Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I found out why I hate patterns!

I've mentioned before that so far, I just can't do patterns...they scare me and overwhelm me and I just don't "get" them. Show me how a piece of clothing is put together and I can copy it on my own just fine, but a pattern for me is like lots of puzzle pieces thrown about with no box top to help me piece it together.

Sew, Mama, Sew had a great article about different learning styles and why some people may find using patterns difficult.

The visual-spatial learner describes me exactly, and describes the exact problems I have with patterns. I need to really understand and see in my mind's eye precisely how something is put together on the whole before I can even start one step, or I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing or if I'm doing it right. It's why when I think up a new idea for something I like to draw it all out and figure out what goes where and in what order before I even start to work on it. It's a lot easier for me to grasp something I thought up in my own head than to try to mentally create and wrap my head around something other people made up and then describe mostly in words without many pictures, especially because that often means learning new words and techniques I don't even have a clue about.

I'll be attempting a pattern soon with the regency dress pattern I bought...but I read through the (wonderfully simple) instructions and saw online visuals, so I already have a good grasp of how it all goes together, I think. I suppose that's why I'm not feeling as intimidated by this one as I normally am by patterns!

Fascinating stuff!

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