This is a very clear, thorough guide to writing knitting patterns (as the title suggests!). I don't know that I -want- to write knitting patterns, but now I feel like I understand the basic process. This is not a book about how to design knitting patterns; it's much more about the technical process of producing the directions once you've designed something. I love the way the book is organized, with checklists for each section of the process, and a list of practical resources at the back. It also gave me a great deal of appreciation for pattern companies I keep returning to (Brooklyn Tweed) - and how their patterns check nearly every box given here. It also points out all of the things I've struggled with in certain patterns. Every designer who has responded defensively to requests for help on pattern comment pages on Ravelry should read this book.

I think just about everything that an aspiring knitting designer needs to know is covered in The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook. The foundation of successful pattern writing is explained in great depth so that a pattern that is “ correct, clear, concise and consistent. Each section of a pattern is explained in great detail, with explanations given not only how a pattern should be written but also why.

I enjoy reading patterns to see how a designers mind works, Designers develop their own style in design and in their pattern organization. Successful designers not only create beautiful knit wear designs. Their patterns are written with all the instructions needed to recreate the creators designs stitch by stitch.

As an aspiring designer I learned a great deal about the technical writing aspects knit wear design. I had several patterns thought were ready to go to tech editing and sample knitting. After reading this manual I can see that I have more work on my writing and how to clarify my instructions before sending my patterns to tech editing and then on to sample knitting. I have an even greater respect for the designer’s patterns that I enjoy knitting or reading to learn new knitting techniques.

If you are considering writing a pattern to sell, I definitely recommend adding this book to your knitting library.

My thanks to Netgalley.com for access to a copy of this book for a review.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It was interesting to learn more about all of the technical details that must be reviewed and the process in which that is accomplished before a good quality knitting pattern or book of patterns can be published. I’m sure the formatting issues in the Kindle ARC version were corrected before it was released today but that was quite distracting. Will definitely recommend this book to my friends who teach classes and write patterns themselves as a helpful resource to save them time and money.

This is an amazing resource any pattern writer could ever want or need. One of my favorite tips was about Style Sheets; definitely read up on them in this resource.

This book is chock fill of useful tidbits that I think would be helpful to a lot of knitters. All of the tips are given in a way that is easy to follow and I think would be easy enough for a knitter to go ahead and try. Writing your own knitting patterns can seem like quite a daunting task but using the information in this book and I am definitely ready to give it a go. Even if you aren't interested in writing your own patterns I think it is still useful to understand how something work or how it is done. If a knitter can understand generally how patterns are written it may make them a little bit easier to read/follow when you go to knit.

I was able to read "Th Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook" by Kristina McGrath & Sarah Walworth on NetGalley. As an avid knitter I have thought about trying my hand at writing patterns, but haven't yet taken the plunge. This book has very helpful guidance!

› The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook is an excellent resource for knitwear designers. It has suggestions to help you write high-quality patterns that knitters will love. In 2020 the authors, McGrath and Walworth, hosted a podcast where they talked about knitting and they realized it would be great to collect all the tips and put them into a book.

› They talk about the Four C's of a good knitting pattern: correct, clear, concise, and consistent. I learned that there are Tech Editors who can go over your patterns to ensure accuracy. They share information on naming, numbering, spacing, and formatting. I love the idea of using a style sheet checklist to ensure consistency.

› The book includes many questions and answers that should cover most of the questions you may have while writing a knitting pattern. They also do a great job explaining the components of a well-written pattern and the importance of editing the technical language. I appreciate the discussion about size inclusivity and advice on making patterns accessible to all knitters. They even provide an in-depth explanation of gauge and how to include accurate numbers in your patterns.

› The handbook explains how to fix common sweater pitfalls regarding necklines, armhole depth, sleeve length, underarm measurements, and cuffs. They even go over how to find a good tech editor!

› With a long list of other essential knitting books and a knitting pattern sample sheet, The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook is a must-buy for all knitwear designers.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I want to acknowledge that I am on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, and Mississauga. https://native-land.ca/

Kristina McGrath and Sarah Walworth have put together an excellent guide for those who are ready to take the leap into designing their own knitting patterns. The authors are experience designers and tech editors who are the creators of Tech Tip Talk, a forum for help and discussion around creating accurate, precise patterns.

The authors bring loads of experience to the table and it shows. The steps of working through the creation of a design, including editing, multi-sizing and having the pattern test knit, are clearly laid out for the reader. As a knitter who often "tweaks" existing patterns once I am comfortable with how they work, this was a fascinating read.

This is the kind of text that would be helpful for a course on knitting design. Everything is clearly laid out, there are checklists and charts galore. As someone who really appreciates both charted and written out design, I was happy that both of those were addressed here. This would be a solid addition to your design shelf.

Only flaw for me was that I would have liked more illustrations - both photographs and sketches. 4.5 stars, rounded to 5. Thanks to NetGalley and Storey for the e-arc.

This is a 176 page book that fills a void – it provides more help to a future knit pattern writer. But I didn’t find the material laid out in a very helpful manner. A lot of the content was text spread across the page with subheads here and there. There were some illustrations but that didn’t break up the meatier content. If there weren’t the checklists at the end of each chapter, I would have given this book a lower score.

It also would have been helpful for them to show a sample of a pattern that had all the elements they feel are necessary and then point out with arrows what was included with page references for more information. The authors are tech editors and that perhaps doesn’t make them strong on the creative side of presenting their information.
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review, thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing.

