5 Handy Tips On How To Become A Jigsaw Puzzle Expert

It's National Puzzle Day this week and we're celebrating by sharing 5 handy tips on how to become a jigsaw puzzle expert. Whether you're new to the hobby or you're an avid puzzler, these tips will help you finish even the most difficult pictures.

Jigsaw puzzles are a popular hobby amongst people of all ages, known for being a fun way to test your brain, spend time with friends and family and they can even be therapeutic. They make great presents and can look brilliant displayed around your home. If you're wondering how to make the most out of your hobby and become an expert puzzler, here are some handy puzzle tips.

Jigsaw puzzles often take hours or days to complete, which can be difficult if you're using your dining room table. Not only is that area now unusable, it's easy to knock pieces on to the floor or lose them due to playful pets.

This is where jigsaw puzzle mats or puzzle tables can be ideal tools for keeping your puzzle organised and together. A puzzle mat or board means you can roll your pieces up or tuck it away under your sofa until next time. Puzzle tables are ideal as you can position them anywhere and use the comfortable angled platform to work on your puzzle.

Jigsaw puzzles were made for sunny days! The best time to do a puzzle is in the morning or in the day, where the light is bright and clear. Working on a puzzle with poor lighting makes it really hard to find the pieces you need and can cause you to take twice as long to complete your puzzle.

Place your jigsaw puzzle by a window or door for the best light and begin your puzzle in the day. Bright lights and lamps can make it easier but the best light for puzzling is natural sunlight.

A commonly known jigsaw puzzle tactic is to find and complete the edge pieces of your puzzle first. This will help you understand the scale of your puzzle and give you reference points in the pattern at the edges to begin building out the pieces.

Once you've found a large flat surface to start your puzzle on, (usually a table or a jigsaw puzzle stand), empty out your puzzle box or bag and begin picking out pieces with a straight edge, slowly building up the border until it is complete.

The start of a jigsaw puzzle can be overwhelming when you're trying to sift through large piles of puzzle pieces for ones that match. Once you've completed your puzzle edge, now is a good time to begin organising your pieces into piles with similar colours and designs. This will help you to break down large piles into manageable chunks of puzzle pieces.

Some of the hardest puzzles to complete have pictures with very similar colours and patterns spread across the picture. Use your reference picture to identify animals or scenes in your puzzle with recognisable patterns and group them together.

Every jigsaw puzzle will include a reference image to work from. You can use this and the design on the front of the box to look for the right puzzle pieces that will go together. Prop the reference picture up in a place you can easily see it and use the box as an extra reference.

Once you've completed a couple of areas of the puzzle, you'll be able to see the scale of the items in your picture and how big they are on each puzzle piece. This will help you when looking for specific elements in your puzzle pile.

The Art File is thrilled to have a beautiful collection of jigsaw puzzles, perfect for every season of the year. Created in partnership with Gibson Games, these puzzles are 1000 pieces each, making them a perfect challenge for those that love puzzles, or a great gift for a loved one.

These jigsaw puzzles are crafted with sustainability in mind, created from 100% recycled cardboard, and packed in a cardboard box. Shop the full collection on our website and browse our favourites below.