Last Thursday, I made my, nearly annual, pilgrimage to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC Birmingham. You might be thinking, “Alison, you sell ribbons and trims — not quilts!”. And you’d be right. But it's the biggest Quilt show in Europe so there's plenty to see OTHER than quilts.

If you watched the first episode of The Great British Sewing Bee Series 11 and muttered, “Why would you use that ribbon?” – welcome, friend. You’re in good company. Not all ribbons are cut out for the job. If you’re sewing something that’s going to be tied, tugged, or worn all day, you need to choose your ribbon like you’d choose your shoes – for looks and for function.