How to Design a Jigsaw Puzzle

As a jigsaw puzzle lover, you may be tempted to create your own puzzles, especially if you’ve completed many challenging ones and want something more intriguing. Designing a jigsaw puzzle involves choosing your preferred material, image, and design. Then, you must print the image on the puzzle board's surface before cutting it into pieces. 

Of course, leaving the work to a custom jigsaw puzzle manufacturer like MakeYourPuzzles is always your best bet!

Steps in Designing a Jigsaw Puzzle

Whether you want to design your own jigsaw puzzles or you’re interested in understanding how the puzzles are created, here are the steps required to create professional jigsaw puzzles:

Assembling the Necessary Resources

Jigsaw puzzles are made out of various materials, including wood, rubber, paperboard, and cardboard. Start by picking your preferred materials and tools.

You need to assemble a couple of hand tools for this job, including a precision knife, blades, a carpenter square, sandpaper, a set of needle files, and a scratch awl. 

Next, print the full image on the board, then choose the design of your puzzle, meaning the shapes and sizes of the pieces. The design you choose will determine the overall playability and final appearance of the puzzle.

Choosing Oddities

Once you develop a theme for your jigsaw puzzle, ensure there’s a variety of peculiarly shaped pieces. You can make the puzzle more challenging by making the pieces more unusual and complex. However, they should interlock seamlessly and have full integrity as a complete puzzle.

The outer pieces should have one flat edge for the border. The accuracy of your pieces will depend on your ability to use the cutting tools.

Cutting the Puzzle Pieces

Once your puzzle board has been printed and marked, cut the jigsaw pattern. Professional jigsaw puzzle manufacturers like MakeYourPuzzles cut their puzzles using laser cutters for accuracy and speed.

If you’re making your own puzzle at home, a precision knife is a good option. Use the knife carefully to avoid injuries and warped cuts. The ease and accuracy of the cutting process will depend on the intricacy of the design, so keep this in mind when designing the shape of the pieces.

Letting the Professionals Take the Wheel

Not ready to put the time and effort into making a jigsaw puzzle from scratch? Making your own puzzle is a difficult undertaking, so it’s worth considering letting a professional create your jigsaw puzzle for you. With professionals like MakeYourPuzzles, you can expect perfect cuts that will make your completed puzzle come together perfectly. Just upload your photos, add your text and design, and you’ll have a perfect, customized puzzle ready to ship to your doorstep!