Planners for Sewing & Everyday Life

An essential part of every new year...

Greetings!

Yes, I too am surprised to be here again so soon, but it's because the topic is sort of "time sensitive". 😉

Did you know that a 1997 calendar can be used for 2025?

I mean, I've always known that calendars can be reused in that sense, but 2024 was the first time that I ever actually did that.

A news story came to my attention last year that 2024=1996, so I dug through my collection of old calendars – I don't keep all of them, but the late 90s was a period during which I bought themed calendars according to my interests of the day – and came up with a pristine 1996 edition. It had never been written on, either, so it got hung up last year behind the door of our kitchen pantry and served its purpose for another year.

We are now far beyond the days when charities used to send out freebie calendars, so I was glad to have discovered that I have reusable calendars for the next five years.

Some time ago, I asked if any of my readers here were "old school" in the sense of using calendars and physical day planners. For a person who has owned a computer since 1986, it might surprise you that I prefer the paper method when it comes to keeping track of important events, dates and tasks. I find it hard to turn my trust over to an electronic device to manage my life in that sense.

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Every fall, I browse my local dollar store to pick up a new day planner, like the one shown at the top of this post. This particular style is one that I've used several times and apart from one niggling thing, it serves my needs. (What's that niggling thing? It doesn't have tabbed monthly calendar pages.)

It lays out a week in a two page spread, and the large coil ensures that it stays open flat. Each day has sufficient lines to record the basics of what I need to track. For day to day to-dos and appointments, it's totally functional. As a sewing or crafting/hobby planner, however, it's probably far from ideal.

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It is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their hearts than while so occupied.

– Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Do any of you use a planner to track and document your sewing projects?

A few years ago, I came across this Simplicity Vintage notebook in a local discount shop. Of course it would catch my eye, and at $3 it was something that I just tossed into my basket without too much thought. To this day, though, it still hasn't been put to use.

My sewing project book (bottom) and Simplicity Vintage notebook...

That being said, it's just a lined notebook, so it can serve any number of functions. In the spirit of my junk journal project, the first thing it can be is a place to collect thoughts and quotes about our favourite craft. (I've sprinkled various examples of those throughout this post for your enjoyment.)

My project planner book – which you've seen here often in the past, replete with my scribbled notes and diagrams – is a large 8.5" x 11" coil bound volume. It's only a lined notebook, nothing special. For me, I just need blank space to draw and write on a freeform basis; I don't need prompts or category boxes to fill in like someone else might.

Image courtesy of faberwood.com...

That's why I'm thinking perhaps the saying of "different strokes for different folks" applies in this situation. Two people might use something called a sewing planner, but how it's used and what its purpose might be can be totally different. For those in need of consistent structure, here are some pre-printed planners that might fit the bill.

I'll start with the pricier side of things. (Although you may have a hard time finding this first one; it was released a few years back; at the time of this writing, one was available via Amazon Canada at $48.87.) The Simplicity Vintage Sewing Planner is designed to be a daily planner as well as a sewing planner.

Simplicity Vintage Sewing Planner Kit...

As you can see, it's a binder system and comes with various stickers to personalize the calendar pages, with clear pockets and divider tabs to keep you and your sewing projects organized. The appeal, of course, are the beautiful drawings of vintage fashions from Simplicity's heyday. (The whole setup makes me think that if I still had the physical sewing patterns from my youth, I would use the envelopes to create a sewing-themed junk journal.)

If this is the type of solution that floats your boat, designer Lori Holt has a Sew and Stitch Binder Calendar for 2025 that sells for $45 CDN (under $30 USD). It's similarly appointed with pages that pay tribute to her Riley Blake fabrics.

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Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that – one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery.

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

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If an elaborate pre-made binder system is not in your budget, but you'd still like to track specifics of your sewing projects, there are basic bound paperback planners that can be had for much less. These sell for in and around the $10 mark, and are strictly designed to be project trackers, not day planners. (That is, they don't provide space for you to write something on a daily basis over the course of a year.)

I've just chosen three at random (from Amazon); they are fairly similar in style, with the differences being in the headings and areas for detail. Those who appreciate having a documented log of what they've sewn and how they've sewn it may find these types of planners useful or even essential. (I've superimposed the cover of the planner on top of a sample page in the images that follow.)

Here is one that is aimed at clothing design. It's called the Sewing Project Planner and Fashion Sketchbook. Alongside the planning page is a front and back mannequin figure upon which to sketch your creation. Book is 83 pages in length.

Sample page from Sewing Project Planner and Fashion Sketchbookby Anne-Sophie Weber...

Another one that's for more general sewing projects is the Sewing Project Planner put out by Craftland River Press.

 

Sample page from Sewing Project Planner by Craftland River Press...

Each project is given a two page spread; book is 110 pages in total. Categories that you can't see in the above include Sketch, Color Scheme, Fabric Swatch and Use For, and (from the second page) Ideas & Notes, and Results & Future Makes.

Image courtesy of faberwood.com...

Lastly, this one is called Sewing Journal, by Jordana Terry. Like the previous two, each project is given a two page spread as well.

Sample page from Sewing Journal by Jordana Terry...

Categories that you can't see from the image above include Main Fabric Sample, Lining Fabric Sample, Interfacing Sample, and (from the second page) Measurement, Materials, and Photo of Completed Work.

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Check out crafty classes at Creativebug! [affiliate link]

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For those who are interested in monetizing their sewing passion, bag designer Christine Welsh of ChrisW Designs offers a set of business oriented planners meant to help guide and organize your selling efforts on Etsy, Shopify or just in your local market. They are in PDF format, meaning that you are purchasing a digital file and must print out the pages yourself. Once printed, you can organize them as you wish in a normal binder.

image courtesy of ChrisWDesigns.com...

Christine also has a two in one solution for those of you who like to combine your daily planning with bag making. Her new 2025 PDF day planner/calendar gives you ultimate control of how you want to organize your days and your projects by printing as many or as few pages as you want or need. You don't even need to worry about what size to select; the planner can be printed in any of three popular paper sizes.

image courtesy of ChrisWDesigns.com...

You can find this at the same link given above for the business planners.

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I am certain that a sewing machine would relieve as much human suffering as a hundred lunatic asylums, and possibly a good deal more.

– Margaret Atwood

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As far as tracking my own sewing goes, a simple lined notebook has worked well for me over the years, but that's me. If you can benefit from writing down details about your sewing projects – a practice that's immensely helpful if you're still learning the craft or if you make multiples of whatever – a planner may be just the thing to keep you focused and organized.

While bound volumes are easy to carry around, the versatility and flexibility of a self-made binder system can't be beat if you crave extra organization and/or have different types of projects to track; i.e., clothing, quilts, bags, etc.

Whatever your needs, you can find all sorts of custom planner pages on Etsy and elsewhere; the choices are as wide and varied as individual needs are.

'Til next...