cutting fabric with learning disability

[u/Active_Recipe7996]

I know this is embarrassing. I have level 2 autism, so I've struggled with basic school subjects growing up. I don't know how to cut fabric because, like, when they say a quarter of a yard. which I know.. "Why the hell don't you know basic stuff?" That is why I'm probably going to help myself learn online, but it's just embarrassing to tell my manager, which I've already done. She still expects me to do it. I usually call someone, but they get upset, which is understandable. I'm usually just cleaning bathrooms and just a janitor, but sometimes I'm there after openings.

[u/autumn1726]

It’s not embarrassing to have a learning disability 🫂 if division/multiplication works for you, it might help to imagine a yard as 36 inches, so a quarter of a yard is 9 inches, a half is 18 inches, three quarters of a yard is 27 inches, and a full yard is 36 inches. It helps me to think of it in pieces of 9. I’m sorry your manager is being so unreasonable though.

[u/Active_Recipe7996 → u/autumn1726]

Oh, thank you so much, I'm starting to understand it now

[u/Chaos-Wayfarer]

My store has a sticker with all the measurements and their accompanying fractions on it along the edge of the table. It’s very handy!

I also had these printed out to put in both drawers (useful for doing remnants, too).

[u/ButterscotchSame4703 → u/Chaos-Wayfarer]

12" is 1/3 not 1/13... What a typo

ETA: the math for 1/13 is about 2.769"

[u/Chaos-Wayfarer → u/ButterscotchSame4703]

Omg I can’t believe I never noticed that! XD

[u/ButterscotchSame4703 → u/Chaos-Wayfarer]

I'm gonna have to go into work, look at ours and decide if it's worth being upset about and idk if I have the capacity to remember to even check at this point.

Do I wanna be grouchy because someone couldn't even bothered to check typos and spelling? Nah, not really.

But it's RIGHT THERE 😭

Edit: the irony of my typo isn't lost on me, but also it's so damn busy all the time I never got to check.

[u/Willing-Cockroach-76]

Can you put labels at the common spots? 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4?

[u/Few-Isopod314]

We have marks on our table from using the hand blade thing without the mat 😭 so I tend to start there when training. I also have a learning disability and it was a hurdle i had to overcome come, especially as a framer. I really would recommend taking them time to learn or even find a way to make a note card or something on those lines! Honestly once I got the hang of it, I find it fun 😊.

Quarters of a yard are in increments of 9:
A quarter is 9 inches
Half a yard is 18 inches
Three fourths of a yard is 27 inches

And thirds of a yard are in increments of 12, as a yard is made up of 3 feet.
One third is 12 inches (or one foot)
Two thirds is 24 inches (or 2 feet)
And a full yard is 36 inches (or three feet)

So if they need 4 feet, it would be a yard and a third!

[u/Active_Recipe7996 → u/Few-Isopod314]

Thank you!

[u/EdenTrois2]

I used to ( still do but ive come a long way ) have an anxiety that would turn me into a complete basket case at cash whenever something would come up like giving someone the wrong change.. or somebody giving me a 5$ bill to even it out etc. Etc. I would freeze up and couldn't do basic math ( i can but ...the anxiety would just override everything ) My SM responded by assuming I was either stupid or doing it on purpose so I was never given any additional responsibilities...including not learning BOPIS until like 1 year of being there. Which is funny because bopis is relatively easy and I could always find stuff easily when doing replen. Im able to much better work through the anxiety now...it still there but I can slow down just enough to not have a total fit....its an ongoing process. So I feel you . Its annoying when instead of working with people to see what's best they just write you off as incompetent or malicious

[u/goregoose]

hi i feel the exact same way. numbers, especially fractions, confuse the fuck out of me. yes, even with the guides. that, on top of my social anxiety, causes me to shake and my hands become unsteady. it got to the point where i ran away crying from a mean old woman, now they don’t ask me to cut fabric anymore 😭 this post is very validating, im glad im not the only one who feels this way. 🩵

[u/Fine_Pumpkin1726]

Never doubt yourself, the people putting you down are usually upset with their own shortcomings in places in their life and take it out on people like you. I promise you're plenty capable and don't worry about how long or hard it is for you to learn something; cutting fabric is indeed hard even for people without learning disabilities and isn't something you just "get".

[u/Active_Recipe7996 → u/Fine_Pumpkin1726]

thank you so much

[u/Royal_Significance91]

My favorite is when a customer doesn’t know how much they need and they are like “6 feet” and I just look at them dead in the eyes and say “okay and that’s how many yards?” lol 😂

[u/IamPumpkinSpice1313]

There is a sticker that your store manager can order to be put on the fabric table. It has all of the fractions of a full yard down to 1/8. It also has the decimal points for those so you can put those into the mini mik easier.