A new collectors’ term. I’ve been buying vintage patterns from charity shops for years but, because not many people sew anymore they are becoming rare, so I turned my searching to eBay and Etsy and have found great patterns.
The patterns are sometimes sold as ‘Factory folded’, which means that they’ve never been used and are in their original state. I thought that’s good because they’re complete in all sizes, although some are sold as complete but used and honestly, I didn’t care either way.
BUT now I have discovered that serious collectors want factory folded to add to a collection, like people who buy toys, etc. and never use them or even take them out of their box.

I have grappled with this because I buy them to use; I bought a Simplicity a few days ago and I want to make it…but it is unused. It’s impossible to deal with two huge 2m sheets of tissue paper… so, I cut it, I did feel guilty but the desire for the shirt overrode that.

This is the pattern hacked and ‘ruined’ but it will be easier to work with and it is still completely intact, I’ll copy the size I want onto card with a tracing wheel.

Speaking of tracing wheels, I bought a great old one in a charity shop the other day, I have modern wheels but this is great and I’ll use it.

There are a few unused patterns in the collection, so I face a moral dilemma, to cut or not. The Simplicity I’m about to use isn’t a vintage but some of the others are, from the ’50s to the ’70s.

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The envelopes never do well, they suffer from handling and foxing but that doesn’t seem to be a problem to collectors.

I hope to start the tracing the patterns tomorrow, in two sizes.
Take care,
Regards,
Will.