Post B2c8Id60WJd0SFQ7Jg by va2lam@mastodon.nz
(DIR) More posts by va2lam@mastodon.nz
(DIR) Post #B2c3u0mmu9Nis6R6m0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T14:39:57Z
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Some things are harder to teach than others. One of the most difficult things to explain is "how to start sewing without putting a knot at the end of the thread."Like many tasks that I stumble over when teaching I made the fatal mistake of thinking "this is easy"I think I need to draw diagrams? What makes it worse is it's not that important when you are sewing a book signature how you "knot the thread" since it will be covered in glue later. My students want an "Official Procedure"
(DIR) Post #B2c4M3elpDFfsp3lD6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T14:45:00Z
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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
(DIR) Post #B2c4pKabwpMknW4ZDE by bucknam@mastodon.social
2026-01-24T14:50:16Z
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@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.
(DIR) Post #B2c5GwSJGpxy3XM6xU by va2lam@mastodon.nz
2026-01-24T14:53:16Z
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@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.
(DIR) Post #B2c5GxxtespKjn8qpc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T14:55:15Z
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@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 hold and come apart. Knots are psychological crutches.
(DIR) Post #B2c5iC2BSREiBu86ro by ClimateJenny@biodiversity.social
2026-01-24T15:00:08Z
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@futurebird @va2lam @bucknam 🤯
(DIR) Post #B2c8E4m4BY7MqjvD5E by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T15:28:17Z
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@Anke @va2lam @bucknam OK I've tried to draw it.
(DIR) Post #B2c8Id60WJd0SFQ7Jg by va2lam@mastodon.nz
2026-01-24T15:29:10Z
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@futurebird @Anke @bucknam that's sort of how I finish sewing!
(DIR) Post #B2c8PYVLzLo6F5Zusq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T15:30:27Z
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@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")
(DIR) Post #B2c8YlWqvzHhF5ffzk by va2lam@mastodon.nz
2026-01-24T15:32:05Z
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@futurebird @Anke @bucknam I was definitely taught, by a teacher maybe?
(DIR) Post #B2c8fvBFRrotCeygxk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T15:33:25Z
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@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!
(DIR) Post #B2c8s4gpuzVUAgY3F2 by burnitdown@beige.party
2026-01-24T15:35:36Z
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@futurebird you'll do a lot better than the Ontario education system did when i was in it. they tesch that there is only One Way, and if you do things Some Other Way, you will be punished for it.
(DIR) Post #B2c9M7D96pieg5z972 by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-01-24T15:38:34Z
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@futurebirdand 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
(DIR) Post #B2c9M8FJGH2nt60O7k by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T15:41:01Z
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@dlakelan @Anke @va2lam @bucknam We are making books so hand stitching is the way for us. Many of my students have never threaded a needle. (I show them how to use a needle threader which is a topology puzzle for a few.)
(DIR) Post #B2c9Uw2lzxRKeKL5O4 by darkling@mstdn.social
2026-01-24T15:42:36Z
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@futurebird @Anke @va2lam @bucknam I mean, knots are just friction made small, right?
(DIR) Post #B2c9joViHyQRd4yDVA by proedie@mastodon.green
2026-01-24T15:45:17Z
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@futurebird @Anke @va2lam @bucknam Why not both?
(DIR) Post #B2c9lx8FCng8wo0qsy by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-01-24T15:45:32Z
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@futurebirdyeah makes sense, I just mean that this knowledge of how to start or stop sewing using friction is more likely to be taught today in terms of a machine. the idea extends easily to hand sewing, but probably your students dont know machine sewing either.@Anke @va2lam @bucknam
(DIR) Post #B2cAYGsD6v1Y4fYLqK by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-01-24T15:54:24Z
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@futurebird Having similar struggles.Show and tell: Diagrams help the person showing their idea to transmit it visually so the observer can build their own mental models.I saw your explaining diagram before the words & it totally “made sense” as I had lived experience of the “end of string knot failure” mode compared to relying on earth friction physics.Had I seen the words first, I’d have interpreted them drawing my own imaginary diagram, that would not likely going to match yours.
(DIR) Post #B2cBScyk6uK4qjTu76 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T16:04:34Z
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@AnnaBaguenaude @va2lam @bucknam I made a diagram:https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/115950780276008456
(DIR) Post #B2cBde68I13pVRBwxM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T16:06:37Z
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@dahukanna I thought making a diagram was "overkill" but I can see that it's not. Lets see if this helps them to be more independent about this part of the project.
(DIR) Post #B2cBrtSJzCTNBxMddI by dinozombie@metalhead.club
2026-01-24T16:09:09Z
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@futurebird bookmarking this diagram for the future. Very helpful, thanks!
(DIR) Post #B2cBvWRjTch0zHoqS8 by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-01-24T16:09:49Z
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@futurebird OMG! I was discussing this “one right way” or “where is the template?” Linear thinking, simplistic, “100% certainty” approach.A(ny old) way - tends to be the first solution people come up with in solving a problem. Then they stop looking.The (most suitable) way - is the optimum way to address a need or problem and requires critical thinking/effort/patience/determination/tenacity/perseverance/grit/adaptability.
(DIR) Post #B2cDd6OBolNSruVRk8 by david_chisnall@infosec.exchange
2026-01-24T16:28:54Z
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@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.