I am a machine knitter. I work and design on domestic knitting machines. Although the end product of both hand and machine knitting is the same, the process of getting there is very different. There is much emphasis in the book on gauge. A machine knitter cannot start a project without knitting a tension swatch. It’s impossible to measure as you go. The book is
not written with machine knitters in mind, Having said that there is much useful information in this book written by professionals, if not a bit wordy and repetitive at times.
How many designers at the beginning of their journey would be willing to pay for tech editors.

Thank you to NetGalley for the download in exchange for my personal review.

I'm an accomplished knitter, and (once) dabbled in designing, where I discovered that writing up patterns is hard work! This book is very helpful in that respect, and makes life much easier. I don't agree with everything they have to say - I am currently knitting a jumper pattern that only has gauge in pattern and I would really like have valued a gauge in stocking stitch, and it doesn't have a schematic and many of the other knitters who knit it have been quite disturbed by this. You can really tell this book has been put together by a tech-editor, and a lot of the content is preparing the patter for tech editing and how to work with a tech editor. This would be a very valuable book for beginning designers, particularly if they have not been exposed to a huge number of patterns, both good and bad.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent resource. I learnt so much about pattern writing and tech editing. As someone that's released one free hat pattern once, there was so much info that I will be incorporating if I ever get brave enough to release a new pattern.

I quickly discovered that putting words and numbers on a page wasn't enough. Creating a pattern that was correct, clear, concise, and consistent required a great deal of trial and error, patience, and perseverance. (Introduction by Francoise Danoy)

A friend recently showed me a knitting pattern for which she'd paid good money. The first line of the instructions began: Cast off 100 stitches... It was clear that no good could come of this - the instructions didn't get any better - and (finally) PayPal obliged with a refund when the seller refused as she couldn't afford the repayment. The pattern looked pretty, but the creator didn't have the basic knowledge and skills to enable her to connect with her knitters. She should have read The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook.

The book isn't about designing knitwear - that's a whole other skill - it's about transferring your ideas into a pattern that other people could follow with pleasure or you could sell. Many of the points made are pretty basic, but they are often overlooked in what might be described as amateur patterns. Writing a pattern is not simple but Kristina McGrath and Sarah Walworth ply us with industry secrets and clear instructions. They give us a method of ensuring that all our patterns conform to a certain style and that it's possible to build trust with your knitters.

The writing is clear and simple. Complex ideas are discussed with clarity. The book is inspirational: I came away from it knowing that I could write a pattern. I had the tools.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

I am a keen knitter mostly socks, mittens and hats. This book seemed to mainly deal with designing for sweaters. Good if that’s what you want to do but sadly not for me.

It did have good drawings to show where there may be difficulties which I did think was a good idea.

4.7 / 5.0

I very much enjoyed this book. I am a prolific knitter and crafter of various textile arts, so understanding how to better write tutorials and patterns is always welcome.

So much of this book can be translated over to other crafts. This is a great niche study in project management and informative presentation techniques.

Overall, I will likely reference what I learned and annotated in this book for future projects and tutorials. It is well written, concise, and useful. I recommend it to creators in the knitting world and other craft focuses to help you improve your pattern and tutorial writing techniques.

U til Next Time,
MC

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I learned to knit last year and I have been wanting to learn how to write my own patterns. I love this book because it helped me get myself organized. I am very excited to create some colorwork patterns and make unique designs. Highly recommend this book.

This is an invaluable and fascinating insight into how a knitting pattern should be written. It's obviously of great use for designers and want to be designers. But it's also really useful for a regular knitter as it covers topics including gauge, charts and sizing that regularly cause knitters a headache. It ends with a really useful resource section including an interesting further reading list The book is well written, clear and concise and should be a required feature in every knitter's library. I know I will refer back to it regularly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book ahead of its publication in October 2023.

What can I say? If you are planning on writing, publishing, and selling knitting patterns, then this book is a no-brainer. I've read a lot of reference books in my time--it's basically a hobby at this point--and this one was the perfect blend of explanation, reasoning, and worksheets. Did I mention that each stage/chapter had a handy checklist to keep you on track? Be still my type-a planning heart. I love knitting, and have tried my hand at a few more complex patterns in my time, but I have zero intentions of going down the rabbit hole that is starting my own knitting pattern business. But if I was? I'd buy this book. A hardcopy. And a bucket of post-it notes and highlighters to annotate up a storm. At least with this book, I wouldn't need to make my own checklists!

This was a NetGalley review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a niche topic, but I'm not aware of another book on this topic. Many knitters end up writing at least one pattern which can be easy enough but once you want to take it to another level, like publishing and selling your patterns, this book can really come in handy.

This book explains how to write a clear knitting pattern (this could be used for crocheting patterns as well, if that's not obvious. During the discussion of how to clearly communicate your instructions, the book also takes into consideration the business aspect of writing patterns. and how to make a design your own.

The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook is a good reference for new knitting designers and experienced designers wanting to improve their designs or create a design business.

As a knitter, I was looking forward to learning what went into writing a pattern. I was also hoping to be able to recommend this book to a friend who is a wonderful designer just beginning to publish her designs. However, there were only a few nuggets of useful information buried under a lot of vague and repetitive verbiage. The authors are two tech editors, and were able to clarify exactly what a tech editor can do for a designer. That was useful.
I had a downloaded ARC and the format used was confusing and contradicted the authors assertion of the value of making sure the format used for designs was clear, complete, and concise. Hopefully that will be corrected in the published edition. As the book stands now, I would not recommend it.