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Showing posts from July, 2019

Testing a Pattern on Ravelry: A Newbies Experience

Okay, I'll be honest this was a very scary process for me because I am new to designing patterns. Throughout my knitting and crocheting years, I've made up my own patterns like I'm sure many of you have but it was never official to the point where I felt confident enough to put it out into the world. So to have finally had a pattern tested by someone, I want to share with you my experience. The first thing I did was go on to Ravelry  and log in. I went to the group's tab and searched " Free Pattern Testers ". Then I went on the group and joined, after joining the group, I read all of their rules. I was kind of confused because I didn't understand a lot of what they were talking about. So I went to some testing call discussions and read some of theirs, I tried to make sense of what I needed to do. I had been working on the crochet hat pattern Road Runner  since April and I was going through the motions with trying to get that perfect and now I had to

Road Runner: FREE Crochet Hat Pattern!

                         Road Runner This fun and easy reversible uni-sex crochet hat pattern made top down is perfect for those who want to get rid of that stash yarn or want to make hats to gift or donate. By: Dezzyloops Hashtag: #dezzyloops Materials: (150yds) Manos del Uruguay Maxima (Peach Melba)  Crochet Hook Size H/8-5.00mm (or hook size needed to obtain gauge) Yarn Needle  Scissors Stitch Marker Measuring Tape Gauge:   16 dc and 8 rows = 4” Sizes: Adult Large: Cir = 22”, Di = 7”, Length =7.5” Stitches Used:  pm- place marker ch- chain sl st- slip stitch dc- double crochet dc blo- double crochet in back loop only  dc flo- double crochet in front loop only Pattern Notes:  - The first dc of each round is worked into the same stitch as the ch2. - ch2 does not count as a stitch. - Sl st into the top of the first dc -All terms are U.S. crochet terms. - (yarn substitutes) https:

Behind The Name: Road Runner

I struggled to figure out a name for this hat pattern, wanting it to be good and catchy but not so unique that no one could pronounce it. I starred at the hat for about 20 minutes trying to see if a name would magically appear by looking at it. Then I began thinking about the journey and process it took to make (Now this is before I had even got the pattern tested see Behind the Scenes: Designing a Crochet Pattern ) I began to think about how after I had gotten a good grasp of knitting and crocheting as a beginner, I would never follow the rules, I would use different yarns, different colors, different needles and hooks. Not that it always turned out right but it was that innate desire to go beyond what I saw, to think outside the box and create straight from my imagination using the patterns as a foundation. Keep in mind during this time all my creations were for personal use only I did not sell anything based off of others designs I believe in copyright for pattern designers. Real

Behind The Scenes: Designing a Crochet Pattern

When I decided that I wanted to publish my first pattern, I didn't realize the rush of obstacles that would hit me. What seemed like a straight and clear road ended up being a road full of stumbling blocks that I didn't know if I could make it past. I felt alone... I read countless blogs, watched many tutorials and pulled out many hairs while trying to make sense of the steps I had to take to actually publish the pattern. Before I had decided to get the pattern tested I was excited and ready to publish it on Ravelry. I clicked on the contributions (after watching videos on how to publish a pattern on Ravelry) I filled out all the information and clicked “Preview and Publish” but when I saw that there was no file that stated “upload PDF file” I become frustrated starting over, again and again, trying to see what I was doing wrong because I couldn't link the PDF pattern to the site. It became a goal of mine “I have to get this published before I go on vacation,”