Review: Sewing Made Easy(er)

I love the look of sewn cards but don't own a sewing machine to create them. I've recently begun sewing my Starbucks coffee albums, but pushing a little needle through stiff cardboard is not easy on the fingers. Ouch.

When I saw that Making Memories recently came out with a product to make sewing paper items easier, I immediately placed it in my shopping cart. Finally, something to make sewing through thick paper and (hopefully) cardboard much easier!
Several different shops and video reviews said that this here tool would pierce through paper, allowing the user to simply sew through the holes. I don't know what they were thinking, but this is definitely misleading. The "Sew Easy piercer" does NOT pierce anything whatsoever- not even thin computer paper. It does, on the other hand, make small impressions in the paper that serve as a guideline.

I was definitely disappointed. This was not what I was expecting. My stitching is neat to begin with, so I don't really need a guide. Plus, given the nature of the head on the piercer, it's impossible to use a straight-edge to create a perfectly level stitch line. If your line slopes up or down, you can create another impression, but there will be awkward dots where you messed up.

That said, if you can sew neatly, don't bother with buying this item. If you would like a guide to help you sew by hand, this might be your thing.

Here are some cards I created and added some stitching for nice finishing touches:

(this card was made using the tool, which is why some of the stitching isn't straight)

Cute triangular stitches :)