Prefer watching instead of reading? Check out the YouTube video!
Do you have handwritten sewing instructions on a paper pattern, a scrap of paper or even in a notebook? I know I do – and it’s in more than one place.
I recently made a shirt dress that I wanted to change to have 3/4 sleeves with a fold-back sleeve band that I’d used on another sewing pattern. After much searching on my saved list of sewing techniques on Google Drive, I couldn’t find them.
I had to look up the pattern number and then fish out the physical pattern from my box of Top patterns. And there it was, the instructions handwritten onto the paper pattern.
I used those instructions to sew up the shirt dress sleeves as I wanted.
That experience reminded me how important it is to keep my sewing instructions organised and easy to find.
Save handwritten notes to Google Docs
I’m very much in the Google Drive world – I use Google Docs and Google Sheets for my sewing instructions and budgeting to my son’s health notes, etc. You name it, it’s in there!
But if you prefer other tools, these same steps will work in Word, Pages or any other word processor. The idea is simply to get your handwritten notes into a digital format that’s easy to update, search and build over time.
When I finally sat down to write them up in Google Docs, I decided to film myself doing it in real time.
In the video (you can watch it above or at the end of the post), I show how I use my Google Docs sewing instruction template to write up my instructions so I can always find them again.
You can download the same template yourself and use it as many times as you like. (There is also a Microsoft Word template.)
Here's what I did:
1. Photographed my handwritten instructions
This was so I could see them side by side on my computer. This isn’t essential, but it does mean you have the original copy saved digitally.
2. Created a new directory in Google Drive
For each sewing technique, I make a folder so that I can group the Google Doc and any accompanying photos or PDFs together. I put mine in \Sewing\Techniques\Shirt and called it Sleeve Band.
3. Made a copy of my sewing instruction template
My sewing instruction template is stored in my \Sewing\Techniques folder, so it’s easily accessible. So I made a copy and saved it to my newly created directory.
4. Filled out the template
With the Google Doc file and the image of my handwritten instructions side by side, I entered the instructions and other relevant information.
5. Edited the steps for clarity
When I used these instructions for the shirt dress, I did change the order of the steps to make it easier, so I made those adjustments in the Google Doc. I didn’t change the instructions on the paper pattern.
6. Stopped the video
7. Added more edits and a photo
When I didn’t feel the pressure of having the video recording, and after a short break, I made some more edits and added a photo of a finished sleeve band as a reference.
A living sewing document
This Google Doc is now ready for the next time I sew a sleeve band, no matter which sewing pattern I’m using. And if by any chance the instructions don’t make sense to me or I find another way, then I won’t hesitate to change them.
It’s a living document that grows with me as my sewing skills evolve.
I may even add progress photos or do some drawings as a visual aid in the future.
Over to you
Do you have your own stash of handwritten notes tucked away in patterns or notebooks?
Maybe this is the perfect time to start digitising them, one technique at a time.
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