And the winner is…..!

Claire December 16th, 2013

Thank you sooooo much to everyone who took part – it was actually quite overwhelming to see how many of you took part, and you all gave such good tips!  I did actually think that I had made life really hard for myself and should have just done something where I could randomly pick numbers out of a hat.  But no.

What I have done, though (cos it was too hard!) is pick my favourite, and then as runner up prizes picked 5 more, who I will be sending a pin cushion out to.  I will also be compiling all the tips together in groups by craft or type so that we can all benefit from them, so watch this space!

As runners up I have picked:

Lee, who wrote:

When laying out a paper pattern – use sewing weights and not pins for a smoother, faster and better cut. You can make some sewing weights (lots of tutorials out there) or use what I do (learned from my great grandmother) use butter knives (the old flatware that is heavy- I have some I use just for sewing! you can find in second hand stores) It works great!

I can definitely vouch for this, and it is far less painful than catching your hand on a pin when cutting out!

Jodi R, who wrote:

I am a perfectionist and I tend to avoid doing things I don’t think I can do a good enough job of. My advice is that you only get better with practice and we all have to start somewhere.
If you don’t start because you don’t think you are good enough you will never find out how good you really could be with practice.
My other advice is to sew with friends often, it is a great way to bond & you will be amazed what you will learn when you just create with other creative people. Not just about creating but about every aspect of life.

I love this, and think it’s fantastic advice, and something that I used to tell all my students, which leads on to

Maureen Hayes, who wrote:

My tip applies to any type of craft, or in fact life in general, it is DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH EVERYONE ELSE! You are unique and wonderful and should be proud and happy with what you make, not always saying it isn’t as good as so and so’s. I know this is hard to do, especially in a Pinterest world that leads us to believe that everything should look perfect all the time, but trust me, if you can do it, you will be much happier and progress much further in whatever you try to do

Just…. yep.  Nothing more to add to that.

Mokki, who wrote:

My tip whatever the project maybe is to keep inspiration around you. A piece of your main statement fabric/paper/embellishment etc., some pictures or small items that inspire or a book with useful pictures/techniques. It helps when something goes wrong or when you’re just running out of steam.
Also break every task into small steps and take your time so you can see your progress and not be daunted by a ‘big’ task; this also helps when you’re running out of steam!

Great advice for projects of all sizes and whatever craft you’re into

Deb, who wrote:

My favourite sewing tip ever is the hidden knot trick when you start stitching by hand. Fold your thread over double then thread both cut ends through the eye of the needle. Push needle through your fabric and then back down very close to first spot. Then pull the needle and thread through the loop at the back of the fabric and you have secured your thread without making an obvious knot!

Great little trick – I love sewing tricks like this!

And the winner is……. (drumroll please!)

Holly, who wrote:

For sewing I always stress to iron WAY more then you think you need too. Cutting carefully and ironing lots will make anything you sew nearly perfect! and for Crochet, to get perfect tension on your hook make sure the loop of yarn can easily slide up and down the shaft of your hook. If it can you will always get even stitches 

These are both really good tips that I used to use with all my students.  The more time you take over each bit of something, and taking care makes for such a better end result, and makes you more confident in your abilities for your next project.

Well done everyone!

I’ll be dropping you all an email now to get your postal addresses so I can ship your prizes.  Thank you once again to everyone who took part, I wish I had a prize for each of you.  I’ll be putting the tip list up soon, and later this week will be sharing some last minute vintage Christmas illustrations you can include in your gifts or crafting, so please pop back again soon.

• pinky and boo , sewing and crafting , Tutorials
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