The Design Process for Knitting in the Park

How I come up with ideas for patterns, and turn them into something you can download and knit for yourself.

When it comes to designing and publishing patterns, each designer is unique. We all have our own styles and work flows. Our brains work in different ways which means our creative processes are different. In this post, I’m going to give you a peek through the window of my studio. That’s right, I’m going to delve into the design process for Knitting in the Park patterns!

I’m a very right brained, visual person, and that impacts my design process heavily. In the following paragraphs, I’ll break down how I’ve created the majority of the patterns I have available.

The Design Process for Knitting in the Park

Inspiration

Inspiration is tricky. It’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. For me, inspiration for projects comes in spurts. In the middle of designing one project, I’ll have the idea for three other projects. I try to jot all of them down in enough detail that I can come back to them, but alas some just slip away. This makes me wish my fingers worked faster. Other times however, I’ll have a tough time trying to come up with the inspiration for a new pattern. So it’s off to observing the world around me and searching for that next spark.

I spend a lot of time trying to learn new stitches, new cable techniques, and alternative methods for doing things. These I’ll compare against what I’ve been working on, and try to see if there is something upon which I can improve or change. I might see a cable in a scarf and try to implement it into a hat. Or another day, I might be cleaning up my studio and find an old project that inspires something new. There are loads of ways to find new ideas and gain inspiration it all depends on the day.

Once I have that spark though, I’m off to the races.

Planning

Once Inspiration has ignited a spark, it’s time to fan it into flames. This is a tricky stage for me. Other designers, maybe those who are more experienced or have more of a left brain, will sit down and sketch out the whole project notes and all here. For me, I try to get a general idea of what I’m going to need to do, what I’m going to need to work with, and what might happen along the way.

Where I differ from other designers, (I sound like a unicorn here but I know I’m not alone), is to start playing with the yarn and start actually knitting the project. This helps me get an idea for changes, potential problems, sizing issues, and just how to complete the project. Generally I’ll have a few false starts, where my initial math was wrong, or gauge was off. But I like to dive right in.

Designing/Writing

So, if I’m working the actual project from the start, how does the knitting pattern actually develop? This is a great question and one that I get asked a good bit. I make notes and write the pattern row by row, or round by round as I go. This allows me to “check my work” and trouble shoot on the fly. Seeing the pattern, touching it and getting a feel for the sizing or how the stitches are coming together is a big part of my pattern design process.

Once I’ve knit through the project, I’ll sit down at my computer with my notes and create the first draft of the knitting pattern. I use a template the I’ve come up with in Canva.com to create my pattern files and offer them as digital downloads. Here I’ll clone my pattern template and add in the information about yarn, yardage, gauge, needles, sizing notes, abbreviations, pattern notes…and oh yea…the pattern!

Right about this time I’ll also be taking photos of the finished piece. These photos will be used in the knitting pattern file, but also in social media posts and the blog post here. They’ll also be uploaded to Ravelry.com and LoveKnitting.com, so I try to get them to look as polished as possible.

Testing

It might sound like I’m done here, but the work is far from over. Now I need to check my work. This is the hardest phase for me, as I’d love to publish my pattern and let it fly. But inevitably there are typos or stitch counts that might be a tad off, or even a way to improve upon something. I don’t chart my patterns. I’m always looking for a way to make them as attainable as possible, so there might be a better way to describe something or write them.

At this point, I’ll publish a post here, asking for testers. Often, I’ll also test knit the pattern myself along side them. This way, when feedback comes in, I’m elbow deep in the pattern and have a clear picture of it in my mind. When feedback comes in on previously published patterns, it takes quite a bit to go back to that pattern, immerse myself in it, and really get a feel for what they’re talking about.

With testers, I keep the batch small and give set parameters. Testers will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. They’ll receive the pattern for free, but I need them to complete the pattern within a certain time frame so that I can plan on publishing it. I also ask for photos of the completed work. As a bonus I try to incorporate these photos into the posts and the pattern listings to promote the testers and thank them for their work.

Publishing

Once I get their feedback and findings incorporated into the pattern, it’s ready to be published! I hop onto Ravelry, Love Knitting, and Etsy, go through the numerous steps to upload a pattern – and viola! It’s live.

Then it’s time to publish another blog post announcing that the pattern is available for purchase. This will be shared on Pinterest to help get more eyeballs on the pattern. Also, at this time, I need to update the pattern listings on my site to include this new pattern so that my visitors can find my patterns in multiple ways.