Meh.
The fine folks who run my local Value Village have caught on to a practice the VV in my hometown has long practiced—bundling up the patterns in little plastic baggies so you have to buy four extras to get the one you want.
As a result, all these “lovelies” joined me the other day just so I could take home this Project Runway pattern:
Win.
Also, this way you can’t really check the envelope contents before buying. Fortunately for me Simplicity 2508 turned out to be uncut in factory folds, but I didn’t know that until I was home.
They are brats, aren’t they? (and as if I needed another jacket pattern)
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Bamn Dastards! So tricksy of them. Also, what a weird combo platter of patterns – 4 cold weather ones and one children’s summer dress.
Yeah… I’m actually surprised they’re as themed as they are.
Great haul! I may have to check out the jacket/coat patterns, since I haven’t managed to find a mid-thigh length winter-weight one in RTW. What sizes are these patterns?
The Project Runway one goes up to a 12 (which might be good with a substantial FBA). The boxy 80s coat goes up to a size medium, not sure what the measurements are. Then there’s that Jalie pattern you lent me… 😉
Oh No. I hope they don`t start doing that here. Don`t tell them, okay? What is up with the schizophrenic pattern mix?
Yeah, you have better prices on them too, I think. I won’t tell if you don’t (but I can’t promise the managers won’t talk :P)
Oh that is no good. Maybe worth asking them not to do that? Heck its worth asking.
I wish I were better at being the squeaky wheel… it would be worth a try, although at a big chain place like VV, maybe not so much.
When the MCC nearest me doesn’t like to sell patterns that are cut – even hard to find ones that people (me for instance) may have been looking for for ages. Instead, they use them to wrap the breakables (I once spent an afternoon ironing out the cut pattern pieces that my Pyrex mixing bowl was wrapped in for the trip home … it was a simplicity Holly Hobby clothing ensemble from the early 7o’s that I had dear memories of due to my Mom sewing the whole lot up for my doll ‘Marigold’ who happened to be one of the wee Holly Hobby rag dolls that were popular at the time. If you are old enough to remember the show ‘Polka dot door’ you know where the name ‘Marigold’ came from 🙂 )
I hope they don’t start bagging them here – they have loads of 80’s puffed sleeve/shoulder extended monstrosities that I would rather not be burdened with if I can help it.
M.L.
Ugh—not selling cut patterns? There would be hardly any to sell, then! The mennonite thrift place is a much better source of patterns than VV generally, anyway…
I never experienced Holly Hobby directly, but I had a Holly Hobby lunch-box, and maybe a doll, when I was a kid in the 80s.
I am hoping to snag that pattern this week. Joanne’s is having a sale on Simplicity $0.99. I am in the same boat of starting to have too many coat patterns.
Lol. $.99 is considerably less than I paid for the bundle, sigh. Although probably still cheaper than I could get it for new… we don’t get the ninety-nine cent sales up here.
My local thrift store does that too. Sneaky sneaky! I’m all about re-gifting those babies back to the goodwill though!
Yeah… next time I may just rip open the baggie and drop the unwanteds in the donation box on my way out. Or better yet, leave them on the counter…
That is sneaky! I hope they don’t catch on here. I’m about ready to do a great pattern purge.
Yeah, I’m starting to think that way. I hate getting rid of patterns, though…
So you can’t open the plastic bag to check the pieces? That would aggravate me. I’d definitely complain to the people who run the thrift place. Also, point out that you’d just have to redonate the patterns you don’t want — they dislike anything that means more work for them.
That coat pattern is lovely. I also think that the pattern for the family of fleece accessories might be useful with your girls.
Well, I could probably rip it open without being seen. I guess I’m just not really in the right mindset for civil disobedience ;). Although my irate side is tempted to start ripping open the bags and mixing and matching 😉
That is no fun! As if we all don’t have enough patterns already… now you have to buy ones you don’t want to get the ones you do? Silly.
And I have decided that one can NEVER have enough coat patterns.
Never enough? hmm, I like that philosophy…
Gah! I have to say, that always puts me off buying patterns at thrift shops. So far none of the ones that I frequent (err… that’s a joke: I haven’t been thrifting in well over a month. *sad face*) do that, but it seems to be more popular at the thrifts up north than down in the southern part of the state. (Really weird!)
I find it really weird how different stores in the same thrift chain (VV is big business with the thinnest charity veneer) operate in this regard. That regional variation you see is interesting, too.
I wouldn’t be at the thrift store nearly so often except that my daughter’s dance class is right nearby and it’s such a pain to drive all the way home only to turn around and come back…
Wow, that is an interesting way to sell patterns. Still, nice score on the Project Runway pattern.
Heh. “interesting.”
I do like that one pattern, though. And some of the others might be useful at some point…
I hate to say it about a pattern… But those top four would sweeten my summer compost pile quite well. 😉
LMAO! Makes me wish I had a compost…
My store started doing this a couple years ago, and it drives me nuts. I get sore fingers just trying to pull the patterns apart in the baggies to see them, and I hate how packs have different sizes. I am so bad, I brazenly rip the bags open if I can’t see what I need to see, I figure they are making me do it.
Yeah, I think I shall have to start doing this. I can see how the method lets them sell more things (especially marginal stuff) so I’m not surprised they do it… but it sure does suck from our end. 😛
That Made me chuckle!! But sometimes I think non sewers are completely unaware of what a “desirable” pattern is, so there is a possibility that they think they’re doing you a favour? ( but seriously?!!! Surely not with that collection!!)
I think they know exactly what they’re doing in this case :P… The price per pattern *is* theoretically a little better this way, but really it doesn’t add up. /sigh.
OH NO, my VVillages don’t do this. Yet.
My town’s VON thrift shop used to take the patterns apart and use them for wrapping paper, until I started asking them to save all the patterns for me, because I pay the big bucks (25 cents each!). On my last trip, I noticed that they have started displaying them for sale at $1 each. I guess they caught on.
That’s a crappy thing for them to do. Although I guess it’ll help clear out all their crappy patterns. 😛
But, I HAVE THAT JACKET PATTERN! In fact, I have the fabric to make a winter coat out of it. A winter coat I sort of desperately need right now, since I don’t actually own one. SO INSTEAD I keep making shirts. 😛
Still, I can’t wait to see what you make of it! You do jackets so nicely.
Grrr!!! Never seen that practiced, and I hope none of my faves catch on to this. I’d be trying to stealthily make a combo that I really wanted. I’ve had that jacket pattern for way too long, always talking smack about making a trench coat. Never actually making a trench coat.
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