(DIR) Post #B2cE3MbGAXA4ft8s8e by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-01-24T16:33:38Z
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@futurebird It’s not just kids. I seen grown adults, paid a salary to come up with solutions to problems, also asking, “keep it simple and tell me the “one right answer”! Give me the answer and don’t make me work for it.It is a kind of “cognitive abdication”, “don’t make me think” or learned/programmed helplessness.
(DIR) Post #B2cFJXAwiV7E3t6nYW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T16:47:48Z
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@david_chisnall @Anke @va2lam @bucknam This makes sense, though if that knot is taking a lot of tension because the person learning to sew is pulling too hard it's going to cause further problems. Learning to manage the tension is a big part of sewing. So the thread is taught... but not pulling on the fabric or paper much. It's one of the reasons I like sewing books with them. Too much tension will tear the paper. Instant feedback.
(DIR) Post #B2cFUd9IqcbBm1dCVs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T16:49:49Z
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@dahukanna I will help someone who is overwhelmed if we are just trying to get a task done. But when I'm teaching?Well I'm not teaching anything if students don't confront this.
(DIR) Post #B2cGJcVwy1vQZdXQAa by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-01-24T16:58:59Z
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@futurebird I agree that independent learning and being prepared to make some effort navigating through trial and error but people behave like making any cognitive effort I.e. learning “by trail and error” is “an affront” to their personage.
(DIR) Post #B2cGtNoN6qxnOmCwBE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T17:05:27Z
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@the_roamer @Anke @va2lam @bucknam Sewing is weaving with just one thread at a time and a tiny little shuttle.
(DIR) Post #B2cJ25NFEGCKjKnSEK by edd@freeradical.zone
2026-01-24T17:29:25Z
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@futurebird @Anke @va2lam @bucknam Bahh this will save me so much time and heartache. I was definitely taught to tie a knot in school and as a little one sewing buttons, but knots are such a pain and never really work!
(DIR) Post #B2cJIKhxz67CvDEips by cthululemon@social.cthululemon.com
2026-01-24T17:32:16Z
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@futurebird This is an amazing illustration
(DIR) Post #B2cKK9K1OB8q8pSyNk by GinevraCat@toot.community
2026-01-24T17:43:53Z
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@futurebird @clew It's an attitude that gets more and more prevalent the more formal schooling the kids get.If you haven't read it yet, I think you would enjoy reading "Building Thinking Classrooms" by P Liljedahl. He distinguishes between "doing school" and "learning".
(DIR) Post #B2cKL0a9MwXDKCQ6Nc by tarmot@mementomori.social
2026-01-24T17:43:53Z
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@futurebird @the_roamer @Anke @va2lam @bucknam as a bobbin lace maker I was afraid of the lace to unravel but once I started to understand friction, not to mention I use mostly linen, I have had no need for any knots. Once I learned how to splice, even thin (linen, hemp, jute or other "hard" stuff) yarns, I got totally freed from knots.
(DIR) Post #B2cLtl8asnzdVwfInY by cavyherd@wandering.shop
2026-01-24T18:01:33Z
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@futurebird @anke @va2lam @bucknam I mean, when you get right down to it, knots are just little globs of friction, right?
(DIR) Post #B2cMPzViynfjMGqzFA by cavyherd@wandering.shop
2026-01-24T18:07:23Z
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@futurebird My hack for that would be to show two other ways, also. Then, if they still give me lip, go all "But wait! There's more!"But I'm also not a professional teacher, so I'm blowing smoke out my ear.
(DIR) Post #B2cOIp1NmRewhuN2fY by cavyherd@wandering.shop
2026-01-24T18:21:51Z
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@david_chisnall @futurebird @anke @va2lam @bucknam I'm thinking knots are to sewing as nails are to woodwork: the nails are mostly there to hold the thing together until the glue dries.
(DIR) Post #B2cPmegKt26DHWJdOC by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-01-24T18:45:05Z
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@futurebird for me, the problem isn't starting; it's stopping. I get sewing and don't realize I've sewn enough to use up all the thread and the loose ends have pulled through the first few holes I sewed.
(DIR) Post #B2cRhPdlaC0f5kk37o by cavyherd@wandering.shop
2026-01-24T19:06:32Z
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@futurebird @dlakelan @anke @va2lam @bucknam You know the pinch trick for threading a needle?1. Loop the thread around the needle.2. Pull the thread tight.3. Pinch the fold of the thread where it's looped around the needle between thumb & forefinger.4. Pull the needle out of the pinch.5. Smoosh the needle eye down over the pinched thread fold.6. Pull the thread on through the eye. >
(DIR) Post #B2cwvWtAWkP4Co9pDs by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-01-25T00:56:29Z
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@futurebird @Anke @va2lam @bucknam in the second picture, "below" the fabric, under the 2nd hole, you can see the thread twist around itself. That will create a knot. So technically there is a knot, it just includes some fabric in the loop.
(DIR) Post #B2elmq6GjkzbJsP87s by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-01-25T07:52:02Z
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@futurebird Yesterday’s example of people making meaning & using different words for an existing concept to the observer but new to the “show & teller”. The video, rooted in earth physics & materials that can be experienced, cleared up the misalignment - https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115954357239090581“Disconnect or eject USB device properly from a computer” becomes “export USB device properly from a computer” because these kids grew up subscribing to SaaS services, not using physical media like CDs, tapes, etc.