Individually, sewing and blogging are hobbies that can take over your life if you let them – do both, and you may find yourself having no time for anything else. A lot goes into creating a successful blog post – photography, photo-editing, writing, yet more editing, promotion on social media, the list goes on – and when you add the fact that you have to sew in order to have something to blog about, you could end up with blogger burnout.

I still have much to learn in this area, but there are a few rules that I try to live by in order to avoid getting overwhelmed – hobbies are supposed to be fun, after all. Here are my top three tips for sewing and blogging while still having time for work, rest and play.

1. Keep your projects varied. It’s great to challenge yourself and add sewing skills to your repertoire, but trickier projects can take longer to complete so it may be weeks (or, if you’re like me, months) before you’re ready to blog about them. That’s why it can be good to reset your difficulty level to beginner sometimes and include a few quick and easy makes in the mix too to ensure your blog doesn’t look lonely while you’re busy getting to grips with a new sewing technique.

2. Have a back-up plan. Sometimes it’s hard to juggle everything and still have time to sew – working, socialising and spending quality time with your significant other all need to be factored into the equation of life. In the past, I’ve gone months without sewing so much as a side seam, and, while I of course miss crafting and can’t wait to get back to the sewing machine, it can be good to have a break. However, this in turn means the poor old blog can become a bit sad and neglected (and your view stats won’t look too happy either). The solution? Don’t limit yourself to blogging about your projects. For example, you could write about days out, fairs or exhibitions you’ve been to that your readers might like to know about, or a great new recipe you’ve tried recently. These kind of lifestyle posts are fun to read and will keep your blog ticking over nicely while you, well, actually have a life.

3. Give yourself achievable deadlines. This one seems obvious, but I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been left without a post because I’ve been over-ambitious with my sewing deadline and not finished a project in time to put it up on the blog when planned. Earlier this year I made a Tilly and the Buttons Megan dress to wear to a wedding, and, in a move that was very unlike me, I started making it well in advance so there would be no last-minute panic-sewing. This meant that when it came to putting together the blog post, I wasn’t already feeling frazzled.

It can be easy to get caught up in the blogging side of things and rush through sewing projects to get them up on the internet for all to admire as quickly as possible, which can result in garments that aren’t finished to quite as high a standard as they could be. Remember, you’re making clothes you (hopefully) will want to wear and keep for many years to come, so give yourself plenty of time to complete your projects and consider the time it will take to photograph them, edit the shots and write the post when you’re planning your blogging schedule.

I’m sure there are many more time-management hints and tips I haven’t covered here. How do you manage your sewing and blogging time? Please do share your advice if there’s something I’ve missed.