Sewist's Planner 2019 < with my hands

Somebody already might have noticed my Finnish version of this Sewist’s Planner 2019. As many people found it useful, I decided to translate the whole planner into English. You can buy the pdf files for the planner pages on my Blog Shop.

Why did I decide to make the Sewist’s planner? I have been using my Bullet journal and my old Sewist’s Notebook when planning my sewing. The problem with the bullet journal is that I usually need it the most when I’m super busy. However, when I am busy, I don’t want to spend time constructing pretty bullet journal pages. So, I decided to combine the best characteristics of my bullet journal pages and my old Sewist’s notebook.

The planner comes in pdf format and it has been designed to be printed on A5 sized paper. However, it can be printed also on A4 paper, two pages on one and then you can cut the pages in half. I have included the printing instructions at the end of this post. The planner has 83 pages, but some of the pages have been designed to be printed several times (such as daily and weekly plans). After printing, you’ll need to hole-punch the pages and put them into a binder. I used Simple Stories Carpe diem planner binder:

How did I organize my Sewist’s Planner? My planner is in Finnish but the English version works similarly.

Printing and binding

My home printer doesn’t print in A5 size double sides, so I printed first the odd and then even pages to the reverse side. I recommed testing first with a few pages so that you don’t end up printing a hundred pages, half of them upside down!

Carpe diem binder has six binder rings. I had an adjustable six ring hole punch, so I was able to punch holes to a binder like this even though a two-ring system is standard in Finland. However, you can use whatever A5-sized binder you like.

I used A4-sized self-laminating pockets to laminate the dividers. One pocket was good for two divider pages.

The calendar

Every month has a monthly calendar grid. That is followed by monthly planner pages:

You can print a Weekly planning page for every week and Day plan for those busy days that need a detailed schedule:

Extra pages

The extra pages contain a lot of useful things from pretty dividers, to Sewing Pattern Wishlist and croquis templates to make designing new outfits easier.

Below, there are examples of Body measurements page and the Internet shopping log.

The picture below is from the Finnish version, but the English version has identical pages. The page on the left is to plan additions to your wardrobe, the page on the right is for fabric swatches.

The planner also contains Seasonal dividers, dotted grid pages, lined pages and a Birthday planner. Using foreign sewing patterns is easier with the included Unit transformation page. As this planner is completely adjustable, you can add more pages when you need them and move older pages to another binder so that you don’t need to carry them around with you.

How to print the Sewist’s planner on A4 sheets?

Do not worry if you don’t have A5-sized paper. A5 is exactly half of A4, so you can print two pages on one A4 page and cut the pages in half. If you want exactly the same end result follow these instructions. (Basically this is only for the Calendar pages since the extras are generally printed one-sided. Unless, you wish otherwise)

Open the file with Adobe Acrobat.
Click “Print” and choose “Multiple” from the “Page Sizing & Handling”.
Choose 2 pages per sheet.
Choose “Horizontal” (I think “Vertical” works here as well…) page order.
Choose “More Options” below “Pages to Print”. Choose “Odd pages only”. (Here I must admit that I only tested with one sheet. But if you are printing on several sheets, you will have to print either the even or the odd pages in reverse order. This means that you can print the other side in the opposite order… Test!)
Print all the odd pages.
Put the printed pages back to the printer. In my printer, I can just lift the pile back to the paper tray.
Now choose the “Even pages” and “Horizontal Reversed” options (And if I’m correct here, you must reverse the printing order with multiple sheets of paper.)
Print.
Cut the pages in half. Finished!