I’m sold! Hollie sent me one of her Seam Allowance Guides to review, and for someone who operates on minimal equipment and has very few sewing gadgets to their name, I have to say I love this clever little tool!
For those of us who trace Burda patterns or any other pattern system that omits seam allowances, it is perfect – this tool automatically measures the seam allowances for you while you cut. It simply attaches to your scissor blades by a magnet, and you cut using the small black ring as a distance guide.
For those of us who find cutting the least appealing part of the sewing process – this is going to minimise your time at the cutting table and get you to the sewing machine sooner!
Hollie is an accomplished seamstress herself, and in designing this tool she has thought about all the important details. I was impressed with the power of the magnet – it certainly won’t fall off or shift when you are cutting around curves or anything! The black ring can be moved incrementally along the guide, so you can cut anything from 6mm seam allowances to 3cm hem allowances:
There are spare rings enclosed and I placed two on the guide at once, partly to avoid losing one (!), but also because I cut my garments with varying seam allowances. And if you have shears with a sloping blade Hollie hasn’t forgotten you – there’s an extra guide in yellow with a slanted edge – it fits perfectly on the right side of my shears:
It is even great for picking up pins! In these pictures I am demonstrating it being used on a pattern from an Australian Home Journal which has no seam allowances – normally I would trace this onto pattern paper, add seam allowances, cut out the pattern, then lay up and cut the fabric – I can see Hollie’s invention is going to save me a lot of time!
Thank you Hollie for your generous offer. And have a great sewing week all – I’m off to cut something out and play with guess what!
pattern scissors cloth 
Already a follower.
I recently participated for the same gadget giveaway in another blog and was not lucky. Hope my luck shines through this time.
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What a thingy! I am a beginner sewer and the only patterns I can find in Turkey are the ones without seam allowances. So I'd very much like to have one of those mieacle tools to cut back my already toooo long sewing time.
By the way, have I mentioned I am already a follower?
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I'd love to win this little gadget simply because I can see it as a bit of a time saver and at this stage of my life, every minute counts!
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I'm a follower, too. 🙂
I'd like to win it because I like working accurately.
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This is a cool gadget indeed. And way more accurate than my current lazy eyeball method!
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I am already a happy reader and follower. I'd love a chance to get this gadget so I can it can help me get that perfect cut.
Thanks for the chance to win!
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I'm a follower!
This looks a brilliant idea!
Currently I just mark strategic points with a Frixion pen and go for it!!
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Hi, just became a follower recently and fell in love with your blog 🙂
A few days ago I decided to give myself a little treat and bought a chalk guide which supposed to work quite the same as this cool gadget. only it doesn't really work with shear fabrics or a very soft linen that I tried. This one looks so much cooler!!
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I absolutely loooove this sewing gadget!! I don't have a lot of gadgets myself but I think this one would be perfect especially when I'm making my own patterns without seam allowance. And I think I'm not a follower of your blog yet…hmmm…anyways, I'll become one now. Also, do you have a new blog design?! This looks so different. The lace banner is great.
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I'm amazed at what some people come up with, that is a genius idea! I have a few Burda patterns and magazines, but I've become really reluctant to sew with them because of the extra work… I follow your blog with bloglovin'. 🙂
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I have the tool so don't need to be entered in the giveaway. I just wanted to say that it is a great idea, BUT getting nice even edges when using it requires some practice. I'm not criticising, just sayin…
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My seam allowences are always rather questionable so I would love to win this! katerpillar_on_toast(at)hotmail(dot)co.uk
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Already a follower, and this would be wonderful for those Burdastyle patterns…
I can be reached via my blog…
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This would definitely stop all the times I've gone to makeup a Burda pattern and given in because of the extra work to add seam allowances! I follow your blog on my google feed, I've even got you in a little “vintage/sewing” bundle 😛
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Fingers crossed! This tool seems so useful! (I follow your blog via Bloglovin')
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This sounds like a wonderful tool to own. I could put it to great use. It would certainly be a time saver. I'm already a follower and can be reached via my blog…
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Oh my gosh. So clever! Looks very handy 🙂
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This is amazing, it's exactly what I need! It's always thrown me a little when trying to cut out patterns with no seam allowance included. Are they available in the UK? If I don't win I will definitely want to buy one.
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Would love to win this, atm I do it by eye; not exactly the most accurate way.
I'm already a follower
sable at xtra.co.nz
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tracing patterns is my very least favourite job of sewing…this would be so handy to win….
p.s. already a follower
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I'm already a follower also. I just recently started buying Burda Style and other sewing magazines and this would be great because I have some conservation issues and often don't leave enough (or any) paper to draw out the seam allowances after having traced the pattern pieces. This gadget would mean that I would no longer have to worry about that. You can contact me through my blog.
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I follow you already and I would love to try it out! It would be perfect for me coz I 'm in the fashion business! Tracing is a pain in the butt when it comes to sewing! I bet you know that already!
