We're big believers in happy fiber fun and successful projects, so it makes us sad when someone gets frustrated by a pattern. What we've learned is that patterns, not unlike recipes, make the assumption the language they use, such as "Reduce", "Soft Boil", or "Braize" in the case of cooking, are common knowledge between the designer and the knitter or crocheter. In addition, the pattern writer may assume if they say to "Bind Off" or "Seam" the person interpreting the pattern understands the various ways to accomplish these tasks and the ramification of each choice.

We like this analogy, not only because good food is near and dear to our hearts, but because a pattern is not unlike a recipe in that it is a set of directions with much information assumed due to space limitations. Must be why we call the patterns we create 'Recipes'!