Lynnie, it took me several trys too. I kept making such good friends with my ripper. Then just all of a sudden the process hit my brain. Then I thought well that's not that hard what the he#@ is wrong with my thinking. It's just one of those things that I think if someone was right there with you to show you and say'no not that way' then you could learn it quicker. Even watching videos took me awhile. Start with a pattern with only a few pieces like maybe 4-5 pieces. till you learn what's going on. I tried with a pattern that had maybe 20 pieces and some were very small.I choose it cause I liked the design,not how hard it woud be for a beginner. Big mistake. Have a couple good rippers ready when you learn and aftertoo. LOL.