Pattern Paper

Whenever I buy a pattern or if I am drafting my own, I like to use "marking" paper. It's about as wide as some fabrics (45") and comes in various size rolls. It's not that expensive either.

I ran out of my previous roll a few months ago, and could NOT find the other roll that I was pretty darn sure I had purchased. Imagine my delight at finding it in the garage as I was pulling stuff out for the 'Costumer Guild Bazaar/Flea market' that's happening over this next weekend.

SCORE!

It's pretty hefty paper -- not quite construction paper heavy, but it's thicker than tracing paper or the "onion" skin paper that you get with most commercial patterns, such as Simplicity, McCalls, or Butterick. Plus, it has a one inch grid marked on the paper so you can easily match marks on your commercial pattern or use as guidelines for your drafted pattern. I *love* this stuff. It's sturdy enough to use through the making of multiple garments of the same pattern.

Previously, I had been using a roll of paper that doctor's normally use in their exam rooms to cover the medical bed. (My nursing contacts had gotten me a few rolls). However, the paper is rather thin and prone to tearing if you're not careful. Plus, for big patterns, you have to tape several pieces together. There's a noticeable difference between the two roll sizes.

Unfortunately, the only place I've been able to find this paper is in the LA Garment District at Michael Levine's. I'm sure it's available at other places, but since had been down often in previous years, I picked up 2 rolls, which lasted quite a long time. We hadn't been down in the Garment District for a while, and so I consequently ran out...or at least I thought I did until I found this spare roll!

If you're interested, here's the pertinent information for it. You won't be sorry that you got some.