Am I crafting wrong?

[Ksenia]

To be fair, the Great Strides+Standard Touch over and over is perfectly fine to do on lower materials that you'll still need later (around level 21 or 22 as a Weaver, I started being able to 100% cotton yarn like this and use a Careful Touch to finish it). I'm one of those leveling all crafting/gathering classes at once (now going up by 5 levels at a time for each, though from 1-20 I did it in 10s), and do use the Inner Quiet->Steady Hands->Hasty Touch (till a durability is 20/40 or down by 30 for higher durabilities unless it's Good) with tricks of the trade used on every good (unless durability is maxed) and using Steady Hands everytime it drops. Of course, I tend to increase progress till I'm within one step at first so I don't screw up at the end without enough durability (though I still do at times). And usually for the initial increases I use Steady Hands with the normal synthesis first (till I get Careful II anyways).

For me Hasty touch is useless. I get it to hit 5% of the time. Sadly that's about right in an RnG based 50%.

I use Inner Quiet, Steady Hand, Waste not and four standard touch. If I need the other 20 for Dura it's there, if I only need 10 for Dura I can use Rumination and apply steady hand again, use a last Standard touch, then knock out the dura.

Because I have Weaver 50 I always use careful Synth II for the durability and depending on how far over I am it can cost me 3 tic's to get 100 progress on durability but if my gear is HQ and up to date, one or two tic's from 0 to 100. I never fail a synth. It's a matter of how much exper will I get making this or that. That said, I could apply the same process with a standard Synthesis. I always have the CP when using Rumination to get the steady hand and insure a synth.

Forward note: With Weaver and Leather to 50, Waste Not II (making 40 in to 80 by effect) and Careful Synthesis II I can't imagine I will have much trouble making any part HQ. Throw in Innovation and I will be doing it with NQ ingredients.