Etsy and Instructables are all about innovation and sharing the wealth of your knowledge, be it by means of a lovingly handcrafted item or the instructions on how to do, make or produce just about anything. (And the chance to show off your DIY talent doesn't hurt!) The Sew Useful contest has brought together the Etsy and Instructables communities to facilitate a meeting of the minds, fusing the worlds of making and instruction in an exciting collision of creativity. The goal of this contest? To produce a new and useful item (with easy-to-follow directions!) that would make anyone's life easier. The pay-off? Charitable contributions to the One Laptop per Child project, the satisfaction of a job well done, and a bevy of rad prizes, including a Singer QUANTUM 9940 sewing machine.

We had over 100 entries, which you can view here. Judging is proceeding smoothly and we'll announce the winners live in the Workshop early next week (stay tuned for exactly when).

The Sew Useful contest generated tons of new items, born of good ideas. Etsy user dottyral told us that her "useful item is an Emery Pincushion — it keeps pins and needles sharp. You just can't buy an emery pincushion anywhere... I saw that something wasn't available in the commercial market and filled that need with something handmade. How cool is that?" This example of innovation is exactly the kind of forward-thinking that the Sew Useful Contest is all about: finding an niche in the market that you can fulfill with a little ingenuity and DIY spirit.

When we asked contestants why they decided to enter the contest, Discopants said, "I've never done something this complete or in this open [an] environment before...This project was one that I've wanted to share for a long time. I've found it extremely useful myself, but didn't know where to get a voice to share it. I've thought about typing up instructions that I could e-mail out for about as long as I've had the idea. I just never got around to it. The format of Instructables.com made it easy and the contest where I could win something got me to take it seriously and post my idea. Now that I see how easy it is to do, I will work on getting some new ideas out there."

Many Etsy members had no previous experience with Instructables, but applied their real life how-to experiences to the contest. Etsian Terryann stated, "I am a mother...— my whole life is....'This is how-to_______________'...fill in the blank." It goes to show: even if you have no formal teaching experience, you might have more experience giving direction than you realize!


And as for that Singer QUANTUM 9940 sewing machine? It was a fine motivator for many a contestant. As Raggyrat said, "My sewing machine is old...Imagine getting a nice sexy new one with whistles and bells!"

For more information, visit the contest page, and to see the complete list of Instructables see the Instructables Etsy group.

Note: This was originally posted in the Etsy Garden.