Seam Allowance Guide

I discovered the Seam Allowance Guide via the Australian Sewing Guild, it is a little tool that contains a magnet that you attach to the sides of your scissors to help you cut accurate seam allowances. It is particularly good if you need to add seam allowance to a pre-purchased pattern or when you are making up your own pattern and want to add seam allowance. In your order you get 2 of the tools so that you can use it both on scissors with a flat side blade and also on scissors that have a slope or an angle on the side of the blade and they can be used on both left handed and right handed scissors. I decided to order the tools and try them out.

I was making up my own softie pattern so decided I wanted a 1/2″ seam allowance. I set up the tool on my scissors (they have a slope) and then realised something… The way they instructions tell you to cut if you are right handed isn’t the way I cut even though I am right handed. This is the confusing part, using my right hand I cut as if I was left handed. I hold the scissors in my right hand but normally I have them so the pattern piece is on my left hand side and cut in an anticlockwise direction. The instructions in this tell you that if you are right handed your should be cutting in a clockwise motion with the pattern piece on your right. I did try it but it felt really foreign and it wasn’t comfortable. Using right handed scissors I couldn’t adjust the tool to cut like I normally would as you need to place this it on the top blade.

I persisted and cut out the entire piece and it didn’t turn out too bad but it isn’t the best cutting I have ever done. I must stress this had nothing to do with the tool it was the fact I felt like I was cutting backwards. Had I had the tool on the other side of the scissors and cut in the direction I normally would I know I would’ve been more accurate. Trying the tool out was an interesting exercise as I had no clue about my cutting style I just cut like I always did. I am now going to try and get hold of a pair of left handed scissors and try using them in my right hand to see how they feel cutting out the way I do. I think the tool would be a fantastic little tool once I get a pair of scissors that I can attach them too.

Cassiy