Patreon and cost of producing a knitting pattern

A new Patreon is looking at the financial side of designing knitting patterns. Interested in the outcome, I signed up

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Edited to add some facts and figures. As of today (18 January 2017), there are 157 patrons signed up to this project, pledging a total of $578. This works out to just under $4 per patron ($3.68), which means some people have chosen to pledge less than the $4 minimum to receive the patterns.

A couple of weeks ago someone I follow on Twitter retweeted an intriguing tweet from @Knitgrrl, AKA Shannon Okey. It was about a new Patreon aimed at looking at the true cost of producing a knitting pattern and how much money designers make.

The project takes place over the whole of 2017 and the idea is that patrons pledge $4 per week, in return for which they get a knitting pattern, again on a weekly basis. As the experiment progresses, Shannon will look in depth at the financial side – how much patterns cost to produce (photography, tech editing, sample knitters and so on), what was earned from sales on Ravelry as well as via Patreon, who got paid and why, and so on. She will consider whether the summer knitting slump has an effect and if knit-alongs or other events help sales.

Money and creative people is a contentious subject. There seems to be a prevailing belief that we shouldn’t ask for any, that we do what we do out of love and being paid for it somehow detracts from that. This is rubbish. Creative people – whether designers, artists, authors or whatever – need to eat, and our time is just as valuable as the plumber who comes to fix your dodgy piping. You wouldn’t offer to pay them in exposure, would you?

It’s incredibly hard to make a living as a designer and it seems that we’re being squeezed harder all the time. Knitting is a very time-consuming activity and there’s a lot of effort in getting to the final written pattern. This can involve coming up with the idea, making notes, sketches and swatches, sending proposals to magazines, sourcing yarns, knitting a sample, writing the pattern, getting it tech edited and test knitted. And this doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of having a website, marketing, creating and maintaining a brand etc etc.

I’m very interested in seeing how this project pans out. Over a whole year, $4 a week adds up to quite a lot; $208 in fact, which is more or less the same in Sterling following the Brexit idiocy. Will I like the patterns? How will I feel paying this amount of money over a year? What will I think when I find out to whom that money actually goes?

There seems to be a belief that creative people shouldn’t ask for money, that we do what we do out of love and being paid for it somehow detracts from that

The first pattern has already been released. It’s a bobble hat called Signy. It’s available on Ravelry for $6. So what do I think? It’s a nice pattern, but it’s not something I would have chosen to buy. I don’t often knit hats and rarely wear them. I like the idea of wearing hats, but then forget to or choose not to because they’re just another thing to lose. I’m very good at losing things.

The PDF is nicely designed with some good photography. The layout of the text could use some cleaning up; there are some bad breaks, with words hyphenated across columns, making it difficult to read and which, as a magazine editor, I wouldn’t have let through. The three-column layout is quite cramped. But the pattern itself seems well written and easy to follow. Three sizes are given so it should fit most people.

As the project goes on, I shall document what I think of each pattern. I’ll also try to knit each one, or at least the majority of them, and talk about the finished article.

How to: substitute yarn

Yarns can be costly, but with a little practice it’s easy to find cheaper alternatives

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Patterns generally tell you which yarn to use. This is especially true of free patterns from companies such as Rowan, Red Heart or Designer Yarns, which are giving away the pattern in the hope that you'll buy the yarn. The latter is often much more costly than the former so it makes good business sense.

Yarn, some yarn at least, can be extremely expensive. Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding and Noro yarns, for example, are gorgeous – but you pay for that gorgeousness. Rowan is one of my particular bugbears. The company's yarns are expensive, but I've never seen anything particularly special about them. This is just my opinion, of course, and I'm sure there are plenty of knitters out there who love Rowan's yarns. I'm just not one of them.

The big secret here, known by all experienced knitters, is that you don't have to use the suggested yarn. It's one of those things that tends to make me a bit cross, because the less experienced knitter is the least likely to experiment with different yarns, not understanding that many of them will perform just as well as the one given in a pattern.

If I'd insisted on using this silk despite the pattern advising me otherwise then this would have been my own fault; but no, this was the yarn suggested

I made my first-ever big project in mulberry silk. This gorgeous, soft, iridescent yarn set me back a good 50 quid in total. The project was a disaster. The pattern was badly written and I didn't have the knowledge to recognise that, so I slavishly followed it to the bitter end. I wore the resulting T-shirt a handful of times and then donated it to a local charity shop. I don't know what happened to it after that, although I never saw it in the shop. Really it was nothing more than an expensive lesson: make your first few projects in acrylic, or at least cheap wool.

