Your description of the instructions in those old patterns doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen knitting patterns from the same era, and I used to have a copy of the Frances (Fanny?) Farmer cookbook from around the turn of the 20th century. What they have in common is that they assume you've already learned the basics from the older women in your family/community, so all you need from this pattern is how to do this particular pattern/recipe. So yeah, they don't give details about how to do the basics, like press the seams open or to the side, or assembly sequence; they assume you know how to do that.
Ruby McKim's "101 Blocks" book was one of the first quilting books I got when I was learning (this was way before the internet, so no such thing as YouTube video tutorials). I loved that book, not only because I love her designs, but also because (IIRC) her instructions were more helpful to a newbie, e.g., instead of "put sections A and B together, then add section C," it was more like "here's how these three sections go together."
In all my years as a hand piecer I have come to the conclusion that mistakes on my part and the pattern developer’s part will occur. So you need to just work through them.
Your description of the instructions in those old patterns doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen knitting patterns from the same era, and I used to have a copy of the Frances (Fanny?) Farmer cookbook from around the turn of the 20th century. What they have in common is that they assume you've already learned the basics from the older women in your family/community, so all you need from this pattern is how to do this particular pattern/recipe. So yeah, they don't give details about how to do the basics, like press the seams open or to the side, or assembly sequence; they assume you know how to do that.
Ruby McKim's "101 Blocks" book was one of the first quilting books I got when I was learning (this was way before the internet, so no such thing as YouTube video tutorials). I loved that book, not only because I love her designs, but also because (IIRC) her instructions were more helpful to a newbie, e.g., instead of "put sections A and B together, then add section C," it was more like "here's how these three sections go together."
Mrs. McKim is definitely one of my guiding lights. Thank you for your comment.
In all my years as a hand piecer I have come to the conclusion that mistakes on my part and the pattern developer’s part will occur. So you need to just work through them.