I took a class this last May at a LQS cause the pattern really confused me just reading it. Made sense once I took the class. The teacher did have some really good hints about doing this. 1. Do a sheet with the 8 colors in the order you want them. I referred to this a lot when sewing it together. 2. Use your longest stitch and baste the top and bottom of the stripped pieces cause once you start cutting all the different lengths, trying to keep it together can be a problem.