Instructions

[Rye]

Are you good at following verbal/written instructions? I always find it interesting to see what kind of learning styles people are inclined towards.

My biggest annoyance with crafting (with both sewing and origami) is that I have a hard time interpreting the instructions. There are so many books I want to buy that I can't buy because I'd never be able to understand the instructions. I think I learn best with photos. The majority of the sewing projects and origami projects I can do best, by memory, are the ones that are almost all color pictures. I can just bring up the picture taken for each step mentally and copy it until I'm done. I only wish more books and websites did this!

What about you?

[Momiji]

I'm not very good with written or spoken instructions. Show me by example though, and I'll learn a lot faster.

[Shadowdust]

I honestly need a mix of written instructions along with some sort of example. Doing one or the other simply leaves me confused, unless the written instructions are so detailed that I can see it in my head. I almost always fail with verbal instructions though.

[Tavrobel]

I'm good at following instructions, oddly enough. Doesn't matter how they were delivered.

[qwertysaur]

My mom gave me a bad habit of improvising a bit too much. Sometimes it comes out fantastically, other times a disaster.

[Rye]

Hahaha, I'm always improvising too - especially while baking. There was only one time when it came out not so great. But usually it tastes better - to me at least. Bananas and brown sugar can work in (almost) any baked good! :kaolaugh:

[Shlup]

I can do anything because I am magic. Pictures or even video are best though. I like recipes from Pioneer Woman 'cause she puts a lot of pictures in her instructions.

[rubah]

You can't just talk at me and expect me to be able to do whatever you're saying. I think this might explain my poor performance in some video games. I can kinda understand written instructions (the trouble with crafting, rye, is that some techniques in sewing, crochet, etc, are just very common and done over and over, so the instructions are intended to indicate what it is, expecting us to pick up the knowledgable slack :/), but work best if I do it as someone else does it as well.

I don't know if I respond particularly well to one style of instruction-- just that I respond really poorly to verbal instructions.

[Rye]

Yeah, when I first started sewing, I'd have often have like, three windows open at once when doing a project - one for the actual pattern, and two on various sewing sites defining all sorts of terms.

Sewing instructions have gotten easier for me over time, but I still have a hell of a time with origami diagrams and instructions. They're really unclear to me!

[Miriel]

I don't really read instructions. I kinda give them a quick glance and then plow on ahead with a "I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go" approach. And then once everything is broken or ruined or lost, I sit there frustrated and going, "WTF????" while my boyfriend asks, "did you read the instructions?"

[Vermachtnis]

I'm not very good with written or spoken instructions. Show me by example though, and I'll learn a lot faster.

Ditto. Watching videos or other people doing stuff is way more informative for me than reading or listening.

[Levian]

I don't have patience to read. If I can get away with using Trial and Error, I'll definitely do that. I also love figuring out something without reading up on it, it gives me great satisfaction and makes me feel smart like dolphin.

[Rye]

I wish I could do trial and error on making cosmetic bags like these.

TUTORIAL: Straight Sided Triangular Cosmetic Bag - PURSES, BAGS, WALLETS

Tutorial: How to Sew a Cosmetic Bag - with link to another TUTE !! - PURSES, BAGS, WALLETS

So tricky!

[Marshall Banana]

I wish I could do trial and error on making cosmetic bags like these.

TUTORIAL: Straight Sided Triangular Cosmetic Bag - PURSES, BAGS, WALLETS

Tutorial: How to Sew a Cosmetic Bag - with link to another TUTE !! - PURSES, BAGS, WALLETS

So tricky!

There's a simpler way to make the pouch in your second link.

Not that I would tell you what it is.

[Rye]

What, really?