Creating a Project Journal

After seeing a post on a sewing journal from 1947, I thought about how incredible it would be to run across a notebook like it, full of notes on patterns a 1940s lady made up for herself, complete with pictures, fabric swatches, and sketches.  It would be a gold mine of information!

Then I thought, "Wait a second... If I wish someone had done that 70 years ago... will some girl 70 years from now wish I did that?"

So I decided, I will give to future generations the project notebook I wish I had!  Of course, they may be thrown off by all the patterns being from the 30s-50s and the journal from 2014... but they can enjoy it nonetheless. 

"But Emileigh," you say, "You can just keep track of that on your computer.  You can keep project notes in places like Ravelry, for knitting, and stuff like that.  Why a paper notebook?"  Because someday there will be a zombie apocalypse and there will be no computers, and I still want to have my sewing notes at that time... So I can look fabulous while running through the forest for my life...?

Anyway, in the meantime, a project notebook will do wonders in helping me remember which alterations I make, where I got fabrics, etc.  I like the idea of keeping track of everything.  While I moved around a lot to different countries as a teenager, so many things were lost into the "black hole" of moving, never to be seen again.  If I move around again and lose more things, at least there will be SOME record of them!

 

I really like the handwritten, scrappy type of journal, so that's how mine looks.  I have some more examples of sewing journals at the bottom for you to look at, however, if you'd like to try something a bit more you-ish!

So in this post are pages from my journal, for inspiration.  It's still a work in progress, but here are some of the elements I'd like to include for each project (or as many as I can come up with!):
- Pattern description: envelope picture, which version, size, and year
- Fabric/yarn description: what kind of fabric, a swatch, where I got the fabric, what it's called, how much it was
- Alterations: If I made any alterations, what they were and how well they worked out
- Pattern changes: If I changed the pattern at all, listing the changes or the changes I'd like for next time
- Occasion: why I made this project
- Finished look: pictures of me wearing the finished garment, preferably in a real-life setting
- Stories: anything interesting, frustrating, funny that happened along the way!

I used a smaller scrapbooking album, but I took all the page protectors out and replaced them with normal paper.  Because I like it better.
I picked the expandable kind of album because I have a guess that this book is going to get fat from the scraps and papers glued in.  This kind of album doesn't have a spine binding to worry about!

And here are examples of other sewing notebooks, for more inspiration!

Tiny Angry Crafter (Sponsor this month!)

The Little Red Squirrel

Spare Time (For Sewing)

Kestrel Makes

Sew Mama Sew

Craftsy

Sew Independent