Posts
How to check stitch counts in a crochet pattern before testers see it
Checking the number at the end of a round is not enough. How I check what each round uses against what it makes, with real rounds from my own patterns.
How to number photos in a crochet pattern without renumbering them by hand
One of my patterns has 93 numbered photos and more than 60 places in the text that point at them. What adding one photo near the start costs, and how I number photos now.
How to crochet the griddle stitch, including how to increase and decrease
The griddle stitch written out row by row, with charts, plus how I increase and decrease in it without breaking the alternation.
What actually goes in a crochet pattern PDF
The nine sections every crochet pattern PDF needs, what goes in each one, and what a buyer does when it is missing. From a designer's own published patterns.
Crochet and knitting pattern software, compared by someone who writes patterns
Stitchmastery, Intwined, Patternum, Canva, PowerPoint and more, compared on charting, layout and stitch checking by a working pattern designer.
The best crochet and knitting pattern app, depending on what you mean by app
Most crochet and knitting apps are for following patterns, not writing them. What each one actually does, from a designer who writes and sells her own.
How to find crochet and knitting pattern testers when you do not have a following
Where to post a tester call, what to put in it, and what to do when only a few people apply. From a crochet designer with a small following.
What to send pattern testers, and what to ask them
Testers are not tech editors. Send the real PDF, ask specific questions, and check your own counts first. A crochet designer on running a test round.
What NodeStitch can and cannot do
NodeStitch numbers rounds and photos, checks stitch counts, reads handwritten patterns and exports print ready PDFs. It does not make charts. Free accounts cannot export.
What to use instead of Canva or PowerPoint for writing crochet and knitting patterns
Canva and PowerPoint will both make a pattern PDF, but neither numbers your rounds or checks stitch counts. A pattern designer on what actually works.