How to keep a sewing journal to help track important information about each project. Learn how you can organize and become more efficient at sewing by keeping track of your projects.
I am pretty particular about my sewing. I keep a notebook (or ten) by my sewing machine and there are always photos on my phone and scraps of paper floating around with my notes on it for various sewing projects. I love to be able to track some information so as to make repeating the project much easier. It’s a big part of the reason I blog… mostly for my own personal use so I can easily look things up.
There are certain things that I like to keep track of, such as:
- What type of needle did I use?
- What settings were my stitches at?
- What WERE those stupid measurements?!
- What WAS my overall goal here again?!
Why Keep a Sewing Journal?
There are many reasons you might want to keep a journal for your sewing projects. I’m an organizer and it makes my heart a bit happy to do it, but it’s also a useful thing to do. Here’s a few reasons why.
- Finishing Unfinished Projects: One of the many issues that I have is that I often start several different projects at once. I might leave several of them unfinished to rush through a fourth project that has a higher priority. Later, when I return to my project, I forget the important details of my project.
- Repeating a Project: If I sew something that I love, I often want to repeat it. Having a sewing journal allows me to look back and see exactly what I did and repeat it.
- Tracking for a Blog or Business: If you’re like me and have a blog, it’s nice to have all of the information for a project written down somewhere so you can type it up as a blog post eventually.
- Happiness Factor: Is it just me or is it so satisfying to look back over finished projects? When I keep the item for myself, I can continue to enjoy it, but sometimes I gift items. I like to look back on old photos of projects and pat myself on the back a little. Haha.
- Inspiration: Looking back on old finished projects can help give you inspiration and ideas for a new project. Or maybe you’re just not feeling particularly inspired, but you want to sew. Start looking through your unfinished projects in the sewing journal and maybe something will inspire you that day.
Free Sewing Journal Printable
I created a printable to make that process better and more organized so I don’t find slips of paper months later that I needed to write a blog post.
Get the FREE Sewing Journal Printable Here!
Keeping an Electronic Sewing Journal
Eventually I talked to my husband though about creating an app to track these things. I was struggling because I couldn’t write down inspiration web links or take pictures on a piece of paper. I was also concerned about using up lots of printer ink, paper, and natural resources. And I had a lot of browser tabs open on my phone with inspiration ideas for things I needed to make.
He put together this really amazing phone app, Sew Organized, for me that is now available FREE on the Android Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Obviously the app is able to offer a bunch more features than a simple printable can. You can input whichever details you want for your project.
Details you can track:
- Project Photo
- Project Name and Notes
- Supplies
- Measurements
- References (ie. a link to an inspiration tutorial)
- Costs
- Due Date
The project can be marked completed when finished. You can also set a due date and the app will give you notifications so you won’t let projects slip into the abyss that is your sewing room.
There are some other fun aspects of the app such as the Inspirations section, as well as areas to track your fabric hoard (cough, collection) and measurements.
Download it on the Android Play Store | Apple App Store
If you love sewing, make sure to check out my posts: How to Choose a Sewing Machine | How to Babyproof a Sewing Room | Tips for Upcycling and Decluttering Clothing
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