Organizing my sewing life: why I love (and NEED) my sewing journal
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2024
- Discover the benefits of a sewing journal! Learn why I can’t live without mine, and how it's become an important part of my creative sewing process, organization, and growth over time. This simple tool can be a game-changer for your focus and motivation. Peek inside mine and get inspired to start your own sewing journal! 📖
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel for more sewing tips and tricks! ❤️
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📕 SUPPLIES SHOWN: 👇🏼
(The larger notebook size I love is harder to find than it used to be. 🫤)
📖 My favorite sewing journal (the thick one): amzn.to/3oTVp82
📖 My second favorite (the thinner one): amzn.to/3p3I1y6
(Affiliate links-I may earn a tiny commission if you make a purchase, which helps support the channel. 🙂)
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Music: CZcams Audio Library
Sound effects: Zapsplat.com
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:20 Benefits of a sewing journal
01:26 Showing off my sewing notebook
02:25 Look inside my sewing journal
07:41 How I document extensive projects
09:03 Why a sewing journal can help you
#sewingtools #sewingtips #vintagesewing - Jak na to + styl
![Reacting to the Official Anti-Planner [ft. Dani Donovan]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uzd_ENUNDjU/mqdefault.jpg)
Check the description if you love the look of my notebook, I linked the ones I use and love. 🥰🥰
I love this brand of notebook too :D
@@Plookiss They're so worth it!
I keep a craft journal as I jump from project to project. So I put a colour coded table of contents at the front of my notebook. One colour for sewing, one for recipes, another for macrame projects, etc. I like having it all in one place so if I feel creative but directionless I have everything at my finger tips.
I have picked up a bunch of tips for my journal, which I started a few years ago, again. Thank you♥️😊♥️
I love this idea and I realized that I use my blog as my sewing journal :) I get hardly any readers at all anymore (I didnt post for like 2 years) but I started it up again as a way to document my makes and I always put what adjustments I make on there. Its been very handy to refer back to when I want to use a pattern again.
Now I do, thanks to you!😊
Yay, you're welcome! :)
I love my notebook I really like to include pictures of the pattern and the finished project along with my notes and fabric swatch
I've never gotten organized enough to include pictures but love the idea!
Thanks for sharing! You explain it so well! I totally need to do this - what a time saver - and a much better process than the scraps of notes floating and drifting around my sewing area!
Thank you for this! I was intrigued when you gave us a glimpse in an earlier video. I wish I’d done this YEARS ago, but you’ve got me doing this NOW. So many good tips and hints.
Oh I'm so glad that you were able to follow through with your intrigue from a previous video! 😁 There's no time like the present to start--hope you enjoy it!
I love making sewing journals too. I like to add a photo of the end garment too, important notes and small details like special thread number or something like that. It's great for your own research and fun to look back into, the memories and the appreciation of sewvolution, it's priceless 😊.
Yes, I love it! That's a great idea to include a photo, I've never gotten myself organized enough to do that but what a lovely thing to include.
I get really inspired with process videos, so thank you! I’m gonna get back into journaling my sewing, which I haven’t done in about a year. I love how it keeps the brain more organized as I can get tempted by anything laying around! Thanks for your thoughtful videos!
Thank you! It definitely helps keep me more organized, and I really feel it when I leave a bunch of blank pages like I've done recently. But I wanted to be honest about my own pitfalls in the process. 🤣
I only recently started keeping a journal, about a year or two ago. It’s such a useful resource! I was astonished how often i refer to it.
I also keep a separate notebook with details and a sample of the overlocker & coverstitch settings. I just sew away my on off cuts until i get it right, then neatly cut out a tidy rectangle, about 5 x 10cm or so, big enough to comfortably see. I sticky tape the top edge across the page so i can flip the fabric over to see the back of the stitching as well.
I don’t do it with every project, just with every new type of fabric. Especially knits, they hate me.
I tend to write myself notes on the pattern or on random notebooks and sticky notes that I promptly lose - I definitely will take a page out of your book (hehe) and start my own sewing journal too.