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Brilliant! What a great idea!
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Such a smart thing! I would like to enter your drawing. I'm already a follower.
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I'm not much of a gadget person, either, but this is definitely something I would use. What a great idea.
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So cool! I've been wanting one of theses since I first heard about them. (and I've followed your blog for a while now too!)
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I've long been a happy reader and now (I think) a follower.
I need this little gadget in my arsenal because like many people, cutting is not my favorite part of the process. I make most of my own patterns (a part of the process that I really like) and this would save me much time in getting from that part to the next. Thanks!
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Oooh, I love this idea! And Canada Post is back in action, too, apparently, so I may even be getting mail again soon.
I might even be following you twice, as I have two different google profiles…
tanitisis (at) gmail (dot) com
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I´m a heavy Burda patterns tracer so I NEED ONE! Thanks
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I'm a follower and I just got my first Burda magazine, so this would be great timing!
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Hello!
I am semi-nomadic, I work in upstate New York for the summer and spend my winter driving cross country, this makes my sewing tools very, very minimal, but I can see how amazingly useful this would be! I don't have a sewing table to cut out my fabric on, I don't even have enough floor space (I use my bed 🙂 so anything that can help make that process faster would be most welcome!
Thanks!
Serra
s.e.hardy@gmail.com
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I must buy this amazing invention! This would save me so many ruined garments from being too small from miscalculated cutting! 🙂
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I've actually been looking into buying this gadget, but so far shipping has been too much to justify it! I've been avoiding Burda or Ottobre because of the seam allowance factor (shame, shame!) Oh, the patterns I could create with this simply tool! 🙂
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Oh cool! This gadget is ingenious! I'm a follower! And this would save me so much time. I always make my own patterns and don't put seam allowance on them because it's best not to add it till I'm done developing the pattern and by that time I don't want to waste anymore paper by tracing out all my patterns again. I always draw the seam allowance onto the fabric with a set square, then cut along the drawn line. I would love to have these guys so much!
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Already a follower (can I say devoted fan?) and I would love this gadget, I am just getting started in pattern tracing and it would be so great.
sunnygalstudio@gmail.com
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I've followed your blog via Google Reader for about a year now. I'm absolutely terrible at drawing lines, so my tracing & seam allowance skills suck! I swear this gizmo was made for someone like me & I'd love to have one. I'd even consider a BurdaStyle pattern again if I had one of these.
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I already follow your blog. This gadget would be time saver for me! babybaha@gmail.com
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That's a genius little gadget – so simple, but such a good idea! Cutting, especially adding my own seam allowances is definitely my least favourite bit of sewing. All a bit too nerve-racking… I'm a follower on my Google Reader – please do add me to the draw.
Meantime, have been loving your beautiful green blouse…definitely inspiring slippery fabric envy here. Any tips on that?
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Already a follower. I have a mountain of Burda patterns I want to tackle this summer while I'm off from university and I _hate_ adding seam allowances to them. This would be such a help.
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I already follow your blog. This would be an excellent tool for me…I am working on drafting my own trousers and this would speed the process!
saraspnda at yahoo dot com
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I'm an avid reader and follower of your blog. Your tips and techniques have definitely made their way into my sewing. I thought this invention was genius the first time I saw it but getting your endorsement means that much more. I'm imagining flying with ease through the fabric cutting process on patterns without seam allowances. Also, those times when you have to trim your seam allowances a certain amount – this tool would be such a time saver! I'll be crossing my fingers! (amy.ahearta at gmail dot com)
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I HATE CUTTING!!!!!! Need I say more. I would love this little gadget.
eldredgered at gmail dot com
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I follow your blog and really enjoy it too!
I would love this tool, not having SA already included does cause me to shy away from some patterns, some that I would really love to try. This would save time and help me venture into other brands of patterns.
Thanks for the chance to win!
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I've been following for a while. This would be a useful gadget to have around. I'm still a newbie, and while I've been using Big 4 patterns, I'm hoping to delve into Burda patterns and vintage patterns and maybe even create a few of my own in the near future.
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Those wee guides are GENIUS! I'd love to try them, too! Thx for the review. If I don't win, I'll be buying them anyway. Buh-Bye Burda PITA seam allowances additions!
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I would LOVE one of these gadgets! What a time saver. I have been a follower for a while.
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Is there anywhere to buy one of these? I would definitely pay for such a nifty invention!
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I follow you on Google Reader! count me in on this one, sounds really helpful.
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This is the niftiest little gadget for us folks that HATE adding seam allowances to a pattern. If I had this tool, I might actually sew up a few Burda magazine patterns!
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Hello I am a follower , I have just found your blog via google . ( I wanted to know how to hand sew a thread a loop ) These gadgets look like a fantastic idea . I'd love to win one so I could summon up the motivation to get get back into Burda magazines again 🙂
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