Sewjo
Sew Organized: Designing a Feature That Keeps Creativity in Check
About Sewjo
For many sewists, managing their supplies is chaotic—think scattered fabrics, forgotten patterns, and mental notes that rarely hold up. The Sewjo stash feature set out to change this, offering sewists a streamlined way to organize their Notions, Fabrics, and Patterns in one cohesive system.
When I joined the team, the groundwork of user research was complete, but the challenge lay in turning insights into a feature that worked seamlessly for our creative audience. This wasn’t just about creating an inventory tool—it was about empowering sewists to keep track of what they own, why they bought it, and how to make the most of it, all while preventing duplicates.
ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
July 2024 — Present
Here’s a brief overview of how I designed the stash feature across Notions, Fabrics, and Patterns. Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about it.
Step 1: Diving Into the Data
Before starting any designs, I combed through existing research to understand the core struggles of sewists. The data revealed key pain points
Disorganized Systems
Many sewists had no formal system to organize their supplies, relying instead on memory or incomplete notes.
Forgotten Supplies
Duplicate purchases were common because users forgot what they already owned.
Time-Consuming Processes
Sewists needed an intuitive, quick way to track both details and quantities without spending too much time inputting data.
Sewing-Specific Needs
Existing tools weren’t tailored to sewists, missing essential features.
Step 2: Laying the Foundation with Notions
I began with Notions because it was the simplest category, offering a foundation to test the flow and functionality of the system.
Effortless Organization
Designed a layout that grouped related details logically, making it easy for users to scan and manage their notions at a glance.
Enabled users to customize visible and required fields, offering flexibility across all stash features, including Patterns and Fabrics.
Step 3: Expanding to the Fabrics Screen
Fabrics required deeper functionality to track key sewing attributes like type, pre-wash status, and length. I focused on balancing complexity with user-friendliness.
Tailoring Inputs to Sewing-Specific Needs
Added detailed input fields for type, length, color, and pattern to capture attributes sewists prioritize when organizing fabrics.
Enhancing Fabric Details for Precision
Designed options to include deeper fabric characteristics like weight, stretch, and drape, ensuring users could track essential project-planning details.
Refining Through Hierarchy Testing
Tested and iterated input layouts to balance detail, clarity, and usability, ensuring the interface felt approachable without sacrificing functionality.
Iterating for Clarity and Focus
Iterated based on testing, adding an inline “edit” button for seamless updates.
Step 4: Designing the Patterns Screen
The Patterns screen presented the most complexity, requiring features to track designer details, formats, and variations (pattern views).
