Working with a Pattern Editor

I have been designing crochet patterns for about 5 years now and this year my goal is to reach an even bigger audience. My patterns have been available on Ravelry.com for a few years and recently I started adding them to Etsy. On Ravelry many of the patterns are free with several of them proving very popular, which is fantastic!

In January I began a new design for a hat which caught the eye of one of my followers on Instagram. Sam, known as @samsimplemelody approached me and asked if I would like to try out the services of her new technical editing business. I of course jumped at the opportunity, fascinated by how exactly the process worked.

So, after having my pattern tested by two of my online friends, Michelle Willis and Jill Porter, I sent a copy of the pdf to Sam to have a look. I received a quick response and a brief idea of what to expect. Within a week my pattern was returned to me with an overlay of changes which needed to be made and changes which were more optional, down to individual preference. I have to say it looked like my pattern was riddled with mistakes but once I began working through them they were easy to fix.

After I had made the changes I sent the updated pdf back to Sam for another look. There were still a few tweaks needing to be made (my fault, some of my corrections had brought to light new problems!) which were again added in overlay form. Once these were sorted the pattern was sent back for final approval. The whole process was very satisfactory and I now have a pattern that I am very pleased with!

If you are interested in having a crochet or knitting pattern technical edited then I would thoroughly recommend Sam! Her new blog, A Simple Melody, has details about her technical editing, what to expect and pricing.