WWW: Pattern Writing for Knit Designers

Hello! Kate here!

You’ve seen my name around at Knitty – here on blog posts and on the occasional pattern.

My biggest role at Knitty, is a more hidden one: I’m the lead technical editor. I’ve been working with Amy and Jillian since 2008, and there are two more tech editors, Ashley Knowlton and Ruth Garcia Alcantud

My job – supported by Ashley and Ruth – is to make sure that all the patterns we publish are good. That is, that the numbers are right, and the instructions make sense and are easy to follow.

It’s not always easy to write a good knitting pattern.

Hey look! I wrote a book!

Designing and pattern writing are very different skills; being good at one doesn’t make you good at the other. Indeed, the skills needed for both rarely go together. The most skilled and creative designers have immensely imaginative minds and are gifted at spatial and free-form thinking; pattern writing requires order, logic and a detail-orientation that doesn’t always come naturally to the creative mind.  (Me, I definitely tend towards the order, logic and detail orientation. I’ve got a degree in math and spent many years working in documentations and communications in the software industry.)

I hear from a lot of the designers I edit that they feel that they need help with this. So I wrote a book!

Aimed at emerging designers and knitters creating their own patterns, Pattern Writing for Knit Designers is the comprehensive guide that can help you translate your project into a set of instructions that any knitter can follow.

It includes lots of concrete examples and a full downloadable template that you can use as a basis for your patterns. I discuss the big picture and the minutiae, e.g. the proper use of * to indicate repeats, the whys and wherefores of charts, and the full gory details on garment sizing, grading and measurements.

Cool stuff in the book!

Pattern Structure – what elements should a good pattern have
Pattern Elements – a detailed look at each element identified
The Actual Knitting Instructions – using knitting conventions and straightforward presentation to make a widely-understood pattern
Charts – when and how to make them
Grading – determining skills needed in a pattern
Formatting and Layout – making a pattern visually user-friendly
The Process – how to go from test knitting to a final publication
Selling Online – platforms, processes, and good business practices
On Copyright – an introduction to these important laws

 And don’t just take it from me! I’ve surveyed knitters of all levels on what they like to see in knitting patterns, and they are quoted throughout. I’ve spoken to professional photographers and layout experts on how to make your design and pattern look its best. And I’ve interviewed magazine editors to get tips on how to make your submissions and design proposals their best.

For more info, and to buy the book, visit my website at www.kateatherley.com. The e-book is $25, and there will be a limited print run in the new year. If you buy the e-book, I’ll give you a credit towards the price of the physical book.