I have been knitting for a long, long time. I have knit with some great patterns and some not so much. When I decided to publish knitting patterns, I made a list of some things I found annoying about patterns over the years.
Here is my list of top pattern issues
- Not telling me what stitches I am going to be using in the pattern until down in the row instructions. I can learn to do any stitch. And, these days that is easier than ever with all the how-to websites and YouTube tutorials. But I want to know what stitches are in the pattern so I can practice it before starting my new knit. I don’t like surprises down in the pattern.
- A pattern that is 6 pages long for a dishcloth. I don’t need to know your granny inspired this stitch and how much you enjoyed making it on my pattern. Save all that for knitting magazine articles and blog posts. I want my pattern to be as simple and clean as possible.
- I don’t want a tutorial in my pattern. Again, I want my pattern to be clean and simple as possible. If there is a stitch in the pattern I am unfamiliar with, I can quickly and easily find a tutorial or a knitting guide for it. I don’t need all that cluttering up my pattern.
- I make marks on patterns I am knitting. I rarely have a big block of time to knit and it is so easy to lose track of what you are doing and where you are in the pattern. I decided to include a place to mark as you go on my pattern designs to make that as simple and clean as possible.
- I hate “free” knitting patterns that I have to print out 2 pages of pattern and 6 pages of advertisements. That is not free to me. It cost me ink, electricity and the aggravation of wading through the advertisements to find the actual pattern. I much prefer to pay for a clean pattern.
How about you? What do you like/don’t like about knitting patterns? Tell me in the comments below.
