I am a perfectionist. This is not an over exaggeration, nor a preference. It is in my nature - so much so that you could even call it obsessive. Inherent artistic skill, however, is not. So, as you may guess, when the two are brought together it is a bit of a disaster. A disaster that could surely be avoided by steering clear of the hobby altogether, but that does not quite work for me as I have a constant desire (almost painfully so) to craft.
I have always wanted to create, yet the majority of my attempts have come to a rather messy end. I remember scribbling out drawing after drawing as a child because they did not look exactly like the example I was copying. I have un-picked, re-sewn and un-picked thread again, the second I wobbled in my attempt to sew a straight line. I tried knitting at school once, but when I could not make a single row without several dropped stitches, I let the whole thing descend into a tangle of wool. I will sit hunched over a project for hours until the back of my neck burns and my vision goes blurry. My brain wants everything I make to be a masterpiece immediately, and I will not give up until I am satisfied with how it looks. But it never looks ‘just right’. My version of ‘just right’ is a standard I will never meet and as a result, the whole thing usually ends up in the bin.
“Perfectionism has ruled that if I cannot make the craft perfectly perfect, then I may as well not try at all.”
To craft is to relax, or so they say. The very activity is an escape, and I think that is why I am so drawn to it. We live in a world where electronic devices are the keepers of our memories and achievements. We rarely ever get to hold something tangible, something that we have made, and honestly, I am sick and tired of all the blue light. Nonetheless, I am even sicker of my perfectionism stopping me from soaking up the good of this fantastic artistic industry. Which is why, this year, I have decided to embrace imperfect crafting.
It has not been easy. The thought of going up against perfectionism when it has taken charge of this passion for over two decades? No, thank you. When I see a craft idea that I like pop up on Pinterest, my first thought is that, however hard I try, I will never be able to replicate it. Perfectionism has ruled that if I cannot make the craft perfectly perfect, then I may as well not try at all.
There was a time, not long ago, when you could open Pinterest and be met with an endless stream of craft ideas. Embroidery, scrapbooking, jewellery making, even Hama beading – the options were all there. They were varied and entirely handmade. Yet, in the last few months, I have started to notice the presence of AI content. In a December article, WIRED magazine collated responses from numerous other users feeling the same thing. They noted that Pinterest was proudly ad free, and functioning as “a marketplace for trading real-world inspiration” since its emergence in 2010.
However, the introduction of targeted adverts to search feeds in 2022 has opened the gates for all manner of ‘AI Slop’. AI generated images, craft ideas and recipes are now dotted in between creative, human made Pins, draining colour from the once rainbow resource. In my case, it makes the prospect of actually creating something I feel proud of, even more unlikely. How am I possibly meant to mirror a project with my imperfect hands, when no human ever made it with theirs?
So, this year, I have stopped looking on Pinterest when I want to craft. It fuels my perfectionism. Instead, I am taking inspiration from sources I know are real. Things my friends have made, as well as crafting books from that cherished era when AI did not exist. This has allowed me to simply make and create.
I have a huge box full of stickers and washi tape that have been collected and treasured, but very rarely used in fear of wastage or even putting them in the wrong place. But, over the last few months I have started bringing them out. One night, I even scattered them all over my dining table so my friends and I could go wild! I have recently taught myself to felt, and in just a few weeks, made stars and moons and mushrooms that I was proud enough to have on show. I have been doodling. I sewed a patch up on my backpack. I made a vision board and bingo cards for 2026…the possibilities are endless.
Did my heart break a little bit when I made a pen line too thick or smudged the ink from a stamp? Of course it did. I may have embraced the imperfections, but I do not always want to keep the mistakes. Although the number is already less than it was, some crafts are just destined for the bin. Either way, I am starting to learn that there is much more joy to be had when you take the pressure off, no matter what the outcome is.
