Test Anxiety: Helpful Hints for Test Knitters and Designers

 Oh, heeeey!  Look! It’s a blog.  It’s only been…. *counts fingers* a bit.  Honestly, I’ve stopped and started any number of blog posts and I never actually post because it seems like the wrong time or I’m worried that I’ll make some HORRIFIC grammatical/spelling mistake and you’ll decide that you can’t bear to have that idiot tech edit your pattern anymore.

So.  Post brunch, here’s where I’m at:

1. A couple of my designers asked me to write this blog and I love them and my own opinions.

2. Copy editing your own work is borderline disastrous (especially post brunch) and I’m not hiring a copy editor to check my blog posts.  My tech editor will probably contact me and tell me to fix some things and next time I’m in Europe I will be buying her every meal to pay her back.  You can handle some misplaced commas.

3. This isn’t technical writing.  I was a Lit major with a Chem minor and now I have a doctorate in pharmacy so I’m accurate in discussing pharmacokinetics and overanalyzing Mary Shelley.  After that, if it’s outside my Google Spreadsheet, I’m working with the drunken world of English grammar.  If you’re ESL, you know what I’m talking about.

So what are we discussing today?  Test knitting.  I stalk a few well known tech editing/designer Facebook pages and I specialize working with new knitting designers (especially of the garment designer variety).  I get asked a lot of the same questions, but one question I do get consistently is “what about test knitters!?”

So what about test knitters?!  And designers?!  This is a community and the indy-designer community doesn’t have any written rules, but I’ve got some opinions.  Okay, I’ve got A LOT of opinions (yes buy that yarn.  Also that lipstick looks excellent.  And you should totally knit that pattern). 

Well, first let me talk about what I expect from a pattern:

Patterns are meant to help the knitter recreate the thing you made.  It’s like junior high science class.  Can you repeat the experiment?  

Now.  There’s some more complicated things involved here that I’ll discuss in another blog, but the pattern should be written so that another knitter can recreate your thing for themselves.

If you’re a someone looking to test knit (and if you’re a designer) here are a few things that are expected of you:

1. First off, check that readability.  If you had to re-read that passage a few times, it’s time to shoot off a message to your designer.  You aren’t bothering them. The pattern has not been put on the market yet. If you think your question is annoying, imagine what a group of people asking the SAME QUESTION over and over will feel like.  You are not annoying.  You’re doing your job MOST EXCELLENTLY.  

2. Can you read the chart??  Maybe you want a 5x5 grid added.  Maybe the squares and numbers are so tiny that the chart needs to be split up.  Maybe it refuses to print appropriately.

3. I mean, maybe you can’t read charts?  Maybe you're neurodivergent, visually impaired, or you just hate charts?  This might be an opportunity to tackle the issue of accessibility in a pattern.  If you have a disability or a different sort of knitter’s brain you can disclose this when you apply as a test knitter.  You’re an asset.  There’s a huge push for accessibility in the maker community and designers need and WANT your help.  There’s a thousand different ways to make patterns accessible, so if you want to take on the work of being an ambassador for your community, shoot your shot!  

4. Is the format even readable?  Maybe there’s a whole bunch of graphics or a page change in the middle of important instructions… or maybe your designer decided to use size 9 font and aqua lettering.  Ew.  I mean my kitchen is an aqua turquoise, but there isn’t anything to read in there.  Are there too many pages?  Does the quantity of pictures make it unfriendly for you or your office’s printer (seriously, who can even afford printer ink these days)?

5. Report on all the hard numbers in the pattern.  Is the stitch count for your pattern accurate?  What was the yardage and weight of yarn you used?  Needle size?  This information is so helpful.  Maybe your designer knits with a grip of iron.  If the majority of the test knitters had to use a US 8 to obtain gauge when the designer used a US 10… well that’s something the designer should absolutely note.  Maybe the designer or their grader overestimated their yarn quantity?  Save some future knitters some tears!

6. Here’s one that you might not have thought of… should you even take on this test knit?  I mean, I get it.  There’s constantly an amazing new pattern out EVERY DAY.  My pattern queue is literally (figuratively) killing me right now, but if you cannot complete the pattern by the deadline — don’t do it.  And don’t be an optimist.  I’m a firm believer that optimism kills anyway.  Be a realist.  If there’s even a small amount of doubt that you cannot complete the test knit on time, don’t even try.  Now, there will be times when your grandmother or furbaby, etc, dies or capitalism smashes you in the face and you get called in for overtime, but at that point let your designer know immediately.  I don’t know a designer who would not understand (but maybe this is because I just know some amazing human beings).

