I'm customizing the fit of a designer's work for a knitter . . . Part 1
The designer is watching me (in a good way), and has given me permission because she does not want to grade it for larger sizes.
This is a charming and lovely design, and it is both simple, and a little tricky! I completely understand why grading it into more sizes is not a good option for the designer. Link to pattern below.
tldr; Read Time 7 minutes
Part 1 : Customization seems like such a great solution, but there is always something! I love to solve problems, and the knitter is patient! See what I’m finding out.
1. Customizing Considers One Body
The knitter is slightly larger than the largest available size, and she is a different Body Type than the designer typically focuses on. This project is taking someone’s measurements and Body Type and figuring out how to make it work for her and her fit preferences.
It doesn’t matter that the knitter’s gauge is totally different in her chosen yarn (approved by the designer) since I am basically recalculating anyway, but it is a twist! The calculations are easy, it is the construction that is challenging to comprehend. Did I mention that the fabric is biased?
I’ve read the instructions over, and over, and over. It is clearly written, but not my style, plus the pattern has all the things that trip me up. The fact that this is not my design, and I have no insight into the construction is unusual for me! A lot of the reading has been to try to understand the balls that are being juggled when, and which ones I am not using, but contain crucial information I need.
Let me digress into my issues with “standard” knitting patterns.
2. How & Why My Pattern Style Is Different
Why.
I have a unique pattern-writing style: I over share and include details that some find annoying; but when they need that detail, they are first surprised, then happy, I included it. My virtual assistant is always telling me that I’m writing tutorial booklets, not patterns.
I began writing my patterns in this style because I had a hard time following standard patterns. I have directional and number dyslexia (self-diagnosed. My lawyer spouse always wants me to say that!), which gives me fits when things change direction or there are strings numbers. I’ve written about it. Also this.
I don’t have any trouble reading, or with reading comprehension, but throw some numbers in and I find myself adrift pretty quickly. Change direction, and now I’m not sure which way I’m moving. That means I have to re-read the same instruction every freaking time.
Thing is, I’m a pretty fast knitter, and when I’m knitting I love the action of it, but I also want to make progress as quickly as possible (a desire expressed in most aspects of my life). If I have to keep slowing down to digest and re-digest information, it slows my hands down, so less progress. I am not a happy knitter.
My patterns are long, but comprehensive. The one shown is extraordinarily long because every stitch is patterned (on both sides), and there is shaping, short rows, a 37-stitch lace pattern (mirrored, and in places split in two), and more.
I figure anyone can skip what they don’t need, but I want to sit on the couch, and work my way through my knitting without slowing down.
How.
I don’t want to say I at the beginning of every point, so I:
Capitalize things that others don’t: SSK, SSP, SSSK, SK2P, PM, M1 (don’t really use it, but if I did), RS/WS.
Make up some abbreviations: incR, incL, incRp, incLp, S2KP
Some information is in brackets [], not parens ().
Don’t capitalize k2tog, p2tog, and similar because it looks like yelling to me.
Use “-b” instead of “tbl”.
Never use sm/SM for slip marker because I assume the knitter will do that automatically and it is one more thing to digest.
Do not abbreviate knit or purl unless followed by a number: k2, p3.
Words in text are not abbreviated because it doesn’t save that much space.
Other idiosyncrasies:
Knit into front and back is k1-fb, not kfb.
Sl1 instead of s1.
Use bold, underline, and italicize text, and even text color to help in making the length of my materials digestible. Explanation from a Jill Wolcott Knits pattern.
Put my pattern rows into tables that match the knitting setups and markers to make them easier to track.
My patterns have Action charts for all the written instructions. The result is a long pattern, with plenty of white space and a clear flow of information. Says me. Here are a couple of sample pages to take a look at.
Every instruction that isn’t broken down into sections is hard for me to digest. By using tables, I put the text into shorter sections which to my brain are easier to follow. I don’t have to designate the markers after they are placed. The column headings tell me where I am in my knitting.
Two columns layout was the rage in patterns for a long time. With narrower column widths the sentence wraps more times until it is a paragraph, not a sentence. I did it too, but once I started using tables, I needed that width, so I returned to a single column.
3. There Is Always Something To Learn
That is something I love — give me a twist or a turn and my brain is very happy!
a. Ages Ago I Learned That Layout Can Cause Confusion
I did a pattern for a magazine. They shared the edited pattern with me before publication. It was a popular pattern and I started getting lots of questions and I could not figure out why knitters were experiencing the same problem, at the same place.
As I tried to answer their questions, I was looking at my hard copy of the pattern, which wasn’t in the magazine layout. There was nothing wrong. Then it occurred to me to look at the pattern in the magazine. There was nothing wrong, but the heading “Sleeves” had been left off, so the text went from the shoulder shaping to the cast on for the sleeves. Layout matters.
b. Plus, We Don’t Read . . .
This current pattern has a crucial section at the beginning of the pattern, although you use it later. It doesn’t fit into the flow of the rest of the pattern, so I totally see why it is where it is, but there isn’t a heads up that I need the information in there — even though I’m not using that section for the knitter! We don’t read if we think we don’t need it. Problem now solved, and a lot of subsequent questions answered.
c. Don’t Start With The Actual Pattern — Read Everything First
Okay, I admit I didn’t do this! I read everything but the Glossary (I know all those terms) and the Cheat Sheets: I didn’t look at those because I wasn’t following quite the same trajectory, but it turns out there is really good information in them.
I did study the Schematic, but the “Stitch Marker Set Up Schematic” next to the glossary, which I did look at, didn’t make sense because I couldn’t read the tiny text. My bad, but see Layout above!
d. What You Don’t Know Can Impact Comprehension
Not the things you didn’t read, the things you cannot know because you are not in the designer’s head. Now maybe this isn’t important to other knitters, but from my perspective, it is critical because I am already struggling with presentation and comprehension. I am always asking myself "what got left out here?”
This pattern starts working flat. Two pieces are worked that form the bottom shape. The central markers are the side seams (center of each piece). Each piece is worked Front/Back on RS rows.
This knitter needs more stitches on the Front, so the central marker is no longer at the actual center, which requires a separate set of instructions for the second piece which is worked Back/Front on RS rows.
When the pieces are joined to work the body, the first piece (Front/Back) is joined to the second piece (Back/Front): Front-Back-Back-Front, adding markers to the centers of the joined Fronts and backs.
Understanding what those markers designate was tricky for my brain. The BOR is at the center front, not the side seam! This is what you end up with:
To be continued . . .
Look for the second installment of Customizing in your inbox in a week.