I’m a huge fan of online pin board website, Pinterest. I use it for so many things: pinning interesting quotes, outfit inspiration and most of all, for sewing and for keeping track of the many dressmaking patterns I want to make. And believe me, you can get too Pinterest obsessed! Keeping track of my ‘DIYs and Crafts’ board is a full time job! I would really recommend the website as a useful tool for any sewing enthusiasts out there, if only for the inspiration it provides. Here is a list of why I think the website is great for using when sewing.
For inspiration
This one is obvious but Pinterest is great for just searching through and looking at photos for ideas of what to make. By searching a few keywords, such as ‘backless dress’ or ‘gathered skirt’ you’ll see the many options on show and, if you’re like me, be tempted to make up a version of each. Alternatively, if I already have an idea in my head of what I want to make, I head to Pinterest first, as it usually throws up a load of sewing patterns that are similar!
For seeing how others make up a pattern
When I’ve seen a pattern I know I have to make, I always, without fail, go straight to Pinterest to see how it’s been made up by others. In my opinion, the website is so much better than Google as it narrows down the search results and there are still lots of ideas on which colours and fabric choices to use. Plus, if the photos come from a blog, there is often a link back to the original post too, so you can click on over there to read the full description of how it was made.
Tips and tutorials
Sewing techniques can be hard to get your head around sometimes, can’t they? As much as I love working from patterns, sometimes the explanations can be sparse and I find myself heading to Google to find out how exactly to sew a box pleat. Pinterest is a very visual website and can be of great help if you need more of a show-and-tell example. And, once I’ve conquered the technique, I can then keep a record of it and check Pinterest whenever I need to revisit it. On a side note, many sewing pattern companies and bloggers often have boards dedicated to fiddly sewing tips. By Hand London’s Nerdy Sewing Tips board is just one example.
To keep track of what you’ve already made
I love using Pinterest to keep a note of what I’ve made and have a board dedicated to blog makes so I can easily find examples of what I’ve made up previously. I highly recommend doing this as it saves time looking through hundreds of photos or pages of your blog when trying to remember which version of the Anna dress you actually made up that time.
For locating sewing patterns you already own
Pinning sewing patterns you already own but are yet to make might be an obscure one, but I really recommend keeping track of your patterns in one place. Although I have a shelf space for all my paper patterns, they aren’t always in my viewpoint and so by keeping them on a ‘yet to make’ board, I know which ones I still need to make up.
Following others with similar interests as you
There are some really wonderful sewing blogs out there and Pinterest is brilliant for helping you to find new ones, or pattern companies you may not know about. When searching for a pattern to make a pair of dungarees lately, I found a new blog I instantly loved, as well as a new pattern company I’d never heard of.
To document different versions of a pattern
Some patterns have multiple options and, if you’re anything like me, you may just want to make all three different versions of that dress. Once I find a pattern I love, I like to keep track of the different ways I can make it up and Pinterest is great for this. It helps that the patterns are in the same place (and as a visual person it really pleases me to track the patterns by image), but, alternatively, if I’m obsessing over a certain pattern and haven’t made it yet, I’ll often look on Pinterest to see how other sewers are making it, particularly if there are different versions.
See what’s happening on Aneira’s Pinterest board here, or check out her own blog here. William Gee’s Pinterest board can be viewed here.
We’d love to know what you use Pinterest for? If you have any good sewing-related pins, please let us know below!
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