Alright, Friends! Now that we are armed with our list of skills, and our reasons, time for some research into our projects! Don’t worry! Researching a DIY project is not difficult, and can be a lot of fun! I have a simple method that will help you organize your research information, and also help you find the information you need without feeling overwhelmed, no matter the project you choose.
Where to go for information
The first thing to do when you want to find out more about what you want to make is to look up beginner tutorials. There are so many videos, blogs, books, and classes aimed at the beginner. If you know someone in your community that makes the thing you want to make, ask them if they would be willing to talk about their experiences. Your local library can be a great resource for a lot of your research. The library where I live has kits available for check out. For example, you can get a kit that has knitting needles, yarn, and a beginner knitting book, so you can try out something with little to no cost. It also has videos and memberships to online tutorials through sites like Creative Bug.
Compiling the information you gather
As you gather information, make note of commonalities between your different resources. If the same thing is being done by multiple sources, that is most likely a good practice, and worthy of your attention. In the same vein, pay attention for what I call a ‘negative commonality’. This is when multiple resources say to not do a certain thing. Chances are there are good reasons they give the warning.
Another thing to take note of are the skills being used and the list of supplies. How do your skills line up with what you are seeing through your research? What are the most common and basic supplies you will need? If you have a skill gap, don’t give up! Take note of it, and see what you need to do to gain that skill. Check your list of skills and see if anything you already know is close to the skill in question. If you need to learn or practice, that is totally normal! It will just be an extra step in your project.
Special Considerations
Keep in mind the space you will need to do your project. Do you have the space you need in your home, or will you need to work outside, or maybe rent space somewhere? Your community may have rental spaces and rental equipment available for a small fee.
Pay attention to anything mentioning how much estimated time your project is going to take. If what you are going to do is new and unfamiliar to you, plan for it to take longer. This will help you to not feel rushed or flustered when you set to work on your project.
Cost considerations
Price out supplies once you have your list. See if you can borrow supplies from your library, or a friend that has what you need. This will minimize cost, especially if your DIY is a one time project. It will also give you a chance to try out a project without having a lot of supplies that you will never use again, should you realize that it isn’t what you want. I showed a friend how to cure and smoke her own bacon. I gave her the supplies for her first attempt, so she wouldn’t have a lot of stuff she’d never use again in case she didn’t like how it turned out.
Don’t forget yourself
Take time with this step. Be thorough and diligent in your research. Be honest with yourself about your skills, your desire, and the time and money you have to dedicate. If you need to take the extra time to learn a new skill, be kind to yourself. If you are learning from someone else, be gracious while they help you. Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed that your skills are not the same as anyone else’s. We all start at zero, even the ‘experts’. The only difference between a beginner and an ‘expert’ is that the ‘expert’ has had more opportunities to mess up and learn from their mistakes!
Leave a comment below and let me know what project you are researching, or if you found anything particularly useful and interesting. I would love to hear from you!