The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook

'The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook' is a welcome edition to the knitting world.

Packed with detailed instructions and stunning illustrations this will surely help the bar to be set for knitting pattern writing. Raverlry will cease to be the same.
One of my personal flaws is that I see something and instantly think, 'I can make that'. With this book, it's entirely possible that I can now make anything and then teach others how to as well.

The tips and tricks detailed in this book are laid out in a way that's easy to follow and absorb.
If you are interested in knitting pattern creation then you are bound to find something new in this book, or an easier way of doing things.
It really looks at the publishing side and helps set a guide for the standard patterns should be at.

I was gifted a digital copy of "The knitting pattern writing handbook" in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you NetGalley, Storey Publishing, Kristina McGrath and Sarah Walworth.

This book is full of interesting tidbits. I am not interested in writing knitting patterns, but I am a knitter and I am curious about the process of writing patterns because I think it's nice to know more about knitting as a whole. And to be frank, this book would be really useful if you are writing patterns, because there is a lot of helpful and thoughtful information here (mind, this is not a "writing patterns for dummies" kind of book, it won't tell you how to begin writing them, but it would tell you how to write patterns that people would be happy to buy), but it would be handy even if you are just a knitter, like me, because it there are tidbits here and there that can be practical while knitting, both because they are good info and because understanding how something works help you do better, as a general rule.

So I would highly recommend this book to all the people who are interested in knitting and patterns, even if they are not writing them.
It's also quite a fast reading, and the writing is not boring or complex. It is really well done.
Sure, sometimes I felt like the info was a bit redundant, but I enjoyed it and I took with me some helpful advice!

Good book on decoding knitting patterns. Not only for those who create the patterns but also for people using them.

This is really fantastic - the nitty gritty of exactly what to look out for when you're trying to write a knitting pattern for sale. It isn't specifically about how to DESIGN knitwear, or how to grade patterns - it's very focused on exactly how patterns should be written, tested, and tech edited, and (very valuably) on common problems the authors see in written patterns.

The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook by Kristina McGrath; Sarah Walworth A comprehensive guide to knitting pattern writing. Detailed and easy to follow instructions with clear illustrations. While I probably will not be writing my own knitting patterns, the book provided insight into the written pattern structure and cleared up some of the confusion that I had in following patterns. A valuable resource written in an easy to understand, informative style.
Thank you to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book

Super interesting as a novice knitter who has been experimenting with my own pattern ideas of late (I got into knitting over the pandemic), whilst I'm probably not likely to be publishing or selling my own anytime soon, I definitely think this is a real worthwhile book if you are planning on doing so (or even if you aren't, it can help with understanding patterns that maybe aren't written to standard!)

This book is an exceptionally well-written and informative guide to writing your own knitting patterns. As a novice in pattern writing, I found it very helpful and I will refer back to it in the future, I’m sure. The book delves into important factors that go into writing a knitting pattern, including accurate measurements and gauge, the importance of having your patterns tested and tech edited, while also providing clear pattern examples and illustrations. I would recommend this book to any knitter looking to start designing their own patterns.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storey Publishing, and the authors for providing an advance reader's copy.

The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook : How to Write Great Patterns that Knitters Will Love to Make is a practical manual that attempts to set new standards in good pattern development. It is aimed at beginners and the more experienced alike. The instructions are detailed and easy to follow with clear illustrations, and the authors have developed a good framework to follow. Overall an excellent book for a very specific market.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storey Publishing, Ms McGrath, and Ms Walworth for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As a former Technical Writer and an avid knitter, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In fact, I devoured it. This should be required reading prior to submitting a pattern to Ravelry.

The instructions are clear. The handbook is laid out very logically providing concrete examples of what and how to write the pattern instructions. The checklist at the end of each chapter alongside with the Q&A are extremely useful. The illustrations are beautifully rendered.

This is a well written, comprehensive guide to writing knitting patterns and making them easy to follow for knitters. It doesn’t cover actually designing the knitwear but instead focuses on the production of the pattern, the essential elements to be included in a pattern and the importance of gauge, and much more. The book is laid out in a very sensible way and the Q & A at the end of each chapter is very useful. It is a very easy to read book with helpful checklists and illustrations. I recommend it to anyone who wants to write knitting patterns

With thanks to Netgalley and Storey for providing an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

This is an excellent book for those who want to not only write their own knitting patterns, but to better understand the process that goes into writing knitting patterns. Additionally it can be very useful for those who want to understand already written knitting patterns. Too often a knitting pattern is unclear and confusing. This book presents a standardized system to use, with very clear explanations. It is not a book of already written patterns. However, for the knitter who merely wants to understand knitting patterns it can be a valuable resource. Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to peruse and review this wonderful book. I look forward to publication and to obtaining a copy of my own.

A well-set out and concise handbook with instructions on how to write knitting patterns. The aim of the book is to teach knitters how to write up their patterns so that they are correct, clear, concise and consistent.
The book breaks the process down into various sections, including ones on creating your own pattern writing style, components of a knitting pattern and accurate measuring. There is a detailed chapter on getting your pattern tech edited: the writers are themselves tech editors,
The appendices include a check list.
This is an informative and easy to read instruction book. It could be read by anyone wishing to improve their pattern reading skills and it should be very useful to anyone wishing to publish their own knitting patterns

The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook How to Write Great Patterns that Knitters Will Love to Make by Kristina McGrath; Sarah Walworth
Wish I had this book when I started writing my own patterns. One of the guidelines was to follow the publication style. Was pretty straight forward with my own personal words.
Love that this covers every single aspect of writing so the end user will NOT have a problem knitting the pattern you create. Appreciate the symbol explanations, being blind I can't use that method myself. Every section also has Q&A.
So many examples, sketches and words that really define this book. Glossary and index makes it simple to find exactly what it is you need help with. Excellent valuable information.
So exhilarating to create things for others to use. Feel like I accomplish something.
A KEEPER!
Received this review copy from Storey Publishing via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#TheKnittingPatternWritingHandbook #NetGalley.

Highly recommended if you write your own knitting patterns or plan to in the future. This little book tells you all you need to know to put your own patterns out into the world. Concise, plain language. Invaluable if you sell patterns online; helpful if you just want to share patterns with friends or understand what all those abbreviations mean.

This is a very well written and comprehensive book about knitting pattern writing. There are so much advice. It lists every mistake a designer can make that make the pattern hard to follow. it lists everything that is helpful and makes patterns more readable and more easily followed. They list every bit of bad pattern features that I encountered as a knitter, and how to avoid the mistakes. Maybe each of the little bits is obvious when you hear about it, but all together it is just amazingly comprehensive and extremely helpful. I wish all designers read the book. I highly recommend it
I received a free digital copy of the book from NetGalley

As a knitter, I often ogle at gorgeous and stunning works of knitwear while browsing various knitting websites. I can’t explain the frustration that I feel when a pattern is unclear and confusing to follow.

This book is essential for anyone that was a successful career as a knitwear designer.

Really interesting. This is a topic that doesn't feel like there are a lot of concise books about and this one covers a lot of ground.

I'd wondered about setting up a Ravelry/ Etsy shop for my patterns. This book convinced me I don't have the necessary attention to detail! So has saved me (and potentially others) time and anguish. Honestly, thanks!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

An excellent book for an knitter who is considering the daunting step into designing. It's clear and concise and will come in very handy for when I want to make modications to patterns too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

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.