For men what is the best way to cut your own hair and get a ';fade'; look?

I have been cutting my own hair for a couple of years but have never been trained. As a result I often get inconsistent results. I use a number one clip on the side and a four on top and was wondering what method to employ to be more consistent in receiving a ';fade'; where the hair fades from a number one on the side to a number four on top.For men what is the best way to cut your own hair and get a ';fade'; look?
it is hard to do yourself. You really need to use a clipper over comb technique to ';fade'; the number one guard area into the number 4 guard area. To do this you hold the comb at an angle and run the clippers over it. You will need a good mirror, actually a few of them so you can see what you are doing. Plus, remember, everything will look backwards in the mirror. Make sure you have the comb at the right angle and blending between the lengths before you run the clippers across them.