How to Find Instructions for Projects Listed in Make it Yourself

Make it Yourself does not host its own build guides. Each featured item in the book links directly to its original project website, and that original site is where you'll find everything needed to make the project. So the workflow is: find the project in the book, follow its link, then read the instructions on the maker's own site.

What the book actually contains

Make it Yourself is a digital book, Version 1, dated Nov 2024. It brings together over 1000 useful DIY projects from creative people around the world who share their work freely. Its role is to showcase that talent and act as a source of inspiration for your next project — not to reproduce the build documentation itself.

That distinction matters when you're searching. If you look for a "Make it Yourself project tutorial," you won't find one. The book is the index; the original project websites are the manuals.

Steps to get from a listing to working instructions

1. Open the book and locate a project that interests you. Browse by whatever category or theme the listing falls under.
2. Use the link attached to that item. Every featured item links directly to its original project website.
3. Read the instructions at the source. The original site is described as containing everything needed to make the project — materials, steps, and whatever else the maker published.
4. Check the source's own version and date. Because the book points outward, the instructions live on sites the book doesn't control. A project page may have been updated, moved, or changed since the book was compiled.
5. Save the source link, not just the book page. If you plan to build later, the original project URL is the durable reference.

Why the instructions live elsewhere

The book's stated purpose is inspiration and discovery at scale — over 1000 projects in one place. Reproducing full build documentation for each would be a different kind of publication. By linking out, it keeps each project connected to the person who made it and to whatever format, language, and level of detail that maker chose.

A practical consequence: two projects in the same book may have very different instruction quality. One maker might publish a full parts list, measured drawings, and photos; another might post a short video and a paragraph. The book doesn't normalize that — the source does.

Common snags and what to do

• A link no longer resolves. Project sites are independent and can go offline. Try searching the project name plus the maker's name, or check an archived copy of the page.
• The source is thinner than expected. Some listings are demonstrations of what's possible rather than step-by-step build guides. Treat those as starting points and adapt.
• You want the book itself. Version 1 (Nov 2024) is offered as a download from the site; the download is the entry point to the full set of links.
• You're looking for a single searchable index of instructions. There isn't one — the instructions are distributed across the original project websites by design.

Quick reference

The short version: use Make it Yourself to find something worth making, then follow its link and build from the maker's own instructions.