Definitely do take a page from my book, ha ha! I hear you on the lost notes. For me, I put a piece of scrap paper into fabric when I wash it, telling me the yardage. Which I always intend to write down in my journal. Except sometimes I'll find a random scrap with yardage written on it and have no idea where it came from. Not very helpful at that point. 😂
I have a couple fountain pens but I don't write much in this digital world so I don't get to use them as often as I'd like (or when I do have the opportunity to write, I'm writing on something not fountain pen ink friendly). I already thought I should start doing this, but once you mentioned your pens, I was completely sold!
YES! Perfect excuse for a nice pen! I don't really have any reason to use fountain pens any other time either, so it's a great place to use them if you love them.
Loving your YT channel!!! I've often been tempted to have a sewing journal but never got round to it and knowing me it would just be a swatch of the fabric and 'Coat' ( or whatever the garment was ) at the top of the page. I do write notes on my patterns but they're often very vague - 'Use sleeve from shirt' without actually saying which shirt! Sheesh! Talk about making it harder for myself! 🙂
Thanks so much on my channel, happy to have you here! I did show my "dirty laundry" if you will, with my pages that really don't have much more than a fabric swatch and the word coat. 🤣 Even if I'm not perfect at documenting, all the times I DO document things heavily, it's more than paid off in the future!
@@tashacouldmakethat Haha! Yes - I really thought that was great which made me think 'Hmmmmm all my pages would be like that!' :-D Looking forward to the next video!
Great idea! I think I'll try that!!
I journal as I am constructing my garment, but I keep it in the envelope with my pattern. Sometimes the notes remind me why I do or don't want to make that garment again!
I just bought an old school trapper keeper cuz it makes me happy to keep my sewing notes. I have it divided alphabetically so I can keep all the notes for one pattern in one spot. Invaluable cuz I forget stuff and I can jot down notes for next iterations for it while I’m test driving creations out in the wild.
Oh YES! Trapper Keeper for the win. Loved those, and what a fun thing to keep your sewing notes in. Sounds like a great system!
My son is enamoured with fountain pens. I’ve been told that the inks are varied and colourful.
Love your sewing journal. I started journaling a while ago for everyday life. Then started one to keep track of ideas I have. While I always wrote notes when modifying patterns I never kept a journal of what I was making. It was kids clothing at the time but all is lost to time. Some of the things I made didn’t even get a photo which is sad. But then at the time I was sewing because I couldn’t afford to buy the expensive clothes that didn’t fall apart after a wash or three.
I always struggled with journaling regularly. I went through a short period of time when I did, but I often just felt paralyzed with the expectation of a journal and things not being perfect (the perfectionist in me). I think starting such low stakes with pencil and a cheap spiral bound notebook for school really helped break me of that. And now I really do love that it's an excuse to bust out a nice ink and pen. (When I'm not busy getting ink all over my fingers, which I did in the middle of filming, lol.)
@@tashacouldmakethat I started the daily journal to keep track of things going on. Mostly tracking stuff my sleep and exercise but I also have a soap opera that I unfortunately have to document. My daily stuff is called done list and rambling which works for me cause I’m ever thinking “I didn’t really do anything”. My sewing journal is mostly ideas from CZcams and easy patterns that are shown. Like the pirate shirt I made my grandson for Halloween one year. There’s an other for some of the stuff I’ve made.
I’ve just signed the grandson and a friend up for sewing lessons. Found someone who has been teaching for years. I wonder if should get them journals so they can write about what they will be making. Oh and maybe a sewing machine for just them.
what you said at minute 7:00 - I had the exact situation today, trying to find where i had put a mash-up bodice! what a coincidence! :)
I started using a word template which I print out and write on, machine settings, construction notes etc. I also keep an A5 bujo style sewing journal with fun challenges to try as well.
Very organized! Probably keeps you on track a little better than how I freestyle it, lol.
