Have you ever worked hard on a craft only to find out once you're almost (or already) finished that you made a mistake? What is there to do.... well, a few things come to mind.
#1. Leave it as is and ignore it
#2. Try to fix it as soon as possible
#3. Undo all the work you've done and fix the problem
My favorite is to try to fix it as soon as possible. Although there are occasions where you simply have to leave it and move on or take all the other work out to redo it. I hate that. :/ Below are a few samples of my mistakes, both in sewing and crocheting.
In this photo I crocheted an Irish rose square (you can find the pattern on another post on here) and you can see where, on the bottom right corner, I forgot to crochet one of the smaller leaves. I noticed this on the second row of the brown and by then I had done a bit of work and had a 2 yr old running crazy so it was so much simpler to just leave it.
Does it look bad? Maybe, but after attaching it to the rest of the blanket I asked a small group of friends to find one imperfection and only 3 out of the 9 people asked noticed it.
This is another one where I did the exact same thing just in another color scheme and this time in the upper right corner. Both squares are part of the same blanket, yet this one was less noticeable than its predecessor.
This one is from the recent quilt I have been working on. My fiance bought me a sewing machine last week and this was my first attempt using it. All of this quilt is hand stitched except for this one strip. As you can see it is smaller on the top than the bottom, and the question is what to do about it. There are three answers to this question and I will tell you which one I will be doing.
#1. Cut both edges down until the whole quilt line is even with this ONE strip of fabric
#2. Pin it from the back and stitch it together until the bottom and top are even
#3. Allow a bigger seam allowance on the larger end of the fabric to get an even row
If you guessed #2, then you'd be correct. Unlike my crocheted squares, this one has to be fixed in order for the quilt to be pieced together properly. Numbers one and three might work, but look at how much of my blocks would be lost just to fix this one imperfection. That's a lot.
After completing my blocks I was so excited to start adding my filler fabric, that I completely "framed" this block. As you can see from the top, this was not a smart move. The fabric puckers and refuses to lie straight. There is no leaving it be nor fixing it later because when I add my side filler to the remaining blocks this fabric will pucker even more.
So, what's left to do.... you guessed it, take it out and redo. I was not happy, like I said, all hand stitched, but for the sake of the quilt it had to be done. I admit I did the wrong thing, but at least I know that my blocks will look good framed. :)
I really should make a sample of any project before I start it, then maybe I wouldn't be having all of these happy accidents. Oh well I like learning on the go, you don't get a practice swatch at anything else in life now do ya? :D
Now you have seen all three course of actions in two different types of crafts. Sometimes it's just easier to leave it, especially when you have a forgiving project such as the crocheted square. Other times it's better to fix it later as with the sewn fabric, and at others it's best to undo and redo. :) The choice is really yours.
This one is from the recent quilt I have been working on. My fiance bought me a sewing machine last week and this was my first attempt using it. All of this quilt is hand stitched except for this one strip. As you can see it is smaller on the top than the bottom, and the question is what to do about it. There are three answers to this question and I will tell you which one I will be doing.
#1. Cut both edges down until the whole quilt line is even with this ONE strip of fabric
#2. Pin it from the back and stitch it together until the bottom and top are even
#3. Allow a bigger seam allowance on the larger end of the fabric to get an even row
If you guessed #2, then you'd be correct. Unlike my crocheted squares, this one has to be fixed in order for the quilt to be pieced together properly. Numbers one and three might work, but look at how much of my blocks would be lost just to fix this one imperfection. That's a lot.
After completing my blocks I was so excited to start adding my filler fabric, that I completely "framed" this block. As you can see from the top, this was not a smart move. The fabric puckers and refuses to lie straight. There is no leaving it be nor fixing it later because when I add my side filler to the remaining blocks this fabric will pucker even more.
So, what's left to do.... you guessed it, take it out and redo. I was not happy, like I said, all hand stitched, but for the sake of the quilt it had to be done. I admit I did the wrong thing, but at least I know that my blocks will look good framed. :)
I really should make a sample of any project before I start it, then maybe I wouldn't be having all of these happy accidents. Oh well I like learning on the go, you don't get a practice swatch at anything else in life now do ya? :D
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| Just a nice filler picture :) |
Now you have seen all three course of actions in two different types of crafts. Sometimes it's just easier to leave it, especially when you have a forgiving project such as the crocheted square. Other times it's better to fix it later as with the sewn fabric, and at others it's best to undo and redo. :) The choice is really yours.
Just remember that you will ALWAYS see your own mistakes, even when others don't, but it is the imperfections that make it so special to the one's that receive it. I should know, my Nana crocheted me a twin sized blanket when I was small. The yarn is different weights, there's a multitude of colors, and it's a bit uneven on the sides, but it's my most prized possession.
There is never a right or wrong way to any craft, there are loop holes to anything you want to do. Never be afraid to make those mistakes.
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