To think you don't have to do the edges first?

[CalicoCathy]

4 yo DD has recently really got into doing jigsaws. She does ones with fewer pieces on her own, or big ones with me. Clearly she is influenced by the way I do them - which is to start in the middle, or at a particularly colourful bit and work outwards, and do the edges last. (I've always done jigsaws that way, and I think it is easier as the edges are usually sky/tree whatever and harder to match together.)

Yesterday I had a few people round and DD was doing a jigsaw on a table in the corner of the room. Every single person went over at some point to help her (sometimes she had asked for help, but not every time) and they all told her she should start with the edges. Several people said to her "Don't do it like that", or other phrases implying she was getting something wrong, and one even said to me "she needs to learn to do it properly at some point".

AIBU to think that there isn't a "proper" way to do a jigsaw, that the way she does it is just fine - and even if it wasn't, she is doing it for fun, and they shouldn't suggest to her she is doing it wrong?

YABU. And weird.

Just kidding. Your friends are the weird ones. Are they worried she'll get a jigsaw to complete in her university interview?

I hate jigsaws with a passion. But I was taught that doing the corners and edges first is the rational way to do them.

If you really want to do a jigsaw.

It is something I grew up with but have not practiced with my children- son does his in lines! Go with whatever you want to do. I think larger jigsaws ( eg 200+ pieces) may benefit from 'outside in' but it's not a life or death situation!!

I sort through the peices and take out all the edge peices and put the edge together. Then start from whichever area I find the most matching peices for :o

Cailin

It depends on your aspirations for her. Club level puzzler? County level? or as we're in Olympic year...

Seriously YNBU. That is the best way to do jigsaws.

I really haven't the patience for jigsaws they make me cross.

Definitely edges first round here. Just seems to make more sense to me and with larger jigsaws you can make sure that what you're doing the jigsaw on will be big enough to accommodate the finished jigsaw. But thats most helpful when you're donning the 5000+ ones.

doing, not donning. It wouldn't be very comfortable.

My dad used to get all het up about the way I wrote my letters. I'm left handed so I suppose I start and finish them slightly differently to right handed people. He said the way I did my "a" wasn't "natural." He still hasn't lived that one down. It's so odd what people get het up over.

YABU it's always easier to do edges first

I have always taught my children to choose an interesting piece of the picture, eg a face, and find the bits that let you start there, then work outwards. I think that's easier personally but like you I've been amazed by the number of people who as keen to tell us we're doing it 'wrong'.

but then it's usually from the same people who are sure that an ability to do a jigsaw indicates that their pfb is a genius...

I used to love doing the huge old wooden ones (weird shaped pieces, boring pictures, lots of sky) when we were on holiday with whole family. None of the houses we rented had tellies.

Dcs not interested, which in some ways is a blessing because when we go on holiday nowhere is large enough for spare jigsaw holding table.
And we have television.

Jigsaws are the BEST.

IMO you have to start with the edges then choose the bit you like the look of best. DD2 would say you start with the bit you can find most bits of. DD1 would say "ooh I'll help" and bugger off after 2 mins having hidden a piece in order to ensure she can claim all the credit at the end. DH would say "oh for heaven's sake, where have all the trays gone from the kitchen?"

I always do edges first so I can get a good feel for how big the jigsaw is going to be, and also cos it helps with clearing some of the pieces....but if I'm doing a big one with my dcs we'll all quite happily find random bits which go together somewhere in the middle and work on those at the same time....I'm a bit at the 'right' way to do a puzzle.

The only 'right' way is the one in which everyone doing the puzzle is enjoying themselves :)

I start from the edges as that's how I was taught. However, dd picks out an interesting looking bit and starts from there. It all turns out the same, but I think mine is more logical, hers looks more fun though.

What about crosswords? I always do all across clues then all down and repeat. DH does clusters of down and across that feed into each other. I say he is wrong, he says I am.

We all have ways of doing things our own way. My DH liked cooking so we were going to take turns with the evening meal. When we were married we came to an agreement that whoever was cooking would not have methods commented on by the other. So I still cooked soggy cabbage and he ate it. He cooked cabbage so that it was underdone still a bit raw and I ate it.

YABVU unreasonable indeed.

Jigsaws need planning like a military campaign.

Step 1. Find the 4 corner pieces and keep safely in a pile.

Step 2. Find the edge pieces and keep in another pile.

Step 3. Sort remaining pieces by colour in other piles.

Step 4. Place corners in correct locations

Step 5. Assemble sides to join corners

Step 6. Assemble like coloured pieces into subsections

Step 7. Place subsections in approximate correct locations

Step 8. Join subassemblies to edges and each other.

Now THAT is how to do a jigsaw!

YANBU, it makes sense when doing a child's puzzle especially, to choose a focal point and start there. I've always taught my kids to decide where they want to start, so if we are doing a farm puzzle we might find all the pieces with "cow" on them, when we've built the cow, we move onto the sheep, and the pig etc. Then we fill in the bits around them (not many are not easy to fill in, with a kids puzzle). The edge gets done as it gets done. As my kids are mostly older now, and even the 11 year old does 1000 piece puzzles I obviously haven't done anything too wrong! Not worth getting het up about it though, just explain to your child that there is no right or wrong way, it's whichever suits you best.

Until I was quite old I had thought the 'right' way to do jigsaws was edges first, because my mum taught me that way. It was liberating to realise that I really didn't have to. A friend of mine was doing one with her daughter and they were just building up bits and pieces here and there, and then eventually joining them together, all hap-hazard like, until it was done. Much more fun.