7. Get your designer some final measurements!  If it’s on the schematic, grab that measurement.  Also, how does it fit?  As a grader, I can tell you the smallest 3 sizes and the largest 3 sizes have 100% driven me to drink and madly smash my keypad.  Your designer desperately wants you to love your knit.  Seriously.  So if you had to modify the pattern to make it wearable, let them know.  The grader and tech editor will be grateful for the feedback too (trust me).

8. Are you applying to a pattern appropriate for you?  I’m not talking about gender identity or body size (we should all be designing inclusively at this point).  I’m talking about your skill level.  A test knit is no place to learn a new skill.  If you haven’t knit a garment or lace or color work without guidance, it’s a good idea to pass on this test knit.  Your designer is not your teacher.  If you’re pregnant and you aren’t test knitting a maternity pattern, don’t expect it to fit without modification and you should absolutely disclose this to the designer when you apply.  A pregnant person can absolutely wear a crop top, but a pregnant body is a certain kind of shape and needs extra length in the front if you want it to reach the position of your new belly button, etc.  On that note, please knit your actual size. If your designer is asking for specific chest sizes, then you should knit your size because we’re looking for fit and pattern clarification.  That’s not to say that you can’t make modifications, but if you do you need to let your designer know.  For example, my chest is on the large side, but I have a very narrow back so I tend to knit a size down.  This can give me less ease, but it’s also a really lazy way to make the pattern fit the rest of my body and I really don’t mind less ease across my chest.

9. Use the designer’s preferred method of communication.  If there is a discord and an email, do NOT slip into your designer’s DMs.  First, it’s hard to keep track of all the changes for a design, but also isn't it obnoxious when your mom calls when you specifically told her to text you?  Come on.

Hey, designers, are you nodding your head in absentminded agreement?  Well *snap snap* it’s time to wake up because you’ve got some responsibilities too.  Your test knitters are most likely not getting paid for their test knit, so you owe it to them to make their job as easy as possible.

1. Get your pattern tech edited.  Your test knitters are trying to replicate your pattern.  They shouldn’t have to double check your math and look for missing periods too.  Your tech editor will catch a lot of your major mistakes.  If you’re asking a knitter to spend money on your pattern, make sure it’s as accurate and easy to read as possible.  If it isn’t as close to publish-ready as possible, just don’t hand it to your test knitters.

2. Have you done the work to make sure your pattern is as accessible as possible?  I don’t think anyone expects you to catch everything, but there’s been a lot of discussion about accessibility and resources have been shared.  If you have someone disabled or neurodivergent contact you to test knit, seriously take advantage of their willingness to help you out!  If you’ve gendered your pattern, I would seriously reconsider and make it as gender neutral in it’s language as possible and encourage people across the gender spectrum to test knit. I’m not going to address size inclusiveness.  Anything worth doing is worth doing right, so just do it. If you’re having a hard time, consider asking for help (and be willing to pay for the advice.  Most people are nice enough, but don’t expect that level of work for free. From anyone). The more accessible the pattern, the more people you can sell to, but also it’s just the right thing to do.

3. Make sure your pattern format is easy to get at.  PDFs and Google Docs are usually pretty darn safe.

4. Give your test knitter one or two places to communicate with you.  I advise against Ravelry at this point.  The computer version still makes my head hurt so using Facebook messenger, Discord, Instagram group chat, or Google Chat might be some alternate options.  Make sure the expectations for communication are clear so that they aren’t accidentally driving you bananas.

5. Create a PLAUSIBLE deadline.  A person with a 30 inch chest is going to be able to finish a pattern faster than a size 62 inch chest.  There’s more yarn and garment area so make sure both parties (and everyone in between) can finish by your deadline.

A few other things to think about:

Are the materials accessible??  I would not limit your knitters to a single type of yarn, unless it's a collaboration with a specific yarn designer.

Consider releasing the pattern to each test knitter in sections (sort of like a MKAL).  This community is full of wonderful people, but there are some people who apply to test knit to get a free pattern.  Also the MKAL format makes it pretty fun because you just want to see what the next section looks like.  This format can also help you keep the corrections in bite size pieces.

There’s probably a few thousand things I’ve missed, but these are the things I’ve discussed with designers and just plain internet stalked and gathered from patterns.  Do you have anything to add?  Let us know in the comments!