Pattern Minders this time!
I kept seeing these on Etsy when I was browsing for other knitting ideas, but didn't find any directions on a Google search. I wanted the style where the magnets sandwich the page and keep in place that way. So much neater and more secure than Post-Its! Since I couldn't find directions from someone else, these instructions are entirely what I've figured out based on looking at pictures. I am proud of myself, even though this is really a simple pattern to figure out. :)
Supplies:
I found ribbon spools on sale at Michael's, but really any ribbon that you like will work. The ones I used first were a navy and gold celestial pattern, and a old font with "Remember" on it. I know that one is 'supposed' to be a scrapbooking ribbon, but I thought it was just too perfect for a pattern minder :)
The magnets I had were 1/2 inch wide, so they worked beautifully with the 5/8 inch wide ribbon. I think I would have had a little more trouble lining the ribbon and magnet up evenly if they had been exactly the same size.
There's really nothing to these, so here we go!
Directions:
Decide what size pattern minder you want to make. With the 4 inch lengths of magnet, you can easily make different sizes. Beyond multiples of 4 in the magnets, any other adjustments can be made in the amount of ribbon between sections of magnet. I wanted pattern minders for standard 8.5 inch sheet patterns, so that's what I was working with.
Cut a length of ribbon to the size you want. For my pattern minders, I cut lengths of ribbon of 20 1/2 inches. This makes them actually wider than 8.5 inches, but the little bit of extra ribbon acts as a bookmark as well, so I can find my pattern again when I close the book.
Leave a length of ribbon on each end to overlap the end of the magnet. I had about 1 1/2 inch of ribbon overlapping at each end. Besides making the end a little neater, this tucks the end of the ribbon out of the way and secures it, cutting down on fraying.
Overall, the lengths of ribbon total as follows:
Superglue the magnets in place. I know these particular magnets have a sticky side for attaching whatever to them, but I found that the glue wasn't quite strong enough for the use I was putting it to. Enter the superglue!
While supergluing it all down, make sure to glue between the magnet strips as well as to attach the ribbon. This makes joins the magnets together and makes it a single 8 inch stretch of magnet, instead of two 4 inch sections side by side. Cuts down on the wear as you're using it, since it's not folding and pulling at that midpoint.
Make sure all 4 magnets are glued into place. Let dry. I used small binder clips to keep the magnets secure as they were drying.
Ta da! I told you they were simple :)
I did find one example online, on Seabreeze Spinners. This one though, isn't what I was looking for. Very useful, but not all my patterns are copied out on loose sheets, and this style pattern minder wouldn't work as well with books. I also like my projects to be portable, even those with involved charts, and the white board isn't as portable. Still, if I get into very involved projects that I don't want to carry around or which have bigger charts, this is a pretty good idea. It's also nice that the "minder bar" is a ruler, so you can always check measurements easily.
I kept seeing these on Etsy when I was browsing for other knitting ideas, but didn't find any directions on a Google search. I wanted the style where the magnets sandwich the page and keep in place that way. So much neater and more secure than Post-Its! Since I couldn't find directions from someone else, these instructions are entirely what I've figured out based on looking at pictures. I am proud of myself, even though this is really a simple pattern to figure out. :)
Supplies:
- Magnets
- Pretty Ribbon
- Superglue
I found ribbon spools on sale at Michael's, but really any ribbon that you like will work. The ones I used first were a navy and gold celestial pattern, and a old font with "Remember" on it. I know that one is 'supposed' to be a scrapbooking ribbon, but I thought it was just too perfect for a pattern minder :)
The magnets I had were 1/2 inch wide, so they worked beautifully with the 5/8 inch wide ribbon. I think I would have had a little more trouble lining the ribbon and magnet up evenly if they had been exactly the same size.
There's really nothing to these, so here we go!
Directions:
Decide what size pattern minder you want to make. With the 4 inch lengths of magnet, you can easily make different sizes. Beyond multiples of 4 in the magnets, any other adjustments can be made in the amount of ribbon between sections of magnet. I wanted pattern minders for standard 8.5 inch sheet patterns, so that's what I was working with.
Cut a length of ribbon to the size you want. For my pattern minders, I cut lengths of ribbon of 20 1/2 inches. This makes them actually wider than 8.5 inches, but the little bit of extra ribbon acts as a bookmark as well, so I can find my pattern again when I close the book.
Leave a length of ribbon on each end to overlap the end of the magnet. I had about 1 1/2 inch of ribbon overlapping at each end. Besides making the end a little neater, this tucks the end of the ribbon out of the way and secures it, cutting down on fraying.
Overall, the lengths of ribbon total as follows:
1.5 + 8 + 1.5 + 8 + 1.5 = 20.5 inches
(overlap + magnets + ribbon at the fold around the page + magnets + overlap = total length)
(overlap + magnets + ribbon at the fold around the page + magnets + overlap = total length)
Superglue the magnets in place. I know these particular magnets have a sticky side for attaching whatever to them, but I found that the glue wasn't quite strong enough for the use I was putting it to. Enter the superglue!
While supergluing it all down, make sure to glue between the magnet strips as well as to attach the ribbon. This makes joins the magnets together and makes it a single 8 inch stretch of magnet, instead of two 4 inch sections side by side. Cuts down on the wear as you're using it, since it's not folding and pulling at that midpoint.
Make sure all 4 magnets are glued into place. Let dry. I used small binder clips to keep the magnets secure as they were drying.
Ta da! I told you they were simple :)
I did find one example online, on Seabreeze Spinners. This one though, isn't what I was looking for. Very useful, but not all my patterns are copied out on loose sheets, and this style pattern minder wouldn't work as well with books. I also like my projects to be portable, even those with involved charts, and the white board isn't as portable. Still, if I get into very involved projects that I don't want to carry around or which have bigger charts, this is a pretty good idea. It's also nice that the "minder bar" is a ruler, so you can always check measurements easily.
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