7 Tips for Completing Jigsaws Faster
1. Choose a puzzle you actually want to complete.
The key to getting stuck into a puzzle and actually finishing it is first choosing an image you actually want to finish. Don’t just pick up the first puzzle you see, make sure it’s one you love. If you’re stuck on what that might look like, we have a huge range of jigsaws for all ages and tastes.
2. Find a good spot to work on your jigsaw puzzle.
Now you’ve picked your puzzle and are ready to dive straight in, it’s important that you find the perfect spot to work on your jigsaw puzzle. It needs to be somewhere with good lighting, that’s comfortable and has enough space to fit the puzzle. It’s likely that your puzzle will be out for a couple of days, so is your dining table really the best place? Don’t worry, if you don’t have a clear spot that’s large enough, you can use a super handy, lightweight, and transportable portapuzzle. They’re great to keep your puzzles dust free and protected whilst you do other things.
Pro tip: if you plan on glueing your puzzle once completed, assemble it on a piece of cardboard that is at least two inches larger than the finished size of the jigsaw on all sides. This will make it easier to transfer onto baking paper when it comes to glueing it with puzzle glue.
3. Prep your puzzle pieces.
It’s a time-consuming, and often tedious, task, but turning all of your jigsaw pieces picture side up can save you time in the long run as you search for certain pieces and colours to group sections together. You’ve heard of eggs sunny side up, just remember that when doing a jigsaw!
4. Find those edges!
It might not be for everyone, and depends on the shape of the puzzle, but we highly recommend starting with the edges of your jigsaw first. Assembling the border not only shows you the final size of the puzzle, it also frames the picture, helping you to work out where to start placing sections you start gathering. Think of the border like X and Y axes to help you place pieces that stick out to you.
5. Sort by colour/area.
Again, this can be a little time consuming, but you’ll be glad you did it! No pain no gain, right? Use the box, bowls, or handy sorting trays to categorise pieces by colour, pattern, section - however you like! Then when you come to solving the puzzle, you’ll do it much quicker when you know you have a group of pink flowers for the bottom corner and blue sky segments for the top, for example.
Pro tip: use our jigsaw puzzle storage and sorter trays for effortless puzzle sorting.
6. Go in small sections.
We’ve already mentioned how daunting sitting down to do a puzzle can be, so pick a part of the jigsaw you like and go from there. You’ll already have a lot of pieces grouped together from the previous tip to get you going. Go section by section and before you know it you’ll have a beautiful completed jigsaw in front of you and a huge sense of achievement.
7. Never give up!
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day! And puzzles should be a relaxing, screen-free moment to yourself (or with friends and family). If you’re getting frustrated, tired or bored of puzzling, take a break. Puzzling is supposed to be fun so take a moment and come back to it, you never know, your fresh eyes might suddenly spot that edge piece you’ve been looking for!
That's it!
Now you know how to puzzle like a pro, you can enjoy solving your next jigsaw as you remember these tips. Remember, the first step is choosing a picture you like and want to see completed! Check out our amazing selection of jigsaws from gorgeous landscapes to characters from your favourite TV shows and films, we’ve got a puzzle for everyone online and in store now!
