So last week I was running a beginners sewing class… Two students, two tape measures, two cushions in progress… So far so normal…

Then I looked at one of the students cushion pieces and realised they were huge compared to the other’s. I had thought it odd when the cushion lad measured in at 25″ but I just made a mental note not to buy ikea pads again and filed this away.

Suddenly, looking at why this back piece was so big, and measuring it again with one of my many measuring tapes (and it coming up as 26″ which was perfect as it included the seam allowances) and then measuring the other student’s and seeing it come up as 20″ even though I had seen her measure it as 26″ before she cut it, I was fluxomed… Until one of the students astutely noticed that not both tape measures were the same. One had real inch markings on it, the other’s inch markings were randomly marked at around 3/4 of an actual inch. Totally random and weird (I mean why bother making a tape measure which is wrong when it’s not actually cheaper to make???)

See here for yourself

And here is the end of said tape measure with it clearly showing that at 150cm, where normal tape measures come in at around 60″, this one came in at 74″!!

Needless to say it’s now in the bin. Along with the pins I bought on eBay which are not actually sharp. Cheap often really is crap!