So, while I wasn't really paying attention, you all have added nearly SEVEN HUNDRED patterns to the
Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki! That is, frankly, awesome.
Even more awesome is that Janet at
Lanetz Living has offered a $100 gift certificate for a wiki contest! (UPDATE: Rita at
Cemetarian has offered a $50 gift certificate for 2nd place!)
So here's how the wiki contest is going to work -- I'd love to get EVEN MORE PATTERNS into the wiki, because the bigger it is, the more useful it will be. So let's aim for 3000 patterns by midnight, Central Time, Jan 1, 2008. If we hit that goal, I'll select ONE pattern page randomly from all those created and reward the creator with that spiffy Lanetz Living gift certificate!
Obviously, the more patterns you upload, the greater your chances of winning ...
Quite a few people have emailed me, saying that they have a lot of patterns they'd like to add to the wiki, but they don't know how and they're worried about messing things up. To which I say: it's a wiki! Don't worry too much about messing things up. Wikis are both fluid and resilient; anything you "break" can be fixed in a matter of moments. But if you're still worried (or if you're not a "let's go in and mess around and see what happens" kind of person), here's a little quick how-to on adding pages and patterns to the wiki.
The first thing you should do, if at all possible, is log in. (It's okay to edit anonymously, but for practical reasons, I can't award the prize to Anonymous. You're in it for purely altruistic reasons if you edit anonymously.)
After you login in, create a page! A page starts with a pattern, and a pattern starts with a number. To start a new page for a new pattern, use this box:
This is the box on the Home page, on the lower left. If you use this box, then the page headers/dividers (Links to reviews/blog posts, Sources/Vendors, Gallery, and Wishlist) will show up on the page automatically.
Type your pattern name and number (e.g., Vogue 5380) into the box. That will start a new page called "Vogue 5380". If there is ANOTHER pattern already entered that has the same manufacturer and number, and yours is different, call it "Vogue 5380 A" (B, C, etc.).
Don't put extra information into the page name, like a date or a description. Just the pattern maker and number. Some early patterns didn't list makers, so you can just use a number (or call them Newspaper Pattern).
Now your new page should open! Then you can add an image. Look for the link that says "Insert Image". If you don't see the link, you're probably not logged in. Only logged-in users can upload an image. On my page it looks like this:
Clicking this will give you a "Browse" box -- find the pattern image on your computer and click on it. Then upload it.
You will then get an option box to choose whether to upload a thumbnail (small) image, or a full-size. Unless your image is HUGE, off the screen huge, please upload the full-size. Caption it with the pattern name and number:
Your page should reload and you'll see these tags inserted on the page for the pattern image:
[[Image:Vogue5380.jpg|Vogue 5380]]
If you are linking to a page on your blog or your site, you can paste that link in under the "= Links to reviews/blog posts =" or "= Sources/Vendors =" lines. (If you are so inclined, you can link to any page where I've written about a pattern -- to find it, Google ["Pattern Number" site:dressaday.com], which should turn up any pages on my site where that pattern is referenced.)
Now you're nearly done! All that's left is to add any notes or categories. If you feel like typing in the notes from the pattern ("
Simplicity Pattern 1732 ... This includes; 3 variations of this smart slim skirt. View 1 has high rise, shaped waistline and suspenders. View 2 boasts top-stitching and tab detailed pleat at left front. View 3 features a back kick pleat and tab trim at hipline.") go ahead!
You can also add categories: Some good ones for any pattern include the pattern manufacturer (Vogue), the year or decade if known (1950s, 1954), what kind of garment it is (dresses, jackets), any design features (pockets, collars), etc. Remember that the point of categories is to make "buckets" to sort patterns with. So if you'd like to be able to see a list of all patterns in the wiki that have french cuffs, you have to TAG all the patterns in the wiki that have french cuffs! [Not all categories are worthwhile: some bad categories would be "date of upload" (because it's in the history of the page), your name (ditto), "I like this" (not a useful category for OTHER people), etc.]
Then just hit SAVE and you're done! You made a pattern page! Right now uploading a new pattern takes me about three minutes. Depending on your internet connection, size of your pattern image files, and how many other people are uploading, you might take a teeny bit longer.
You might be asking "I'd love to help, but I don't really have a lot of pattern images ... what can I do?" Lots! You can add categories, you can 'tidy' pages that don't have the right headers, and you can visit the list of sellers on the
home page and upload their images! (If you do that, download the images to your hard drive first -- otherwise you can't find them when you Browse -- and be sure to link the seller's page to the wiki page.)
Go upload patterns, have fun, and figure out how you're going to spend that $100 at Lanetz Living. I'm not eligible to win, of course, but if I were, I'd probably start with
this one (the one on the left)!
Labels: contest, howto, wiki
