I'm one of those goofs who crosshatches the number 7 in the European style. I see this method does that, too.
I don't write cursive quite like this; I learned what's called the D'Nealian Script. See
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Cursive for a picture. I learned it in second grade. I still mostly use the method, although I don't write the uppercase G or Q or F that way.
It might not be the accepted method today, but my handwriting is perfectly readable and I can elegantly print, too, so no complaints!