Paper Supplies

Tissue Paper

Perhaps your first thought is that tissue paper is best for creating temporary or preliminary patterns, but when it comes to sewing, that is not the case at all. 

Tissue paper also helps when you are working with particularly difficult fabrics, such as oilcloth and vinyl. It provides a slippery barrier that prevents sticking on the presser foot and throat plate while stitching, as well as stability for thinner fabrics like silk that tend to slide. Knits are protected from picking, running, and other damage during the stitching process. It also works as a seam stabilizer and can be easily torn away when it’s no longer needed.

Dotted Or Alphabet Printer Paper For Retracing Patterns

Dotted paper, also commonly known as marking paper, alphabet paper, or alphanumeric paper, is your best choice for tracing, retracing, altering, and marking patterns that need complex alterations. This brighter white paper contains small blue letters, numbers, or other dot markers at one-inch intervals, creating a grid for accurate pattern making.

This type of paper is slightly heavier than tissue paper, stronger than tracing paper, but thin enough to see through to trace lines. Pencil marks also erase easily from this paper, and it is easy to cut without tears or curling edges. However, it’s not quite thick enough for making patterns.

Our dotted printer paper comes in 48” wide and 60” wide rolls, so your patterns will all fit, and you’ll rarely need more room to trace or retrace.

Brown Craft Paper For Drawing Patterns

Brown craft paper is useful for so many things in your home or shop, and it comes in widths from 48” to 66”, and in rolls of 800 feet (you can also buy smaller rolls of 60” wide in 10 yards or 30 feet). At 40# thickness, it’s slightly thinner than paper grocery bags and more flexible.

Craft paper is used in shops to underlay fabrics to ensure correct stitching, as well as creating patterns for your designs. You can also use it to preserve tissue patterns that you frequently use because it’s stiffer than other papers; it’s also ideal for making patterns from existing garments.

Do you ship your own products? Craft paper is also great for packaging and wrapping merchandise for shipment.

Plotter Paper

If you use CAD pattern software to design your products, you probably have a large plotter printer to go with it. Much like blueprints and engineering drawings, you’ll need a specific type of paper for this big printer. Similar to the paper used for blueprints, plotter paper is available from 36” wide to 72” wide, in a variety of roll lengths.

You can also use plotter paper for hand-sketched patterns. Because it is more translucent than the brown craft paper, it’s easier for tracing, while also being more durable than tissue or tracing paper.

Manila Pattern Paper

Many sewers will claim, hands down, that manila pattern paper is the best paper for making patterns. Like office folders, manila pattern paper is the 2X (0.010") thickness to make it strong, but flexible. This durable, sturdy paper is perfect for patternmaking and allows for accurate marking. Favored by the professional trade, as well as home and hobby sewists, this paper is thicker than tracing paper. You can finalize your patterns for regular, repeated use. 

This paper is the same one used in production patterns in the industry and is also suitable for use with heavy vinyl, nylon, and leather. It's smooth, but cuts clean with sharp edges, and is heavy enough to use to make templates.

Pattern Cards

How do you keep track of your patterns, notes, design elements, notions, and alterations? Are you using scratch paper or the backs of pattern pieces? Or are you just trying to keep track through memory? That’s an easy way to forget something the next time you use a pattern.

We have a better solution.

Pattern cards are an easy way to keep track of everything you and your staff need to keep a list of everything that’s relevant to each of your designs. From pattern pieces to instructions, notions, fabric types, and other notes, these simple cards are key to keeping everything organized. Use them in the shop with the pattern, and for giving specific instructions to the factory that creates your products for sale.

Our pattern cards come in packs of 10 or packs of 100, so you’ll always have them available. Order just what you need, or order a stack to keep them handy.

Shop GoldStar Tool For Your Sewing Pattern Paper And Craft Paper Supplies

We offer a range of papers in various widths and lengths for different sewing and professional needs.

If you need help selecting the right papers, or help with any of our products in our web store, give us a call us at 1-800-868-4419. We’ll be happy to discuss what you need and help you select the right sewing tools, machines, parts, notions, and supplies.

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What Are Sewing Scissors Used For?

Fabric-specific scissors and shears are used for one thing: cutting fabric.

They should cut smoothly and cleanly and feel comfortable when you use them. You should always use the appropriate type of scissors and shears for your fabric if you want them to last and you want your fabric to cut cleanly.

Using your sewing scissors to cut anything but fabric is a quick way to ruin a good, and possibly expensive, pair of scissors. Keep them sheathed or otherwise properly stored when not in use and always use a different pair of scissors for paper and other non-fabric cutting applications.

Choosing the Right Scissors for Your Fabric

Different types of scissors have specific functions, such as spring-mounted thread clippers, which are perfect for opening buttonholes and snipping off thread ends in everyday sewing. Dressmaker shears are designed to cut just about any type of fabric, from fine silks and cotton to the heaviest denim and leather.  Synthetics tend to shred a little with dressmaker shears and standard fabric scissors, so serrated-edged scissors are a much better choice. These Mundial shears have cushioned handles and micro-serrated stainless steel edges that ensure clean cuts without slipping.

