Label the Parts!

Saving yourself extra minutes and hassles!

  

Some of my purse patterns - and especially the Hold It All Shopper, the Lizzie Bag, or the Journey Purse - have lots of pieces which are not easily identified.  They're all rectangles!  The solution to keeping yourself straight is to label the pieces.

I have tried various forms of labelling.  Some quilts which require certain size strips (like Bargello quilts) are best kept together with clothespins.  Wooden clothespins can be written on with a Sharpie - so you can keep the "2 inch blue" separate from the "2.5 inch purple".

For purses and wallets, I like to use post-it notes, with a little adjustment.

First I write the piece names (and quantity, if necessary) on the post-it in a list.  Usually 4 - 5 names will fit on a 3" post-it.  Then I cut out the strips. 

I have found that the post-its don't always stick well, especially when moving around the fabric and ironing in interfacing.  So I usually add a little strip of SCOTCH tape to hold it.  Make sure and use the brand Scotch or at least make sure it is the dull, matte tape and not the shiny cellophane style tape.  Scotch tape will remove from the fabric with no residue.  I have also pinned the paper strips, but tape is quicker to remove.

The strips can be used over and over and the scotch tape will usually stick several times if you decide to make a duplicate purse or wallet. Do not leave the taped strips on your fabric for longer than a week, however, or expose them to heat (remove to iron, then replace) as the glue can transfer in those cases.  If you will be setting aside your pieces, just use the post-its without tape.

Because all of the pattern pieces on my PDF patterns are numbered, one customer suggested just putting the number on it!  Simple is always better.

How do you label your parts?