How to Keep a Sewing Diary: A Simple Way to Record Your Sewing Projects

I have been sewing for years and one thing I wish I would started doing sooner is keeping a sewing diary.

The longer you sew, the more you realise how much you forget. That project you made two years ago might still be a favourite but can you remember the size, fabric, adjustments or why you loved the fit?

I usually can't and that's why I think keeping a sewing diary is so useful, especially when you sew regularly.

What I Think Is Actually Worth Recording

I don't think you need to document absolutely everything. The whole diary thing, for me, it's about recording the things I'm likely to want to know when I come back to a project later.

The pattern, the size, my measurements, the fabric (with swatch) and where I bought it, how much I used and any changes I made.

Then I will add anything else that I think future me might need to know.

Was the fabric horrible to sew? Did the pattern come up big? Did I find an easier way of doing something? Did I love the finished garment? Questions like that.

Those are the things I want to remember.

If I used a lining or more than one fabric, I'll add those swatches too.

There is something about having the actual fabric there that I really like. A note saying "blue cotton" isn't quite the same when you are trying to remember what you used years later.

And I wouldn't skip writing down any adjustments.

Patterns rarely stay exactly as they are when they reach my sewing machine. I might shorten something, change the fit, add pockets or do something completely differently from the instructions.

At the time, I know exactly what was done. A year later? Absolutely not.

So I write it down.

Keep It Simple and Convenient 

I think these are probably the most important things.

If keeping a sewing diary starts feeling like homework, you are probably going to stop doing it.

I don't write pages and pages about every project. Some makes get a few notes. Others get much more because there was more to remember.

I actually used a notebook for the first few years, but I would often forget to write things down because I didn't have any prompts reminding me what was worth recording.

The sewing journal I use has all of that and more. 

When I set out trying to find the most efficient and convenient (also beautifully designed!), I wanted the prompts to be there so I could just sit down after a project and fill in the things I knew I would want to remember.

And I think that's the real benefit of keeping a sewing diary. You are not trying to create a perfect record of everything you've ever sewn.

You are making things easier for yourself next time.

 

The Longer You Sew, the More Useful It Becomes

This is something I didn't really appreciate when I first started.

One project doesn't give you much of a record. But after 10, 20 or 50 projects, you have got something completely different.

You start seeing which patterns you keep coming back to, which fabrics you love, what adjustments you regularly make and even how your sewing has changed over time.

That's probably my favourite thing about it.

I'm not just recording what I have made. I'm building my own little sewing reference book.

And I know I'll be very glad I did when future me is standing there holding a pattern and thinking, "What size did I make this last time?"

I would much rather open my sewing diary and have the answer.

You can take a look at My Sewing Journal here →

 

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx