pocoellie

When I find myself making mistake after mistake, I give it up for a couple of days and work on something else, then will come back to it, and then usually it's okay. I know you probably want it to be "perfect", but it's a baby quilt and the baby will never know, and unless you mention the mistakes to someone, they'll never know. We have a tendency to be overcritical of our work.

Barb in Louisiana

I was sewing late one night and sewed a piece on wrong. It was a short seam and didn't take long to rip. Made certain I had it turned right and sewed it wrong again. Darn it! Ripped that seam out again. When I put it on wrong the third time, I walked off and went to bed. Got it right the first time the next morning. I learned a valuable lesson. Now, before any sewing, I pin the fabrics in a couple of spots and turn the new fabric back to see if I am going to be happy with the results. Very rarely do I have to rip because I put the fabric on wrong any more. Of course, I am slower than those gung ho - sewing like crazy people, but I am happier.

GingerK

Probably not soon enough. I hate leaving mistakes so will at least rip out the problem before shutting down for the day. I have come to realize that most of my mistakes happen later in the day--when I am tired. I now try to find a stopping point earlier and spend the extra time tidying or organizing the next day's work.

Reader1

It depends on a lot of things for me. I always rip out the mistake and press immediately after a stern talking to myself for being an idiot and telling myself I need to be more careful. I want the tear out process over so I don't have to face it if I decide to walk away. I then decide if I can start again or if I need a break. Sometimes I just make a cup of tea, or something and go right back to it. (With the tea across the room so I don't create a bigger mistake by a spill.) If I decide the mistake is because I am rushing...I tend to make impossible goals for what I want to accomplish during a set time, I stop. I know I will go back to the rush and mistakes will abound!

Tish05

I also usually stop after the second mistake if it is a fairly big one. I find that tends to happen when I lose focus, so I walk away, usually until the next day.

Sharonquilts

Usually the second time, then I take a break. I recently sewed binding corners wrong 3 times! Since it was later in the afternoon, I left that to tackle the next day. If I make a mistake earlier in the day, I'll walk away and come back to it after about an hour.

Rose_P

If the undo process was very long and frustrating I know that I have to give it a rest before I redo because if I don't chances are pretty good that I'll make another mistake very soon down the road. I'm much more likely to mess up if I'm tired or distracted. The most frustrating thing for me is to sense a hint (Is that fabric upside down? Do I hear a funny sound from the machine? Is the tension still set for the last project?) and yet find myself just continuing to the end of the seam or whatever. Disregarding even the least little bit of an anomaly is almost always going to result in just that much more un-stitching, but I seem to have an almost irresistible urge to fight that gut instinct that tells me something is wrong and I need to stop - NOW! - and find out what it is before it gets worse. There's a little lying devil on my shoulder saying, "Shut up! It's fine!"

Beachbaby12

I find when I get tired, I make a mistake. Also, I can just make a mistake out of human error. I stop when I make a mistake and walk away.

TeresaA

When I make multiple mistakes on the same piece, it's clearly telling me it's time for a break. I put the project away and do something else. I'll come back to it the next day with clarity.

DJ

I usually keep going until I get it right!