The Best Sewing Planner For Planning Your Sewing Projects!

Are you looking for the best sewing planner to help you plan your 2023 projects?

I have completely overhauled my one year sewing planner to make it perfect for anyone who loves crafts! It’s available as a digital planner – with everything ‘hot linked’ for ease of use! – but it can also be printed at home or at a copy shop and bound for those who prefer the more traditional pen and paper planners.

And stay tuned – it’ll also be available from Amazon by mid November!

If you’re as excited as I am about the new and updated 2023 project planner, let’s dive in and explore it now!

Note that there is a full iPad flick through video over on my YouTube channel – I’ll add it to the bottom of this page for those who’d like to see that.

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase at no further cost to you.

I created my first planner way back in 2015, and each year it gets better. The changes I make are based upon my own experience using the previous year’s version and the feedback I get from those who buy it each year.

There are some serious changes to this year’s planner, including the font style to make it easier to read (apparently the previous font was tricky on the eyes), no daily pages (these can be inserted in using the templates I have included) and so much more.

The main change is that it’s no longer just a ‘sewing planner’ but suitable for anyone who has a craft based hobby – and possibly other hobbies too! – which is why it’s now called the 2023 Project Planner!

The Index

I’ve changed up the index so that it is easier to read, and linked out the main pages. It also includes a brief ‘how to use this planner’ overview, along with information on the secret section of the planner.

The Menus

No digital planner is complete without a good menu to help navigate your way around. So what’s included in this year’s planner?

The Side Menu – Navigating The Year

I’ve kept the months of the year, and the quarters, down the right hand side, as you’ve been used to seeing from me. And this is also where you’ll find the tab for speedy access to the index.

The Top Menu – Navigating The Project Planning

While all project planning pages are easily accessible from the main index, I also wanted to add tabs for the more often used pages in the planner. These are:

• 2023 Calendar
• The goals
• The sewing budget
• The stash
• The design templates
• The project plans
• The notebooks
• The blank pages (inserts)

So in theory (and practice!) every page in the planner is at most 2 clicks away. Win! Let’s have a look at the individual pages a little more closely!

2023 Calendar

The main calendar covers 2023, with each month’s header linking to that month’s calendar. This makes it super easy and intuitive to skip to the month that you need.

The calendar is easier to read now with the new fonts used, and I’ve kept the color scheme the same:

• Grey for days of the week
• Orange for the weekdays
• Blue for the weekends

Important Dates

Immediately after the 2023 calendar, we have the ‘Dates and Celebrations’ page. This is where you can quickly input any important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays etc which makes it easy to see at a glance. I actually like to add a colored dot to my main calendar each time I add a date.

There are two pages, one for the first half of the year (January through to June) and the second page covers the second half of the year (July through to December).

The Review & The Vision

Immediately after the Important Dates, we have a page to review your past year. This is not a place to focus on what you didn’t achieve but a space for you to write down all the things that you should feel proud of.

This could be learning a new skill, completing your first project or even a more personal or professional achievement.

And then the vision page is where you can start setting out how you want your 2023 to look. What would you like to have achieved by the end of the year? Make a note of these, as it’s more likely you’ll get here if you write it down!

2023 Priorities

Now, this page is another monthly overview page. It contains headers for each month (which again link to the month’s calendars) and quarterly plans as well (which link to those sections of the planner).

My intent with adding this page here was to encourage you to note down any major priorities that may have an impact on your project plans throughout the year. For some this may be the holiday season, for others it could be work commitments.

2023 Sewing Budget

I’ve called it the ‘sewing budget’ but it could easily be retitled to suit whichever hobby you have. And I changed it up from last year where there was just space for a few entries each month!

Now we have a page of months with:

• Amount budgeted
• Amount spent
• Difference

And each month is of course linked to that month’s budget. Here’s how that looks so you can get an idea of how it works now.

I’m really excited about the budget page because I often spend money on different projects and forget to note it down, and then wonder why I’m short at the end of the month. This will help keep better track!

