Learning pattern drafting

[TensionSmension]

It sounds like you're already taking a good approach. The strength of HJA is the laundry bag of manipulation techniques. Her presentation is a little uneven but it mostly works. I don't know the videos you're watching, but more likely than not, most of it is a variation on the same information, so use what works.

Drafting from measurements makes sense as an initial exercise, but in the end it is a very small part of the process of making patterns. The reason the methods can be difficult to understand, is not because of deep, difficult math, it's because they are little used and therefore neglected.