I love this idea! It really appeals to my nerdy self, LOL. I sew a lot and make a lot of adjustments and mash patterns, so this would be a really helpful practice ;)
Thanks! Since I make so many adjustments and sew things multiple times it's one of the reasons I like keeping it in a book vs. pattern envelope. 😊
I started mine at the beginning of my sewing journey (2 years ago) and I love to look back so I don't have to make the same mistakes.
I even write the time down how long a project took. So I know how many nights I have to spend on a project 🤗 (I only sew at night).
Good thing to remember, how long it took, in case you want to make something similar again!
I never remember any adjustments 😆 i need to start a book for sure
Ha ha then definitely! 😁
I think I definitely need to do this more in the future, but also include at the same time a moment to reorganize the pattern / patterns I used right after I am done instead of letting them just pile up a bit randomly in my stash: I often take notes on the patterns themselves for adjustments or just changes, especially if I retrace them and don't always remember why I did that much later on. Doing both together with a journal would make SO MUCH sense!
Thanks for the tip and sharing your process!! :)
Thanks! And that's a great idea. I can fall into that sometimes too. I think I'll sew something next, so I leave the pieces out, but sew something else instead... I'm usually pretty good at keeping things tidy, but recently I found a skirt piece in an entirely different pattern envelope. Oops! A good moment to take some time and reflect and organize, so you can start clean with the next thing.
So helpful. Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome!
I retrospectively started doing this recently. I'd taken pictures of all my makes over the last 3 years and printed them out, stuck them in a book with swatches and the intention to add more as I go along for the recent projects,, with more details and notes. As yet this has not happened, but maybe I'll get back to it now. I definitely don't remember anything
Yeah thinking I'll remember and actually remembering are two very different things!
Totally impressed that as a leftie you can write with a fountain pen - I would just end up with a huge inky smudge! I've kept a journal (in pencil!) for a couple of years now, and find it really useful.
Well I still get ink all over my fingers if it's any consolation. 😂
thank you I just started a sewing journal thanks to you
Aw great, love to hear that 🥰
I started sewing literally a month before the first lockdown; when we all became enclosed in our homes I had some fabric, basic kit for hand sewing things together and no budget to buy downloadable or vintage patterns. So I fell into ye old sewing YT rabbit hole... The only way I could keep track of the information was to journal it. Started with a circle skirt so each step, from placket to hemming was thoroughly mapped out into step by step instructions. It was the only sane way I could think of to figure things out. Especially when it came to drafting a bodice block.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I've been "planning" to make a sewing journal for.... quite a few years now 😆😆 Though, I have started working on a pattern book, where I have all the sewing (and 1 for knitting) patter, that I have. With pictures, fabric requirements, if it's printed, assembled, still just digital and so on. So I can easily flip through my "own" catalogue and see what I have😁
Nice way to track things! I know I wouldn't ever get that organized. 😂
Just found your channel, now a subscriber x
Thanks for subscribing, and welcome!
I've tried a consolidated sewing journal, but I've found it's more functional for me to record any notes or adjustments in the manilla envelope I'm storing the pattern pieces in. 😂 I can never find the project page I want otherwise.
Totally legit way to handle it!
I keep a sewing journal. I use an 8 x 10 spiral-bound art journal I picked up at a craft store. I always log the pattern, the fabric, the date, and any details. I also include a 4x4 inch swatch of the fabric and a picture of the completed garment. I also like to note how many times I have used each pattern. It helps me finish my projects because I won't enter projects in my journal until they are complete and photo ready..
Just started my sewing journal after 10 years of sewing. I like to draw my finished dresses, but never make notes before or during. I had so many adjustments in my latest makes that I would easily forget. Thanks for sharing your thinking while note taking . It’s been fun watching your videos after years of following you!❤
I'm not that into drawing but love the idea of drawings of your finished projects in your journal. And thanks for the kind words! 😊
I would love to HAVE a sewing journal. In theory I do have one - but I never really get around to write the importent parts. Right now it does look mostly like the last few pages you showed 😂
A theoretical sewing journal, if you will. I obviously get that. 🤣
You rock. Nice to meet you!
