well, I tried my hand at piping today, (i've never had a class) and as luck would have it, my piping penmanship is better than my normal penmanship by far (just like with calligraphy) lol. but I don't know how to do anything else with the icing, how beneficial would it be to take the wilton class, or would I be able to figure it out on my own via tutorials?
in other words, which should I do?

Why not both? You can to see different techniques and decide what works best for you.

I agree with sweet-thing - you can learn from both.

I would take the class. I had books and watched tutorials. but after I took class 1 and 2 i felt more confident and you learn things you might not think of looking into via tutorials, like covering your cake boards-I have seen so many gorgeous cakes with naked boards! also how to level, properly fill a bag and more. Its definitley worth it and fun too.

Books are good, but I really enjoyed the classes (had a great teacher). For me, seeing someone actually doing things was better than looking at pictures, plus the teacher can jump in if you are struggling. I also found in finally got me to take the time out of my schedule to work on decorating, as I had to be ready for class.

I learned just from looking at the catalogs and practicing. I've never taken a Wilton class.

My daughter and I really enjoyed taking the Wilton classes together. Definitely worth the investment. We just finished the final course last week.

Some people are visual learners & have to see the technique demonstrated & not just pictures in a book. Taking the classes helps you get the consistancy, angles, bag position etc. just right. You cannot always do that by watching, you must do it for yourself & yes I am an instructor. I myself did not take all the Wilton classes & I struggled to learn some of the material until I received the proper instruction. I am now a Wilton Trained Instructor. Have fun no matter what you decide to do.

I taught myself calligraphy also back in the 70s....and I am teaching myself cake decorating....I guess you can check how I am doing by looking at my cake pics....its a work in progress...........but I don't think I will take wilton classes at this point....I learn from tv shows and you tube...and trial and err....good luck

I think it depends on how you learn best. I really like learning from books, because I have so much material I can then reference back to. I've never taken a class. I imagine I could get something out of it, but for now I just invest in books and poke around CC

I agree, it depends on how you learn best. I just discovered cake decorating earlier this year and personally, all I did is read, research and ask all the questions I have in mind.