If I'd insisted on using this silk despite the pattern advising me otherwise then this would have been my own fault. But no, this was the yarn suggested. In a magazine aimed at beginners and a pattern slated as being an ideal starter pattern. As someone who would like to be able to describe themselves as a designer I would never suggest silk in a beginner pattern. It's just too expensive. I'd also never suggest Rowan's Kidsilk Haze, for example. It's a beautiful yarn, but so hard to work with. Alpaca is also completely inappropriate – it costs too much.

But this doesn't mean that new knitters – or indeed those on a budget – should give up. Substituting yarn is actually very easy, if you know what you're doing.

Quality control
The first thing to understand is that different yarns behave in different ways. From the point of view of knitting, wool and acrylic are pretty much interchangeable. But in use, wool is very warm, breathable and moisture wicking in ways that acrylic can't mimic; this is especially true of merino. So consider how your finished project is going to be used. A lot of winter cycling jerseys are made from merino (or at least a merino blend) because of this material's qualities. An acrylic cycling jersey would be itchy, sweaty and uncomfortable. But a winter sweater will be fine in acrylic.

A good compromise is a wool/acrylic mix. These will be much cheaper than a pure wool; they're also very easy to knit with so ideal for a beginner.

Cotton is a very difficult yarn to switch. It's tough and hardwearing, it's warm in winter and cooling in summer. It also gives exceptional stitch definition. Neither wool nor acrylic can really match it, so your best bet is to find a cheaper manufacturer. This is eminently possible.

I recently found a free pattern for a stunning picnic blanket. It was a Rowan pattern and if I'd used the yarn suggested it would have cost more than £200. Given that I could buy a picnic blanket from Primark for about a fiver, that's rather expensive. So instead I went to my favourite substitute manufacturer: Rico. This German yarnmaker creates lovely yarns at a fraction of the cost of many other companies. Wherever possible I use Rico yarns instead of Rowan or Debbie Bliss. Using Rico Essentials Cotton I saved more than £100.

Again, using a mix would have saved me even more. An acrylic/cotton mix would have had all the properties of cotton but cost much less. It's also a good way to illustrate my frustration with Rowan. The manufacturer does a very nice mix called All Seasons Cotton, but then so does James C Brett, Cotton On. The latter is less than half the cost (around £2 per ball) of the former (around £5).

Can you tell the difference? The one on the left is James C Brett's
On Cotton. It costs £2 per ball and is a cotton/acrylic mix.
On the right is Rowan's All Seasons Cotton.
Another cotton/acrylic mix, it costs about £5.

Some yarns you simply can't match. Silk and linen would examples of these. This doesn't mean you can't substitute them. It just means you have to accept that you're going to lose the qualities of these yarns. Silk, for example, is wonderfully light and iridescent. It's a beautiful yarn to work with and I've never found a man-made substitute that comes close, though several acrylics try. A shawl made in this material will have certain properties that the same shawl made in wool won't have. But this doesn't mean that the wool shawl – or even an acrylic one – won't be as lovely as the silk one.

Tension headache
Pretty much the most important thing to remember when substituting yarn is tension. All patterns should give a gauge. This will be the number of stitches/rows per 10cm using the yarn and needle size suggested. You'll then be advised to use a smaller or larger needle – depending on the tightness of your tension – to achieve that gauge.

Gauge is a very personal thing and will depend on what type of knitter you are. If you knit tightly then your gauge will will smaller than average; if you knit loosely it will be larger. Changing needle size is one way of adjusting this. So if you tend to knit loosely, changing down a needle size from that suggested (for example from 4.5mm to 4mm) could result in the right tension. Conversely, if you knit tightly go up a needle size – or even two if need be.

The other option is to change the thickness (known as weight) of the yarn. Maybe try a 4-ply instead of double knit if you knit particularly loosely. This choice actually isn't the best. Changing the weight of the yarn will change the look of the final project much more than changing the size of the needle. This option works better for items like blankets in which the final size isn't that crucial.

When substituting a yarn you should always read the ball band. This will give you the suggested needle size and gauge. Keep in mind that this might not be the same as that given in the pattern as a designer might be trying to achieve a certain look that requires a tighter or looser tension. However, matching the information given on the ball band as closely as possible will help you achieve the gauge in the pattern, even if you do need to adjust your needle size.

You should always make a tension square, but this is
especially true when substituting yarns.
Remember to block your square, too.

