Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media platforms and one of my personal favorites. Most of you have probably wondered over to the site to pass the time. Some of you may even have a few pins saved up your sleeves for the future. If you do, you’ve experienced just how easy it can be to store ideas and quickly retrieve them when you need to utilize them. It’s like a virtual filing cabinet…but with pictures!
Let's talk about the different ways you an utilize Pinterest for sewing. It's when I do my virtual "shopping" to decided what to sew next. So, how do you utilize Pinterest?
Inspiration
Pinterest is my go-to source for inspiration. I find ideas for garments to sew and patterns to make ideas come to life. So how do you efficiently find the most useful inspirations? There are several specific ways you can search that will increase your chances of successful pinning.
- Fabric – I often begin with a specific fabric in mind. Choose simple descriptive words to describe the print. I begin my search with the color and print style. For instance, “navy stripe top, “teal floral skirt”, “red plaid jacket”, etc.
- Garment type – If you have yet to narrow down your fabric choice but know the type of garment you wish to create, you can search specifically for that style. For example: “double hood sweatshirt”, “dressy joggers”, “cocktail dress”, and so on.
- Type of Style – It can be fun to broaden your search to a style that you identify with. This will yield more varied results, and you may be surprised by how inspiring it can be to consider new ideas using this type of search. I usually use the word “outfit” on the end of these searches. For example, you can search: “stay at home mom outfit”, “business casual outfit”, “athletic outfit”, or whatever your heart desires.
- Patterns – Pinterest is a great resource for finding both pdf and paper sewing patterns. You can find not only patterns that are new to you but also blog posts where other sewers have sewn and reviewed these patterns. You can search for a specific pattern to find ideas for ways to sew it. Or you can search for a pattern type, such as “knit blazer pdf sewing pattern”.
Pinterest is an amazing search engine for sourcing creative ideas, but if this is the only way that you utilize Pinterest, then you are missing out on its full potential. I use Pinterest to store and catalogue my sewing lists. Here are a few Pinterest “List” boards ideas to use.
- Fabric Wish List- Each individual SSE fabric page on the website has a “pin it” button. This feature makes it easy to pin your favorite fabrics and keep a list of all the fabrics you want.
- Fabric stash- Each time you place a fabric order, pin the fabric to a “my stash” board. This way you can easily reference my stash when considering which fabric to use for a pattern. It is also helpful when trying to find the name of a fabric once it is sold out and no longer visible on the website. Plus, its just fun to see it all in one place!
- Patterns- I have a Pinterest board where I keep all my patterns catalogued. It is helpful when I am considering a new project to be able to browse through and consider the best pattern to use. This can also save you from buying the same pattern twice!
- Finished Projects- Pinterest can be a great way to catalogue your finished projects. It helps you see how much you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve grown in your craft.
Any of your boards can be kept “secret”, which means that they are only visible to you, so you can choose exactly what material you’d like to be public. These are especially my favorite for when I want to come up with gift ideas. That way I have all my ideas in one place, but the secret isn't out on what my family members are getting from me.
Hopefully this blog makes you see Pinterest in a new light and are better able to utilize some of what it has to offer! Be sure to follow the SSE Pinterest board and all of our fun and exciting pins will show up on your feed. Have you tried to recreate a pinsperation yet?