The Stash

This is another big change from the previous planners I have designed. In past versions, I’ve included just one page for you to add your fabrics and another for patterns, but reflecting my ever increasing list of interests, I’ve created a main ‘Stash’ page which links out to further pages:

• Fabrics – perfect if you sew clothes or perhaps love quilting
• Yarns – for the knitters, crocheters and weavers amongst us
• Patterns – this could be sewing patterns, knitting pattern, crochet patterns and more
• Notions – from zippers and buttons to interfacings and more, this is a good spot to add things

And on the main page itself there are five grayed out boxes for you to add screenshots of your pages, so you can quickly find what you’re looking for!

The (Design)Templates

If you’ve ever bought one of my planners, these next few pages will be familiar to you, but these are the templates – or croquis if you prefer – to help you sketch out an idea before making it.

Underneath each template on the main page is a header word which links to that particular template so you can navigate your way there much faster than before.

And as always I’ve included a ‘make your own’ version too, because we are not one size fits all.

The Projects

This is a very big and new section to the planner. Previously we had one or two project plan pages, and you simply duplicated them as many times as you needed. This year, we have a more easy to navigate setup:

1. There are two pages, each containing 20 ‘projects’
2. Each project header links to its own project planning page – there are 40 in total
3. There is a gray box for each on the two main pages, so you can easily find the project you’re looking for
4. If you need more than 40 pages for projects, you can also use the blank template at the back of the planner as an insert for more

The Project Plans

The project plan pages themselves have not changed much, and contain the following:

• Project name
• Size
• View
• Date
• Rated
• Line drawing / photo
• Materials to be used (could be fabrics, yarns etc)
• Construction notes (if any)
• Supplies list (anything you might need to gather or buy for the project)
• Final thoughts (note down anything important for the next time you make this project)

This has consistently been a favorite page for those who have bought my previous sewing planners, so I felt it needed to be close to the original version.

The Notebooks

In previous iterations of my sewing planner I had included basic pages for adding any sewing, pattern making or garment construction notes. This year, I’ve changed it up.

Instead of just a page that you duplicate as and when needed, I’ve created nine ‘notebooks’.

On the overview page, you’ll see nine headers and gray boxes. Much like with the project overview pages, the headers are clickable and link to the individual notebooks, and the gray notes are for you to decorate as inclined to make each notebook recognisable. I like to add a screenshot of the notebook’s first page as a reminder, but you can be as creative as you wish.

Each notebook has the main title page followed by a blank page – this can be used as is and duplicated as many times as you need, or you can delete the blank page and insert one of the templates in the ‘blanks’ section.

Essentially, you have nine notebooks to do with as you please and can use them for anything.

The Quarterly Pages

I haven’t put as much focus on these pages as I used to because many people felt overwhelmed, so I have made them more minimal than they used to be. You can navigate your way to the quarterly pages from the right hand side menu or from the project priorities page (main index).

In each quarter you’ll find a grayed box for each month where you can make a note of any projects you’d like to work on.

90 Day Project Plan

Then there are two pages dedicated to the ’90 days project planning system’. This is basically 13 weeks. You focus on one task for each of the 12 weeks, and then you review how your projects went in the final week. Not everyone likes this kind of in-depth planning, which is why it is less of a focus, but there for those who love it (like me)!

The Task List

You may be like me and love a good long list of things that you can scratch off once completed, and this is why this page exists. In fact, I also added it as an insert in the ‘blanks’ tab as well.

I use it to make a note of all the tasks I need to do to complete a project, and in fact you could also insert this page behind each project page if you like lists!

Monthly Calendars & Sections

A planner is not a planner without monthly calendars, at least for me that is!

Monthly Overview

Each of the monthly calendars – which are easy to access from the main calendar, the main index, and the right hand side menu – has the previous and next month in small scale so you can see three months at once if needed. Those smaller months are also clickable taking you to the previous or next month super quickly.

Down the right hand side of each monthly calendar is a ‘week’ which is linked as well, and will take you to its own dated weekly overview.

Finally, there is a space for a ‘don’t forget’ list.

The Monthly Budget

Immediately after the monthly overview page is the monthly budget. I’ve covered this further up, so won’t go into detail here, but there is space for 20 bills which you can use to keep track of expenses that month.