With things like blankets and shawls gauge isn't that important, and I recently bought a chunky yarn to make a blanket that called for an aran. I'll just use the needle size given on the ball band and won't bother with a tension square – in this case I know what I've got will be much bigger than the size given. But it's a blanket so it really doesn't matter. Think about it: who's going to argue with getting a bigger blanket?

This isn't true of items of clothing, which we want to fit properly. In this case, you need to make sure that your alternative yarn has the same gauge.

Let's assume that you're making an item of clothing for which the sizing is important: a jumper that you want to fit. The sweater is made in a 4-ply alpaca yarn. This is really quite expensive and making it would set you back more than £50 – much more than buying something similar in Marks and Sparks. So you want to make the project in acrylic or lamb's wool. Neither of these materials will exactly mimic the properties of alpaca, which is famously lightweight, moisture wicking, warm in cool temperatures and cool in warm.

These properties aren't significant, though, and you just want to make a nice sweater. The first thing to do is look at all the 4-ply yarns available to you. A little practice will make you better at this. For example, if the pattern calls for alpaca, it only takes a few attempts to realise that cotton won't make a good substitute. So once you've discounted anything that won't work you can look at those that might. For this project you should be looking for a pure wool that comes up with a similar gauge on a similar needle size. The rest can be adjusted using different needle sizes.

Inventing a new stitch pattern

The new stitch pattern looks like reverse stocking stitch, but is
the same on both sides and comes out double thickness.

I think I might have invented a new stitch pattern. This is exciting stuff. It was while trying to remember how to do the Chinese Wave pattern that a friend showed me at knitting group. I couldn’t quite remember what she’d said (wine might have been involved on the night), and I tried various combinations of the two stitches that make up the wave pattern: knit and slip stitch purlwise.

One variation that I particularly liked the look of was just ‘knit 1, slip 1 purlwise, repeat to end’, then repeat for next and all following rows. What you end up with is a fabric that looks like reverse stocking stitch but on both sides. Because you’re only using knit stitch the fabric lies flat, without curling up at the edges, while the combination of stranding the working yarn (the yarn you’ve got in your hand and are using to wrap around your needles to make a stitch) and the slipped stitch make a double-thickness fabric. This makes it ideal for blankets, placemats, shawls - anything that you want to stay flat. Best of all, of course, you only work half the stitches - what’s not to love?

Slip the stitch purlwise so that it doesn't twist.

At the moment I’m using up some old acrylic to make a cat blanket (my boyfriend thinks I spoil his cats; he may have a point) and I’m trying out this new stitch pattern. But I think it’s got great potential. It would make a lovely warm shawl, for example, which could be prettied up with a lace border. And if I can figure how to do colourwork with it, I think I could create some tapestry-style pieces that would make lovely cushion covers.

Free pattern

Try out the stitch with this simple free pattern to make a square with a garter stitch border. which can be adapted to create any size project, in any yarn you happen to have lying around - it’s very versatile. A thick cotton could make a surface protector to put a hot pan or teapot on; soft acrylic would make a cosy baby blanket; self-striping or self-patterning yarn could be interesting for a set of placemats. Holding two strands of yarn - maybe in different colours? - would add another dimension.

Taking the work off the needle means
you can see the doubled fabric.
It's stocking stitch on the inside.

Cast on an odd number of stitches; the exact number will depend on what yarn and needles you’re using and what you want to make. A chunky cotton on big needles to make a set of coasters might only need about 11 stitches. A baby blanket in double knit will require something more like 201. You could do a gauge swatch, or you could just cast on what looks to be the right number and then block the finished piece, which is what I did - be warned though, this is a very tight stitch pattern and your piece will shrink. Mine was 50cm at cast on but ended up as 30cm.

I used a standard double knit on 4mm needles and cast on 125 stitches.

Rows 1-4 knit to end
Row 5 k4, *k1, sl1 purlwise, k1, rpt from * to last four sts, k4
Row 6 k2, *sl1 purlwise, k1, sl1 purlwise, rpt from * to last four sts, k4
Rpt rows 5 and 6 until the piece is square
Knit four rows
Cast off
Block if required

If you’re doing small pieces you could experiment with a thinner border - begin and end the piece with three knit rows and each row with three knit stitches, or two knit rows and two knit stitches. Because the knit/slip pattern is very tight and garter stitch is quite loose, the border will take on a ‘frilled’ appearance.

