Apps to help you with your sewing

Something slightly different this week with a guest post all about apps you can use for sewing. I admit I didn't know there was much out there for this so pleasantly surprised to see what Isaac has for us! *spoiler...I'm an avid user of number 5*

This guest post was written by Isaac Atia of 10BestRanked.com, a review blog for popular sewing, home, outdoors products and gadgets. When he’s not writing product reviews, Isaac enjoys a good read.

We all use our smartphones to download a wide variety of apps on a regular basis, either for our interests or favorite hobbies. Did you know that you can also download some useful craft and sewing apps? If you like sewing, you should definitely look into the apps we will list in this guide. These apps let you track your projects, find local exhibitions, learn new sewing skills, organize and plan your sewing ideas, and much more. Ultimately, they will make your sewing easier and take it to the next level.

Here are 6 apps that can assist you in sewing and simplify your needlework.

1. My Sewing Kit

It can be a difficult challenge to keep all the patterns and supplies neatly arranged and well organized. Over the time, these items will pile up and make a mess. This is where My Sewing Kit app comes in!

This amazing app allows you to store your pictures, notes, patterns, supplies, and other things in one place. Additionally, it lets you save the downloaded sewing patterns and create a book library. Use it to store the width, length, amount, and type of all the items you purchased. Once stored, you'll be able to keep track of your sewing essentials, including the books, threads, patterns, fabrics, trim, equipment, notions, and projects. That will make planning and research much easier.

The app can also memorize all the prices and shops where you bought the certain items. It's available for both iPhone and iPad.

2. Sewing Pattern Buddy

With this app, you'll be able to have all your patterns at your fingertips. Note that the app doesn't include any pattern collection; it's a database you can fill in with your own sewing patterns.

Sewing Pattern Buddy eliminates the need for bookmarking, saving, printing, and pinning the patterns separately. Keep everything in one place for fast recovery. For easier research, filter by pattern name, company, fabric needed, garment type, pattern number, size, notes, tags, photos, your rating, and so on. This way you will easily find everything stored in your pattern collection.

You can store up to 25 sewing patterns for free. If you want to add more patterns, you'll need to buy the upgrade. The app is only available for Android devices.

3. Cross Stitch Guild

As its name suggests, this sewing app is aimed at people wanting to learn more about cross stitching, regardless of their skill level. Cross Stitch Guild app comes with a lot of useful features, such as:

ñ  Stitch count calculator

ñ  Thread converter for color and brand equivalents

ñ  Shade cards (for Anchor, Madeira, and DMC)

ñ  Stitch library with plenty of instructions and clear diagrams

ñ  Dedicated sections to keep your threads, fabrics, kits, books, and more

Via this handy app, you can also see the stitching journals by Jane Greenoff and read her tips. Cross Stitch Guild adds even more features and additions daily. The app can be used on Android, iPhone, and iPad devices.

4. Sew Awesome

Designed for both beginner and professional seamstresses, Sew Awesome keeps track of sewing items and essentials. For example, it can track your thread, fabrics, patterns, etc. For better organization, the app is divided into 3 categories:

ñ  SEWING STUFF - This is where you can keep track of your sewing machine feet, patterns, people's measurements, fabrics, and threads. For each category, you can store the pictures of your items along with the relevant information. The fabrics section, for example, lets you store the images of your fabrics along with the item numbers, names, types, yardages,  contents, and other notes.

ñ  SEWING TOOLS - It includes some helpful sewing tools, such as thread converter, inches to yards converter, ruler, and flashlight.

ñ  SEWING REFERENCE - This section contains sewing machine diagrams, needle types and diagrams, needle size conversions, and a glossary of general sewing terminology.

Note that the app is designed for Android devices only.

5. Pinterest App

Chances are you have already used Pinterest for some purpose. The idea behind this website is to turn "pinnings" into the new verbs. People use it to discover new recipes, projects for their home, style ideas, and so on. You can also use it to get a better idea of what to wear, cook, and more. Did you know that you can also utilize it for sewing? Pinterest has an app for both Apple Android, which lets you create and collect a whole host of boards. This app comes for free.

6. Free Motion Quilting Ideas

If you are looking for a quilting app, look no further than Free Motion Quilting Ideas. This app provides beginners with 16 allover designs, each of which includes instructions and videos that show you how to create the particular motif. The designs include leaves, hearts, flames, loops, rectangular meanders, peas in a pod, paisleys, pebbles, stipples, petals, round flowers, ribbons, swirling vines, waves, swirls, and tubes. The Free Motion Quilting Ideas app comes with an extensive video library and five bonus videos. You can download it to your tablet or Android smartphone.

Leave a comment below...have you tried one of these? What was your experience? What is your favourite sewing app if it isn't listed here?

Clearly I'm a lover of Pinterest!