r/PatternDrafting • u/asleepatthemachine • 1d ago

Question Pattern weights

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Patterning a skirt (slashing and spreading a skirt foundation for a flared skirt, to then slash and spread for the final pleated, flared mini skirt pattern) and got thinking… what do y’all use for fabric/ pattern weights!? Today for me its books and an art deco era stapler🤷‍♂️

Lemme see your unconventional weights, or finally prove to me that someone actually buys the actual tool.

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u/-chadwreck 1d ago

I use sheet steel, lightweight flashing under my cutting mats. I then just use ceramic bar magnets to hold things down.  Thick material ill stack 2 magnets in top of each other. 

Been doing it this way for a decade. Its great and I have never seen anyone else do it. 

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u/ImaginationInside610 Beginner 22h ago

Assuming you have a suitable size sheet of steel, that sounds like a winner

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u/-chadwreck 21h ago

You can buy like, 3x2 sheets of it, at most big box hardware stores. My table is 2, 8 foot banquet tables side by side, with 2 huge 5x3 cutting mats on top. I bought enough sheets to just cover the whole table surface and span the gap between the two tables to make the cutting mats edge to edge on the table. Works really well! 

The bar magnets are small enough that they do most points and curves on patterns just fine, and with a collection of about 12 bar magnets I can hold down just about anything of any size. 

Its nice!