The Mouse Pad: Sewing Pattern Reading

With the world of technology, there’s practically nothing you can’t learn about or learn more about on the internet. This is a great thing for me because I am a very visual learner. With the help of Youtube and other various websites and blogs I am able to learn a lot about the crafts I am interested. I learned how to crochet solely by watching great Youtube tutorials on the craft. So in thinking about how helpful Youtube is to a crafter, I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite videos with you on crafts I do and even some I don’t. I hope you will find something of interest to you through these videos.

I am trying to relearn how to sew. It might not be the best thing to be learning on a such a small scale, doll clothing for those who don’t know, but I’m a glutton for a good challenge. So back in high school when I was taught about sewing, I was never taught how to properly read a pattern. Oh sure I knew what “cut 2” meant, but there are other parts of the pattern that I didn’t know or understand about until a video I saw yesterday about it. Curious what I mean? Have a look at this neat and informative video below.

Short and sweet and too the point. There were some tips in there I hadn’t hear of before, which will be great knowing now when I try to sew for myself in the new year. This is just another great example on how Youtube, among many other places, can be super helpful to you in a craft you already love or a craft you are just dying to learn.

Now, if you aren’t a fan of Youtube, especially after their “improvements”, you can still find some great videos out there. You’ll have to use Google or whatever search engine you prefer. Go to the search line and type one of two things. For this example I will use sewing, but of course you will use whatever you are looking for. In the search line you can type “how to put in a dart”, I find it’s best to put all lower case because upper case can sometimes have them looking only for links with upper case while lower case tends to look through them all. After you type that and it loads the page, you simply click on your video link at the top of the page and various videos will pop up. You will of course have Youtube videos show up in the mix, but you will have other options as well.

Now another way you can try searching is typing in the search bar “how to put in a dart+video” or “ “how to put in a dart+video” “. Now the first option will tell the site you are searching for a video, but it will kind of search for all the words individually. You will more than likely get videos of how to put in darts in clothing, but don’t be surprised if you get videos on how to put in a dartboard or how to play darts or some other crazy stuff. Now with the second option that has quotation marks around the phrase, this is telling the site you want to search for the phrase exactly how it is. Now this will return fewer search results but it will get you closer to your goal of what you are looking for. These tips will work for any kind of search not just for crafting videos. But yeah, this search should get your exposed to the various websites and blogs out there that also host crafting videos.

Another suggestion I have is if you know a craft really well and feel you can teach really well you should make a video. I guarantee people will watch your videos. There are people looking videos and they need you to make them. If/when I get to the point I feel I know a craft well enough I will make a video for sure. Now don’t worry, I’m not asking you to give away your trade secrets, just some hints and tips that are general knowledge or things you don’t use now in your work but used to use with success. Also, if you watch one of these amazing videos, be sure to pay it forward by “liking” the video and leaving a quick comment to thank the artist/crafter for their tutorial and sharing it with the world. If we want more videos in the future we have to let those who make them know we appreciate the time and energy it took them to make it for us and we’d be super happy if they decided to grace us with another. No, don’t kiss up to them,that’s just fake and people can tell fake, just know a little kindness goes a long way.

And well, that’s it for this post. I just really wanted to share this video with you all and let you know to expect others with you on various crafts. If there is a craft you are interested in and can’t find information on, let me know and I will see if I can hunt down something for you. And that’s it ladies gents. I’m off. Have an awesome day and be good until next we meet. Take care. Bye for now. Smile