What to Look for In A Pair of Scissors or Shears + -

Of course, you want to look for a good quality brand. At Goldstar Tool, we carry brands like Mundial, Wescott, Wiss, and our own Goldstar brand of scissors. Scissors can be expensive, but price isn’t always a good indicator of how good they are. Just because they are pricey does not automatically make them good. Stainless steel forged blades are strong, sharp, and will last a long time. When choosing a good pair of blades, you should ask yourself… Are they comfortable? If they don’t feel right when you’re cutting, they’re not right for you. A good pair of shears should be sharp and cut cleanly through your fabric from the start to the end. Of course, with use, they may need sharpening, which should restore them to a like-new condition. However, if they don’t cut well when they’re new, sharpening really won’t help, and it may be time to invest in a better pair. When you buy new shears or scissors, ask yourself… Is it the right type for your needs? Do you need a longer set of dressmaker shears, or would a pair of offset scissors work better? Will they cut thin fabrics as well as thicker fabrics, or do you need a separate pair for heavier materials? Remember that a good pair of scissors is an investment, so put some thought into your choice and be sure to take care of them. Repeatedly buying inexpensive scissors that you throw away can add up to a costly expense. 

Types of Shears + -

Dressmaker shears are the most important scissors to have. Heavier than traditional scissors, they’re designed to cut fabrics of all types and typically do so very well. These Mundial shears are engineered for right-handed or left-handed users, and come in 6”, 7” and 8” models (including left-handed 8”.) Our Goldstar brand 8-inch forged stainless steel shears cut the entire length of the blade, all the way to the tip. If you prefer pinking shears, we have two types from the GoldStar line. Our heavy-duty shears have classic metal handles, and the other has cushioned plastic handles. For the quilter, Mundial professional quilting scissors in either 5 ½,” 8 ½, or 9 ½” offer soft grip cushioned insert handles for comfort and extended use.  Do you enjoy applique work? Our Mundial applique scissors help you make quick work of trimming around appliques, as well as evenly trimming Are buttonholes your nemesis? Our exclusive buttonhole scissors have a screw that stops you from cutting through your carefully made buttonholes. Safer than regular scissors or a scalpel, the screw limits your cutting length, so you cut exactly the length you need.

Other Cutting Products + -

Keep your scissors handy with a leather belt/hip holster, animal print belt holster or a lanyard that hangs around your neck. These will keep your shears handy and always available. Rotary cutters are a great way to do precise, fast cuts with ease. Goldstar Tool’s rotary cutters make fast work of whatever you need to cut. We also carry the replacement blades for all of our rotary cutting tools. Straight paper cutting is fast and easy with Westcott Titanium Bonded Paper Trimmer. It trims up to ten sheets of paper quickly with a completely safe, no-touch covered blade assembly.

Caring for Your Shears and Scissors

Caring for Your Shears and Scissors

Keeping Your Shears and Scissors in Tip Top Shape + -

The first thing you should NEVER do is cut anything but fabric with your scissors and shears intended for fabrics. The second is to never cut into a pin or needle since it will damage them permanently. When you’re finished using your shears, the best thing you can do is wipe the blades with a dry cloth to remove lint, threads, dust, and other small particles that can make them harder to use. Synthetic fibers can also dull the blades. Clean away the dry particles after every use. Keep your shears and scissors working smoothly with a small drop of quality sewing machine oil in the fulcrum or the pivot screw. Carefully open and close them a few times (point down) to distribute the oil, and wipe them, spreading some of the remnant oil over the blades. You want to oil your scissors and shears about once a month, more if you use them daily.  Of course, be careful not to drop them, or they could be damaged to the point of being unworkable.

Sharpening Your Shears and Scissors + -

When they just don’t cut like they used to, sharpening is a must to prevent damage to your fabrics. You may have heard that cutting through aluminum foil steel wool and/or sandpaper as a way to quickly sharpen your dulled scissors. Despite their popularity, we don’t recommend these methods. Think about it—if you shouldn’t use your sewing shears and scissors for paper and other things, or attempt to cut through a pin or needle, why would you use either of these to sharpen a blade? There are better ways to sharpen your shears at home or in your commercial shop. Need something small and efficient to keep around? These handy Scissors And Blade Sharpeners are economical, convenient, and sharpen on the fly. Our ExtremEdge V2 Knife and Shear Sharpener is a fast, easy way to sharpen non-serrated scissors and knives safely. The bottom section holds it in place for simple one-handed operation, and it’s sold for a reasonable price. If you have more than a few pairs of scissors, sending them out for sharpening can shut down operations. Our Wolff Industrial Twice as Sharp Scissor Sharpening System is an investment that will save you and your workers time and money, and keep your scissor arsenal sharp and cutting perfectly every time. Priced at under $500, you can sharpen your tools in-house whenever you need to. Plus, it comes with instructions so that anyone can learn to use it for fast on-demand sharpening.  Pinking shears, like our own soft-handled or heavy-duty shears, are best sharpened by a professional. There’s no reason to keep working with dull scissors and shears. Get one of our exclusive sharpening tools today.