Some things are harder to teach than others.

@bucknam @futurebird what? You don't have to have a knot to start sewing?

I just learned about better ways of tying shoelaces which don't come undone as much. I used to have to re-tie every few hours.

@va2lam @bucknam

Yes, knots are overrated in much of sewing. Or rather by stitching so the thread overlaps and has friction with itself you can make a sturdy anchor without the problems a bulky knot might cause.

A knot probably should never be what is holding a book or garment together. It's too easy for it to pop through the hole and come apart.

Knots are psychological crutches.

@va2lam @bucknam

Yes, knots are overrated in much of sewing. Or rather by stitching so the thread overlaps and has friction with itself you can make a sturdy anchor without the problems a bulky knot might cause.

A knot probably should never be what is holding a book or garment together. It's too easy for it to pop through the hole and come apart.

Knots are psychological crutches.

@va2lam @bucknam

Yes, knots are overrated in much of sewing. Or rather by stitching so the thread overlaps and has friction with itself you can make a sturdy anchor without the problems a bulky knot might cause.

A knot probably should never be what is holding a book or garment together. It's too easy for it to pop through the hole and come apart.

Knots are psychological crutches.

I think this dynamic of people learning a task wanting formal official steps leads to people thinking that there is "One Right Way" to do tasks that can be done in many ways.

A frustrated teacher formalizes something that just isn't formal to avoid having everyone bugging her over and over "but how do I start it? how do I knot it?"

Will I cause someone in 20 years to be told "That's the Wrong Way to do it."

hmmm

@futurebird tying shoes is like this. I thought my mom taught me The One Way To Tie Shoes. Then I met my wife and she had a completely different way of tying her shoes. When we had kids we each taught them our own separate ways of shoe-tying. Now that they are grown up I am dying to watch them tie their shoes to see which method they went with.

I think this dynamic of people learning a task wanting formal official steps leads to people thinking that there is "One Right Way" to do tasks that can be done in many ways.

A frustrated teacher formalizes something that just isn't formal to avoid having everyone bugging her over and over "but how do I start it? how do I knot it?"

Will I cause someone in 20 years to be told "That's the Wrong Way to do it."

hmmm

@futurebird @va2lam @bucknam
I would really like a diagram of a way to do that...

@Anke @va2lam @bucknam

OK I've tried to draw it.

Do not overthink the details of these diagrams. Consider the difference between using a knot to hold the thread vs. using friction.

Friction is often a better, more robust solution. There are many ways to start sewing. Just overlap your stitches, back-stitch a few times until you feel it will not slide out.

@futurebird @Anke @bucknam that's sort of how I finish sewing!

@Anke @va2lam @bucknam

OK I've tried to draw it.

Do not overthink the details of these diagrams. Consider the difference between using a knot to hold the thread vs. using friction.

Friction is often a better, more robust solution. There are many ways to start sewing. Just overlap your stitches, back-stitch a few times until you feel it will not slide out.

@va2lam @Anke @bucknam

It's how I start and finish and I thought "everyone knew this" (because I learned to do this when I was so young I can't remember being taught... one might call it "instinct")

@futurebird @Anke @bucknam I was definitely taught, by a teacher maybe?

I think this dynamic of people learning a task wanting formal official steps leads to people thinking that there is "One Right Way" to do tasks that can be done in many ways.

A frustrated teacher formalizes something that just isn't formal to avoid having everyone bugging her over and over "but how do I start it? how do I knot it?"

Will I cause someone in 20 years to be told "That's the Wrong Way to do it."

hmmm

@futurebird I have a new-hire mentee that I keep having the same conversation with

him: should I do it by X?
me: sure. Y is also fine.
him: I don't understand

I mean....yeah, that's clear and is also the problem. I'm not going to micromanage your keystroke by keystroke.

**I need you to understand the task.**

Only then will "instructions" make sense.

@va2lam @Anke @bucknam

My mom or grandmother taught me. But I was like 3. I have no memory of it.

It's really hard to teach things that you don't remember needing to learn. But it can be done!

@Anke @va2lam @bucknam

OK I've tried to draw it.

Do not overthink the details of these diagrams. Consider the difference between using a knot to hold the thread vs. using friction.

Friction is often a better, more robust solution. There are many ways to start sewing. Just overlap your stitches, back-stitch a few times until you feel it will not slide out.

@Anke @va2lam @bucknam

OK I've tried to draw it.

Do not overthink the details of these diagrams. Consider the difference between using a knot to hold the thread vs. using friction.

Friction is often a better, more robust solution. There are many ways to start sewing. Just overlap your stitches, back-stitch a few times until you feel it will not slide out.

@Anke @va2lam @bucknam

OK I've tried to draw it.

Do not overthink the details of these diagrams. Consider the difference between using a knot to hold the thread vs. using friction.

Friction is often a better, more robust solution. There are many ways to start sewing. Just overlap your stitches, back-stitch a few times until you feel it will not slide out.

@futurebird
and on a machine generally you sew forward a few stitches and then backward over them and then go... same at the end, reverse over the ending... i feel like thats probably taught more explicitly than hand stitching these days. like if you found a machine sewing beginners guide book theyd have it in there explicitly
@Anke @va2lam @bucknam