First pattern on Ravelry

I've just uploaded my first pattern!

It's free (as it has only been tested by myself and my mom) and in the process of being edited by the very generous Jenn Wisbeck of Midnightsky Fibers, who already spotted an error and offered to fix it. So if you make it before the errata is posted, make the medium :P

This hat design is one that I came up with years ago, and has sold more FO's than any of my others, so it seemed like the perfect one to be my first published pattern.

Download it Now!

There's a lot more to writing a pattern than I realized before I set out to do it. I have been making hats in a "make it up as you go" fashion for years, but actually writing it down is a whole other animal. Having it all be mathematically and technically correct is so much harder than just designing something that someone wants to make. *light bulb* Maybe this is why they invented tech editors. Before attempting to publish this pattern, I was sure I could do it all myself. Hah. First error found within an hour. Think again Kelly.

The process of submitting designs to publications is still something I have to wrap my head around. Knitty wants a finished pattern, Twist Collective wants a sketch and a swatch. Print magazines seem to have the same divide: one says send us a generous swatch, one says a completed garment. In all cases I know they have people who are experienced in sizing or "grading" or whatever you wanna call it. I obviously can't submit a sweater pattern in S-3X when I can't get the sizing on a hat right...

But people have been telling me, and I have been telling myself a whole bunch... Nike agrees: I need to just do it. It's hard to deal with making mistakes, but it's even harder if you don't get around to making them.