Weekly Overview Pages

This page has changed little over the years. It is dated, and is linked to from the monthly overview page. It contains space for your top three goals for the week, any personal and self care tasks as well as space for three goals each day.

Not everyone likes an overview page like this, so you can feel free to cover it up with a blank template, but don’t delete it as it will break your weekly links.

Weekday & Weekend Schedule Pages

Finally, there are the weekday and weekend pages, which provide you with space each day for a top task and space to note anything happening on the AM and PM of each day. These pages are still in place (at time of writing) but I may move them to the templates section to be added as inserts if enough people request this.

The Blanks

I should have covered this section earlier but left it until now as it is here you’ll find all the templates that can be used as inserts. The page is a collection of all the templates available to you, and can be found on the top right of the upper menu as well as from the index itself.

There are many templates to choose from, and they all have active links, so if you insert them as is where you want them, the links will work.

Templates included are:

• Plain page
• Narrow ruled (dotted)
• Wide ruled (dotted)
• Double column narrow ruled (dotted)
• Half page narrow ruled (dotted)
• Grid
• Dotted (great for bullet journaling)
• Half page dotted
• Basic project plan
• Fabric stash
• Pattern stash
• Notions stash
• Daily page (one for each day)
• Task list
• Mini calendars (for those who like to decorate pages their own way)

Your Personal Space

Last year I found myself wanting a more personal space within my planner. Somewhere where I could write out my thoughts and feelings or create a list of gift ideas that would be safe from prying eyes.

For this reason I created a secret space in this year’s planner which you can access by clicking the fifth ring up on any page. There is a note in the index on how to find it – I recommend just covering this paragraph with a white box to keep it from prying eyes.

What Makes This The Best Sewing Planner?

So why do I think this is the best planner I have created yet? Many reasons, but here are nine:

1. It’s digital. You can have it on your phone, tablet or computer which means less paper waste.

2. It’s printable. Ironic right when I’ve just highlighted the benefits of it being digital! But not everyone loves a digital planner, and for those who don’t, you can print it and use it like a traditional planner.

3. It’s intuitive. Truly. I worked for days on designing it to be easy to use and intuitive.

4. It’s small in file size. A smaller file size makes it faster to download and faster to use.

5. It’s colorful. Not everyone likes black and white, but you can print it in black and white if you prefer.

6. It has better fonts. Many have pointed out that the script-like fonts I had before were hard on the eyes. This fixes that.

7. It’s suitable for any hobby. You don’t have to be someone who sews to use this planner. I created it so I can incorporate projects for all my hobbies in it.

8. It’s more project focused. I know many people got overwhelmed with the focus on project planning I had before. And those pages are still here, they’re just less visible than the ‘projects’ pages.

9. It’s a bargain! At just $15 (plus taxes) it’s the best planner I have ever created at the same fair price. You could use this planner just for the projects and notebooks for many years after 2023 is finished!

Are There Benefits To Using A Sewing Planner?

In my mind yes! When I actively use a sewing planner, I actually find myself starting and finishing more sewing or craft based projects.

Why?

I believe it is because I have ‘set the intention’ to create more, and so I start to set aside time in my days to actually sew and be creative.

Is The Sewing Planner Digital Only?

Absolutely not! For anyone who likes to print their sewing planner at home, you can print my digital planner. It just means that the hot-links won’t work, but you could easily trim off the top and right menus, keeping just one as a ‘tab’ to speedily find what you’re looking for.

I have even been known to print out the fabric stash page or the most suitable design template page when needed, because sometimes working in analogue is faster than digital.

How To Buy The New Planner

If you’re as excited as I am about the new 2023 project planner, you can grab yours here. This is where the planner is housed so you can pop back and download it again if you need a new copy (handy if you accidentally delete a linked page and regret it afterwards) but I’ll also be adding widgets and other page inserts too for the most requested!

And if you have previously used one or already purchased a sewing planner, do let me know in the comments how you’re getting on with it – I’d love to hear how it’s working for you, and whether you have any suggestions to make them even better!

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