnized however so parts go from one bag to the other. I do sometimes like to mix patterns up. It can make for some interesting bears??
Many hugs Louise
Upstate New YorkShelli ~
So ... you mean you have to a) post the message and then b) go BACK in to edit and to Browse to insert photos. I am meaning to send all the pictures to Quy that I tried to upload but couldn't (from my hard drive) ... because I think they meet the requirements.
Hmm ...
Deb (NY)
Mutz's Tootsz Bears & BudsHi Shelli,
I'll give it a try when AI get home form work.
Thanks,
Amy
Oops, my mistake. Sorry to confuse you.
YES, you can add photos to a post as you type. In Amy's case I thought she wanted to tack some pictures on to a post she had already made; hence my comment about returning to an existing post.
You can NOT , though, add photos -- ever! -- using the "Quick Post" window that appears at the bottom of the message thread, which you'll discover quickly if you try. When I reply to a message I usually just scroll down and use "Quick Post" because that window is already accessible. But when I want to post photos, I either have to click POST REPLY and then upload pics... or I have to create a post, SUBMIT, and then EDIT to add photos as a second, return visit.
Is this making things clearer, or muddier? :P;):)
Instead... You must click POST REPLY, at the lower right, at the bottom of the message thread, to open up the POST REPLY window. And it's from THERE that you can add photos.
Winneybears and FriendsShelli...That zip binder sounds like it would work better and I like how you added the photos to the file....I can't imagine the plastic sleeve tho...
I just fold the zip lock over a bit on the left to fit the notebook.. with zipper located on the right side...punch holes.... then put that into the notebook as is.....Winney
Mutz's Tootsz Bears & BudsThats why I was confused! I was in quick post & couldn't figure out how to post a picture. Coolness! I see it on Post Reply.
Be patient with me... I'm learning.
Amy
We are all about patience and acceptance here, Amy, Shelli says, chanting in her incense-filled, mirror-lined, cushion-strewn, relaxation room... while sitting cross-legged. ..... 
LOL Shelli!
I've just changed my pattern filing method... a variation of your method 
I'll take a pic after the weekend... but I have a small file folder case. I keep each pattern type in a colored folder. INside the colored folder are separate manilla folders - so the pattern parts are divided up, but with the same pattern... if that makes sense>>>
Mutz's Tootsz Bears & Buds
Ohmmmmmmmmm....
Here is the picturrrrrre
