A Judge should possess a sound knowledge of the craft to be judged and its technicalities; She should have a knowledge of design and colour. She should be able to put herself in the place of the worker in order to understand what the worker is endeavouring to express. She should have unlimited patience, the ability to word the criticism so that it does not hurt or offend, the courage of her convictions, and reasons for all her conclusions.

You cannot judge accurately and fairly unless you have done work on the craft yourself. Only in that way will you know how well a difficulty has been overcome, how well the techniques have been used and how the work may have been improved. You must never make a criticism without knowing how the mistake could have been avoided.

A Judge should always be punctual.

A Judge should take with her the Show Schedule, which should have been sent to her in advance, and which she should have considered carefully before coming to the Show. She should have with her a notebook, a pencil, an india-rubber and a tape measure. If a pattern is set in any of the classes, this should also be sent to her in advance, and she should study it so as to know what to expect.

A judge should read the specifications of each class before judging it, and, where necessary, disqualify work, which does not conform to specification. She should remember that much time and pains have been given to the pieces of work, which she is judging, and therefore she should examine each piece carefully, even if she knows it cannot come into the prize list. She cannot write a good criticism or be helpful to the worker unless she has given individual attention to each piece of work.

The Judge should write a general report of the work judged, and an individual criticism of each exhibit is most helpful, if time allows, as it shows the worker where she is good and where she failed. This should be done with the greatest care, and criticism should be constructive rather than destructive in character.

A JUDGE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT HER PERSONAL PREJUDICES SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN UNDUE WEIGHT.

The universal marking system should be used for every craft. When every item is judged on its own merits, without reference to any other article, then placings are automatic. This is also the only satisfactory way of judging an 'Any Craft' class.

Each item is marked out of 20 as follows:
Design and Use of Colour - 4
Suitability of Materials - 3
Workmanship Techniques, Finish and Presentation - 10
Degree of Difficulty - 3

A mark should be deducted once for a particular fault - not every time the fault appears.

Design and use of colour: Item should be fit for its purpose, It should be pleasing to look at and handle. Consideration should be given to shape, scale, balance, texture, proportion. Colour schemes need to be compatible giving variety and harmony. You must not be influenced by personal colour preferences.

Suitability of materials: Materials should be appropriate for the design and intended purpose and show the workmanship to best advantage. Accessories and trimmings should be compatible in size, weight and quality and should be appropriate for decorative and practical needs.

Workmanship Techniques, Finish and Presentation: Items should show the candidates skill and ability in the required techniques. Textile items should be unused/unworn. Work should be clean and carefully laundered. Where appropriate any dampening, blocking, pressing should have been correctly done. Framing and mounting are important in presentation, where applicable.

Degree of Difficulty: This is where a maximum of 3 (three) marks can be added on to reflect the degree of difficulty.

Finally - be fair and remember you must be able to justify any marks deducted. Keep thinking how you would like your work to be judged!