Restoring and preserving vintage sewing patterns

Donate (and Pattern Points)  Print our Packing List form    Donate Pin Money

  Donations support this entire site. Every sewing pattern you'll find here has been donated; operating and shipping expenses are paid from cash donations to the Pin Money fund; and all the work is done by three unpaid pattern lovers.

Your pattern donations are catalogued, restored if necessary and possible, and then sent off to people who will appreciate them. Damaged and incomplete patterns are stored and available for replacement parts to anyone who needs them. We never thrown away any patterns!

Pattern Rescue members earn Pattern Points for donations and can redeem those points for collectible and vintage sewing patterns in the Trade area. Learn how it works below:

  We know you have them! An empty envelope. A bodice piece found in an entirely different dress pattern. A darling layette pattern that turned out to be missing half its pieces. Some tattered apron patterns you don't even like but were part of a box lot. Maybe even a complete set of pattern pieces with no envelope or instructions. And then there are those patterns you bought before you acquired your current impeccable fashion sense...

Tucked away in a corner of your sewing room there's a stash of patterns and stray pieces that you're never going to use. On the other hand, you hate to just throw them away. So dust them off and send them on to Pattern Rescue. We'll make sure they get passed on to someone who will use them.

What kind of patterns do you accept?

If it's a pattern, we'll take it. It doesn't matter whether it's unused or badly damaged -- or whether it's 5 years old or 50. A few people have even tossed in some fashion magazines and cross stitch booklets. We love all things related to sewing and needlework and we're willing to take and pass on just about anything.

What do you do with them?

Patch them up and give them away to people who really want them. If the pattern is missing something critical, the pieces are available to anyone with another incomplete pattern. If it's complete or only missing a minor piece, it's listed in the Recycle or Trade areas. Unidentifiable stray tissue pieces are used to reproduce small pattern pieces. If the Pin Money fund runs dry, we may sell a pattern or two so we can keep shipping. But nothing gets thrown away.

Where do I send them?

Please print and use the Packing List Form to ship us your patterns, especially if you want Pattern Points for your donation.

Is there a limit to how many I can send at one time?

No. The more, the merrier!

Will you pay for the shipping?

Sometimes. If there's enough extra cash in the Pin Money fund, we'll reimburse postage for non-members who request it. (We keep track of the shipping amount and send out checks as we can -- but expect it to take a while.) Members are not eligible for shipping reimbursement -- but you do earn Pattern Points.

Is my donation tax-deductible?

No, it's not. Pattern Rescue is not intended to make a profit, but that's not enough to get tax-deductible status from the IRS.

Are there other places to donate patterns?

For incomplete patterns, we're it. If you're looking for local donation possibilities, theater groups often want old sewing patterns to create costumes. Your local thrift shop may welcome patterns, but check with the manager first. Some thrift shops just throw them away.

Personally, we'd rather have patterns. But the post office, our web hosting service, and those pesky office supply stores all insist on being paid with legal tender....

Your contribution to the Pin Money fund gives us a way to pay Pattern Rescue's necessary operating expenses. It gets you one Pattern Point for each dollar you donate -- and you can trade those points for more patterns.

Make a donation:

• After you receive patterns we've sent you. The funds to ship them came from our Pin Money. If you don't put it back, who will?
  
  
• If you want one of the patterns in the Trade area, but you don't have any patterns of your own to donate.
  
  
• As a "thank you" for a replacement pattern piece or successful Wanted to Buy post.
  
  
• Just because you think Pattern Rescue is a great idea and you'd like to see it keep going for a long time to come.

You can donate online using the form below (or the one on our Home page).

Enter the amount you want to donate, then click the yellow button. All our online donations are processed through PayPal's secure server (but you do not need a PayPal account). Amount:

Thank you for supporting Pattern Rescue!