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.
@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.
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.
@futurebird @va2lam @bucknam
I would really like a diagram of a way to do that...
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 @va2lam @bucknam
So lovely.
Sewing is an alien art for me, I envy you. I won't start now, but I see this as a wonderful Taoist case study!
Let the material decide how it wants to be treated. The knot is my external will, clumsily imposed on the thread; the friction loop is the inner nature of the thread, gracefully doing what it does, skillfully aligned with my needs.
I love the drawing too!
@futurebird @Anke @va2lam @bucknam
When I was four, I learned both methods, but the second was much easier if I started with the first. The knot helped hold the thread in place for the first few stitches. When you are just learning, it’s very easy to accidentally pull the thread through when you go back, the knot stops that happening.
