How I Organize my Sewing with Evernote, part 1

The beginning of a new year is a great time to start fresh and get organized. For specific projects, of course I use my own book, A Sewist's Notebook (25% off through Jan. 8th!) but today I'm going to show you how I use this powerful app to organize my fabric and pattern stashes.

It's possible you've never heard of Evernote, but it's one of the most useful apps I have on my iPad. I use it for personal stuff, but the company offers a wide range of business products as well (receipt scanners, paper notebooks that scan into the app...awesome stuff!). I've been using it for years and it's only gotten better. The best part? The basic app is free!

So what is it? It's basically the best note-taking system you'll ever find. You can create checklists, store photos, make notebooks, and make notes within those notebooks. For example, I have one notebook for Fabric, and one for Patterns (you can ignore the other random notebooks in here!). 

When I open my Fabric notebook, at a glance I can see all the individual notes I've made. I've made one note for each fabric I've ever bought. I've done the same with my patterns.

With a flick of my finger I can scroll through every fabric and pattern I've ever owned. I do not have a smartphone, but imagine how useful this information would be if you're out running around and can't remember what you have at home (the app will sync across all your devices)?

Let's take a closer look at what information I've stored in each type of note. Long ago, I set up a template of what I wanted to know about my fabrics. I have one note saved with the blank template, and simply hit "duplicate" when I need more "copies".

Once I have my duplicate note, I fill in the blanks.

I like to note the "name" of the fabric, fiber content, width of fabric, how long it is, the price I paid, and where I bought it. I include a checkbox so I know whether or not I've prewashed the fabric. I also snap a photo with the camera on my iPad. The ability to take a photo is why I use Evernote and not some sort of pen and paper swatch system.

The notes for each pattern are much more simple. They are completely photo-based.

I photograph the front and back of the envelope and boom, done!

Obviously, it took a lot of work to build these two notebooks, but I didn't do it all at once. I have a system in place for "checking in" new materials and that way I never get overwhelmed with entering information. Next week I will go over the method I use for logging new goodies into Evernote.

Have you ever used Evernote? Do you like digital file systems or are you partial to pen and paper?