Experimentation needed

I want to experiment a bit more with this. At the moment I’m knitting every slipped stitch and slipping every knitted stitch in the following rows, but what if I knit the knitted stitches and slip the slipped stitches in one following row and then swap them over? Will look any different if I slip the stitches knitwise? Or alternate purlwise and knitwise slipped stitches? Or use purl stitches instead of knit?

I’ve got loads of cheap acrylic left over from when I first taught myself to knit. Now it would seem I’ve got a way to use some of it up. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has seen this stitch pattern before.

Finished cat blanket. I added a blue
stripe because it's for a boy cat.

My first '-a-long

I'm about to start my first '-a-long. I'm sure you know what I mean by this, and if you don't: read on. On this occasion it's a shrug-a-long, in which me and some knitting chums are knitting a shrug, kind of at the same time.

This is my chosen shrug: Cobweb, found on Ravelry and first seen in the January 2007 issue of Prima.


Mine will be much simpler than that one though, because I'm not doing the fancy-schmancy beading or the flowers - there'll be no Lurex Shimmer Gleam in my shrug. I bought the yarn at the weekend. It's made in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze, and I believe the colour is Glacier. I've not cast on yet, but that, time permitting, will happen tonight.

I fear I have lost before I begin, though. The venerable Super Monkey has already finished hers, bar the blocking. And giant Spanner la Moo is coming along nicely too.

This will be my first attempt at something lacy, so probably I shouldn't be using mohair, which apparently isn't the easiest to knit with. But no one ever got anywhere by not using fluffy yarn. Or something. Hopefully it'll turn out OK, and I'll get it done before Chrimbo, because it's meant to be a pressie for my mum.

For those of you who are signed up, here's a link to the pattern on Ravelry: Cobweb.

It's show time!

Or at least it was at the weekend. The Knitting and Stitching Show came to Alexandra Palace, bringing with it all kinds of yarny goodness as well as knitters and stitchers from all over Britain. Including my mum, who came to stay with me over the weekend so we could share the experience. This was our first ever KSS so we were understandably excited. We'd been forewarned about a possible lack of decent food and water, so we prepared ourselves with a trip to Starbucks for breakfast and to M&S for fruit and water. Good thing we did, because the food situation was indeed dire, especially so us as we're both vegetarian.

Apart from that, though, the show was grand. Three huge rooms of stitching heaven. It got pretty packed at times, making it hard to see what was on the stalls, but as the day wore on there seemed to be less people. Now, this show isn't just for knitters. So there are lots of stalls that didn't interest me - beads, sewing machines, bags, card making etc etc. But that didn't detract from the fact that there was loads of us knitters. Books, accessories, lights, yarns, pretty little notions that you don't actually need but really want. It kept us busy for four hours and we didn't even manage to see it all.

I had gone with the aim of subscribing to as many magazines as I could find (I really wanted those show offers!) and finding a decent merino to make a jumper for the bf (and risk the dreaded jumper curse). I found three magazines, subscribed to them all and got some great freebies. But I can't say as I was too impressed by the people on the stand. I actually had to ask what the offers were! And at one stand the woman I spoke to couldn't help me and directed me to another woman who was inundated with people. Which begs the question why was the first woman even there? The other two stands weren't much better, with people more interested in talking to each other than possible subscribers.

Now I work in publishing and I've worked at these sort of shows before and I know it can tiring. But we were under strict instructions to sell as many subs or issues as possible. We were to approach anyone on the stand (or even near the stand) and talk them through the offer. Not one person did that on any of the magazine stands I approached. And I actively wanted to take out a subscription! Anyone who was wavering would simply have walked away. Is that really the way to market your mag? Let's Knit, Knitting and Simply Knitting - I mean you!

As for the merino, there wasn't enough of anything to buy it there, but I did get a shade card from Biggan Design so bf can choose his own colours. My mum's aims were black 2-ply cashmere and buttons. Mission accomplished on both counts.

We also got some fantastic self-patterning yarn made from bamboo and nylon - a great find for both of us because we can't wear wool and it's really quite hard to find sock yarn that doesn't have wool in it. And I got something secret for a certain birthday monkey who shall remain nameless. I've got pics of my haul but I won't be uploading them till the pressie has made its way to its new owner.

We might not have managed to see all the stalls, but we did find time to indulge in some champers! Rowan had put on a champagne bar for its 30th anniversary and of course we had join the party. Especially when we saw the fancy glasses: tall black flutes that looked as glamorous as glamour can be.

And after a hard day's shopping, it was home for curry and to play with our purchases. And to watch Equilibrium on TV.