Step 1. Get used to shuffling the hands by imaginary throws. There are three throws sequencially on both sides: Above the other wrist, normal, and under the wrist. Then the other side.
Step 2. Start with reverse cascade (all outside throws) as learned in Lesson 3.
Step 3 Throw two balls on the wrong side: the red one under the wrist, and the green one above the wrist. Note how all balls land near the middle of your body, so catches are not affected. Continue with regular outside throws. Learn both sides.
Step 4. Repeat the irregular two throws on the other side (with the normal throw of the blue ball in between). Red ball is thrown twice under the wrist and the green one twice above the wrist. Learn starting with either side.
Step 5. This is the Mill's mess.
There are several variations of the Mill's mess. The table below lists eight versions that all have Siteswap 3 and a cycle of three throws. They can be organised into four pairs, where one is the reversed time version of the other. The original Mill's mess is the easiest.
| Mill's mess | time reverse |
| reach over (Flo's mess) | reach under + inside |
| reach under | reach over + inside |
| upside down | time reverse upside down |