Welcome back for the final week of Design Series. For this last post, I will get more in depth about publishing.

I want to expand upon one thing I mentioned briefly last week: the use or creation of a pattern template. I talked about giving your patterns a consistent look and feel or theme, which is really part of a template.

When designing for a publication, they will have you write your pattern using a guide. Knitty has a template posted so that your submission (a completed pattern) follows their style guidelines exactly. Other publications will send you a template once your pattern has been accepted for publication.

Following a guide allows your pattern to match the format of the publication so that all patterns are consistently laid out. Every publisher tends to express things like materials, pattern sections, and abbreviations a little differently. For example, Knitty has you list a yarn source like this:

[MC] Manufacturer Name [fiber content; #yd/#m per #g skein]; color: ColorName; # skeins;

While Interweave Knits has you list it like this:

Manufacturer and Yarn Name (fiber content; #yd [# m]/# g): color name (MC), # skeins;

When self-publishing, you are the editor, and therefore you may create your own style guidelines. One of the best ways to know how to layout your own patterns is to take a look at existing patterns from various sources. What pieces do you think make reading the pattern easier? What elements confuse you? Do you like when the designer/publisher lists the basic stitches first and only refers to them in the pattern later? Do you like seeing k1 or k for a single knit stitch?

One of the scariest parts to designing is putting yourself and your design out into the world. It will be judged. There will be people that love it, and those that hate it. When you make something public, you invite the world to critique, comment, and otherwise share their opinions openly. Every published design is a new learning experience. Embrace the good, and use the bad to improve your next design.

When it comes to self-publishing there are several options. You can list it electronically on your blog or webpage, Ravelry, Patternfish, Etsy, Artfire, etc. You can also choose to offer it to your local yarn store or other online retailers on a wholesale level.

A word of caution about selling a pattern on Etsy or Artfire: be sure to state clearly that it is a pattern and not a finished garment. Some shoppers see a picture of a finished piece and assume that is what they are buying. Imagine how disappointed they are when they receive a pattern instead.

For me, the best option at this time is to offer my pattern for free both on my blog and on Ravelry. There some controversy about designers offering free patterns, but until I become better established, I feel this is appropriate for me. Any future Design Series patterns will also be free.

Speaking of free patterns – when am I publishing Nancy & Judy? I am almost finished the layout, and just need to go over it a few times before it will be ready. Look for it mid-week!

ETA: It’s available now!

Tags: design, Design Series

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 6:59 am and is filed under Design Series. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.