The How to Write a Tutorial, Tutorial

For the last 18 months or so, I have written a weekly tutorial and a number of people have said, “Wow, I could never do that, I just wouldn’t know where to start.”  Well that is stuff and nonsense, all a tute is, is a little history of how you made something, so in the immortal words of Julie Andrews and Messr’s Rogers and Hammerstein, “Let’s start at the very beginning...”

Choose your topic, the thing that you can make sublimely, that you enjoy doing... it doesn’t matter that it is not original, let’s be honest very little in the craft world is, after all there are only so many things to make or do, like bunting, peg bags, cook a chicken, put a child on the naughty step.  What matters is that you show how you do it and how great it is to be able to do it your way.

Next the title, I have decided we are going to make pom poms, so I could be very technical and say ”The Pom Pom Tutorial”, it says what it is but to be honest I think it is a little dull (actually it’s deathly boring) so I might go with “Pom Tiddly Pom – Pooh’s Pom Pom Tutorial” hoping that most of my audience had been brought up on a diet of AA Milne.

I love poms poms and they are really easy to make, you don't need any fancy kit but if you follow my instructions, you will get a great result each time... although perhaps not the mega pom pom that Carol Parkinson had in the infants which looked to me to be the size of a fooball (nb this is not an exaggeration).

Start with an intro, or if you are in education, a plenary telling us what to expect together with a picture of the finished item... I want to know that when I read this it is going to enable me to be the bestest pom pom maker in the whole wide world, or maybe just in my house.

You will need the following:

Wool - Don't bother with the good stuff, chemist shop acrylic will do, double knitting is great for this

Cardboard - Breakfast cereal boxes are ideal

Sharp scissors

A mug and a wine glass

Ribbon, I use Jane Means from my stash

Pencil

After that, I want to know what I will need, I don’t want to be blind-sided by you telling me in the middle of making this that I will need something that is not readily to hand... so you need to tell me what I need from the get go.  If you use a particular brand of wool, let me know, otherwise I could be the muppet who buys a hand dyed silk and cashmere hank costing a fortune to chop into little bits.  Even better if you use a particular stockist, provide a link to them.  Think of this like a recipe, you see the picture of the stuffed boned chicken, then you look at the list of ingredients and gather them together and next you jump straight in and follow the recipe, well a tutorial is essentially the same. 

Everybody has a different style of writing and I am going to let you into a little secret, technical writing is the most difficult to do well and to read, especially if you assess it with the Gunning Fog Index which tests readability... so keep it simple.  Remember you want to keep them reading through till the end, not to be confused and turned off by long technical words and terms.

Let’s get going, you have told your reader what they will need, now let’s get to the method.  It’s easiest if you write this as you go along and take pics... I am useless at snapping but here are the basics, take pics in natural light, keep the background clear so we can see the magnum opus in construction, try not to use a flash and if you can rest your camera on something so you do not get the blurry wobbles so much the better.  Also pics break up a post, allowing the readers eye to rest and for them to get their breath back.

You will need to cut two circles out of your cereal boxes using the mug, then using the wine glass pop it in the centre and cut out the smaller circle.  Place the circles together.

If something goes wrong, tell your reader and show them, if there is a point where it looks awful but it will come right, let them know.  If you have ever boned a chicken, you will understand... there comes a point when you have a very sharp knife in your hands, your hands will be slippery from being stuffed into the chicken’s carcass, one leg will be detached and then you will stand there wondering why the heck you didn’t just roast it?  You need to tell the reader that this will pass a few moments later, you will have released the breastbone and be ready to put in the stuffing and sew up the bird and everyone will think you are just sooooo clever!

Take your wool  and start to wind it around the doughnut shape you have created, you will need to create small balls so it fits through the hole in the middle... you may find that the end will not stay put so tie a knot in it... when you have wound round once snip the knot out.  Continue winding until you fill the hole in the middle.  You could use one colour or to make it more fun, use lots of different colours, it is a great way to use up those scrappy ends that are not long enough to use for anything useful!  Don't worry if you cannot fill it all the way to centre but just be aware it will not look as dense and as fluffy as mine.

I am serious about writing as you go along, as it is really easy to miss out a step or a stage because you know what you are doing, remember back in school when they asked you to write up making a cup of tea... our English teacher took our class to the kitchen and used several of the essays to literally follow instructions... it was carnage, empty teapots, cold tea... and no tea at all.  I have a real bee in my bonnet about getting projects tested so, get another pair of eyes to look over it to see what you have missed.

Now comes the exciting bit, position the blades of your scissors between the two circles of cardboard and start snipping, take it slow and steady, the wool will not fall out but will remain trapped in the centre.  

Cut a length of wool 18" long, slip it between the two layers of cardboard and wind it around the your cut wool, slip a 12" length of ribbon under the wool which you are using to capture all your cut ends now draw it really tight, tying it with a secure knot.  Slip the cardboard off  and fluff up your ball... doesn't that look great?  You can hang it up using the ribbon... or if you are a small child it makes a marvellous weapon to hit your siblings without bruising them.

Use you final paragraph to suggest ways in which to use the item, cheaper alternatives and if it takes a long time tell them this too.

Making a pompom is a great mindless task to do in front of the TV on a cold evening and should take you about an hour.  Get the kids to join in and you will have a set of new decs for your Christmas tree or make smaller ones to attach to the ends of laces on sweaters etc.

Paste in your pics onto the blog, tie them up with the relevant description – don’t be tempted to state the obvious under the pic – use them to move the story along.  Next spell check and then look at it in preview... you will see where extra lines have crept in, tidy it up ready for your public.  Once you have written it, don’t leave it there, share it around, tweet it, facebook it, tag it and send it out to other people... you have worked far too hard to let it be a Billy No Mates Make!

In short the principles are as follows:

• Title
• Opening
• Ingredients
• Method
• Options
• Check and Share

And that dear reader, is how I tackle a tutorial... if you have other ways of doing it, please share.  And here is the ultimate musical tutorial, easy to follow, easy to understand, easily remembered and it comes out well each time.

And in case anyone is interested... no, I have not taken down my curtains to make play clothes for my friends!

So next it's off to Handmade Monday to see what other great crafty goodies have been made this week.