I have been thinking a lot about this lately, think I am going to start including the pattern number in the title. I always include it in the tags, but have recently realized that this doesn't show up in the search engines off the Etsy site. I also put the year in my title, and the decade in my tags, but think I am going to start putting the decade in the title instead. I think lots of people search by decade. If something is a pretty iconic representation of a fashion era or fad, like Mod, or Boho, or Rockabilly, then I include that in the tags, too.
Also, I was SOO excited when Etsy finally created a search your sold items feature, but then I realized you could only search the title so having the pattern number in the title is helpful that way as well.
I always describe any flaws and put a PLEASE NOTE in caps to get the buyer's attention. If it has a major flaw, like a missing envelope, I put that in the title so that a repeat customer doesn't just snag it without reading the listing.
Otherwise, I always put size, measurements, year, condition and a description of the items the pattern will make. In my life before patterns I was a writer and I can't help editorializing a bit here and there but try to keep it brief.
