luvstoquilt

I read the pattern before I do anything else. If I don’t understand something or if I think there is an easier way I make notes and do it my way. I have favorite designers and I buy more books than individual patterns.

eastslopequilter

I hate it when you get a fun quilt or craft pattern and you can't follow the directions because they are poorly written. You study it and study it until you can figure out a solution. When I am finished, I get rid of the pattern or make a lot of notes to get around the problems. I wish the author would test the patterns with someone else before publishing the pattern and reaping the copywrite fees.

SusieQOH

I seem to buy a lot of patterns on Etsy and if I have any problems I can just contact the seller. Once in awhile I need to but haven't very often.
I agree there is a definite talent needed to write a pattern.

aashley333

I design my own patterns, so far. They aren't as complicated as some of the beautiful quilts seen here. I did recently order a pattern from Amazon, but the directions were so vague that I simply returned it, no problem. If I had seen a sample of the instructions beforehand, I would not have ordered. I do like Youtube for some things. I have bookmarked many instructional videos for future projects. I'm anxious to try quilt as you go!

tropit

I usually go over a pattern thoroughly before I start...just like when I'm cooking from a recipe. However, I just got EQ8, so I'm excited to be able to design and generate my own instructions using the program. I'm not there yet. I still need to learn and practice more, but some day soon I'll get it down.

Watson

I don't often buy a pattern and if I do, I always want to see the quilt actually made...not just a graphic of the quilt. I want to know that someone made this quilt, not that they just *think* you can make this quilt.

One of the reasons I don't buy patterns often is because I have trouble reading directions. Any directions. I have to read them 6 times and make 2 mistakes before I figure out what they mean. Most patterns I make I am sure they come with video's because I am a visual learner and can follow that after watching it 5 or 6 times. The last handbag I made is a good example. They had 5 45 minute videos on how to make it and I'll bet I watched them each 3 times or at least pieces of them.

So...if I like a pattern, but I can't figure it out? I just do it whatever way I can, even if it doesn't quite turn out like the picture. I've also e-mailed the pattern maker and asked them what they mean by XYZ and gotten really nice answers back.

Watson