Thank you, welcome to the channel! ☺️
Love the separate journal and pink pen for lingerie projects. I'd be interested in future videos about making vintage pattern lingerie and bras. I'd love your take on them.
Thanks! I plan to go over making a bra in a video for sure at some point. But my lingerie sewing is fairly boring: I sew the same hacked together vintage-style bra over and over (but just like a dress the fabric makes them all unique) and very non-vintage underwear with printed knit fabrics like unicorns and planets. 😂
Love the pink lingerie book! So sweet! :D
Thanks! I really like having a separate fun one for that. 🥰
@@tashacouldmakethat really makes sense for reference too, having all those ones together.
Hi, I loved your video, very insightful! I personally keep track of my french vintage patterns in Trello (it's an app I use for work normally). I add notes to remember variations in sizing and to aadd pictures of the finished garment. I also have a free journal to remember all the not fun stuff I have to do, like mending my children clothes. :)
Thanks! I've actually used Trello before to help plot out and organize major projects like coats!
I have to write notes on my pattern 😂
I have some note on my modern patterns, or post-its too. 😁
My recipes are a binder with clear page protectors - and whatever the recipe was written on shoved into them. I add notes about oven temperatures and what apt I was living in that was relevant to, that a certain person prefers a particular modification, what effect bothering or not bothering to do a particular step has... and I've re-formatted a number of recipes for the order of operations that makes sense for my "dirty the fewest dishes possible" strategies.
My personal sewing notes... far less robust.
Commercial stuff is disorganized, but noted at length. I have notes about stitch settings for particular trim I use for commercial projects - since I'm on a deadline, and if something comes apart later, it's a problem - not just an addition to my mending pile.
I've also photocopied pattern instructions so I can take the copy and rearrange the instructions, (literal cut and paste in sone cases), add notes, and write snark about why this instruction is bad... while not losing any info if I should need to refer to the original.
And there's copious documentation related to the process that led to the outcome pictured on the website. If it's something the client can see in the sample images, I'm now stuck with it, and need to be able to replicate that. Regardless of what the pattern maker thought I ought to do. As for some of the interior assembly... that evolves as I figure out better options. So I only bother to note that if try something particularly novel. Although, I now take detailed photos of both inside and outside before items go for shipping. I realized by item 6 I no longer had any clue who got what design, or how I'd assembled it. And as reports of wear and tear were coming back from the testers 3, 6, 12 months later... it makes a huge difference to know how I assembled that particular item, that particular time, and which supplier's fold over elastic it was... because they are not created equal...
I love this and recording your sewing … What Bra patterns do you sew as I’d love to get in to this too X
I don't really use a pattern exactly, I've kind of mashed up a pattern with cups I traced off from a favorite bra. But I plan to do a video on that at some point. 😊
I keep my notes in a journal much like yours, but smaller. I have an index at the front, and a list of my fabric stash at the back, and a list of UFOs. Curious to know how you attach the fabric swatches. I intend to attach a photo of the finished project but...
I use an acid-free glue to attach the little swatches. I like the idea of including photos but I know I'd never get around it it either. 🤣
I love this! What sort of stick-um do you used to attach the fabric swatches to the paper?
Thanks! Archival safe glue. Actually a super old one, so just found out Elmer's makes archival safe glue sticks so bought them to try out!
Ooh lurex! I'm about to tackle that myself. I'm so scared lol. Question for you, was that lurex project you did a knit project or did you treat it as a woven?
Fun! I used a lurex cotton blend (I actually linked to the fabric in my Viva Las Vegas roundup video czcams.com/video/ouloO-1K1K0/video.html ) so it was a woven fabric. If it was a stretch woven I'd just treat it as a woven still but you could always test out if you need to do anything special like use a ballpoint needle or if it's really tightly woven a Microtex needle. I think I just basically treated it like cotton!