The Twofold Manifestation of Perfectionism in Textile Craft: Experiences of Self-Identified Perfectionists

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of a group of self-identified perfectionists in relation to perfectionism associated with their crafting. It focuses on the participants’ own perceptions of (1) to whom their perfectionistic behavior was directed or by whom it was caused, and (2) whether and how the participants’ perfectionism was manifested both positively and negatively. The focal points mirror the constructs of perfectionism by Hewitt and Flett (1991) and Stoeber and Otto (2006). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Finnish people who identified as women and whose hobby was crafting. Inductive and deductive reasoning were used in the content analysis process to identify themes in the transcribed data. The themes that were identified, namely dimension of perfectionism, positive manifestation of perfectionism, and negative manifestation of perfectionism, provided answers for the research questions. The participants’ accounts suggest that their perfectionism was self-oriented, and it manifested both positively and negatively in varying degrees. However, the negative influence of perfectionism seemed to outweigh its positive influence. The findings were in line with previous studies of perfectionism in creative activities. Moreover, they support the presented theories which suggest that the perfectionism construct includes both positive and negative aspects.