Last week I worked on a quilt top that I had made about two years ago. I had set it aside, and when I revisited it, I was not thrilled. So I took it apart and changed what I didn’t like. Reverse engineering by un-sewing and re-sewing the center and first round of geese.

I had shown it to some friends, and even with its flaws, they encouraged me to write up the pattern. OK, I can do that. But it will require more reverse engineering, of a different kind.

You see, I worked in the tech world for many years (before embarking on the quilt life), and we often had to take apart an object/idea/piece-of-software, and figure out how it was made, so we could make our own, improved version. Think building a better mousetrap – you need to know how the current one works if you hope to improve on it, right?

Then we had to document it. As a technical writer, that was my job. And as a pattern writer, it is STILL my job. Major respect to the illustrator who documented that mousetrap, BTW.

If I had known that I needed to write up the instructions for it, I would have documented the process as I went along: how many half-squares triangles to make, which direction to press, what’s the most satisfying curse word to use when I make a mistake, and all those other nit-picky details that go into writing a good pattern.

But I didn’t. I was making it up as I went along. I do that sometimes.

So now I am faced with the task of reverse engineering it, documenting it by working backwards. Measuring. Counting. Doing MATH.

Yeah, that day is here… Good thing no one else has to decipher my notes:

And it’s a very good thing that I didn’t get it quilted yet, because I can still turn it over and see how I pressed things. You want some suggestions on that, I assume.

Whenever I sit down to write up a new pattern, it feels like a return to my days as a tech writer. That’s not a bad thing, just a familiar mindset, a get-to-work attitude. And I have to say, I’d much rather reverse engineer and document a quilt than the stuff I used to do.

But next time I start a project without a plan, I’m going to keep track of it as I go along – just in case. 🙂

And I still need a name for this thing. If I use your suggestion, you will get bragging rights and a copy of the pattern as soon as it comes out! Thanks!