Pattern Template Redesigning

Today I have been switching my pattern template from Microsoft Word to Adobe InDesign. I am taking it from a double-half-portrait-page landscape orientation to a full page portrait orientation. Whilst I am keeping my purple and green colour scheme, I am limiting the use of large blocks of colour and photos to the cover page and possibly the additional information and project gallery pages at the end of the pattern, so that the pages that NEED to be printed out are relatively simple and print well in B&W or grayscale.

I am starting the process with my Gathery Up Scarf pattern, then I will try to format my free snowflake patterns and my Tea Set pattern. I will attempt to make charts for these patterns on Adobe Illustrator... a new challenge for me to learn how to orient the charts in the round and then attempt to indicate multi-level (as for the Irish Rose) or 3-D (as in the teacup) stitching in diagram form... So much to learn!

Old Format:

New Format:

What do you think?

Monday Marketing: Blog design and Pattern Reclamation

Today I am thinking a bit about marketing.

I think that my pattern layout design may not be ideal, based on threads I have read on Ravelry as well as my own gut feeling. One thing I do like about my pattern layout choice is my colour theme of purple and green. With that in mind, I thought a redesign of my blog was in order, to bring it more in line with that theme and to freshen it up. With that in mind - any former readers feel free to weigh in on the new design (new readers, I'm also happy to hear from you about my blog design - what works for you, what doesn't?)

I also realised that my Tea Set pattern should be out of its exclusivity period with Yarn Magazine, so I am looking at what I need to do to release that as a self-published pattern.

Child's Chevron Waistcoat - Entering the Self-Publishing Zone

Over the last year I have been dipping my toe into the garment design pool by designing a Chevron Waistcoat for my 5 year old son. (He was 4 when I started, but who's counting?) It occurred to me that the design did not have to be for boys alone, so, for my first attempt at grading a pattern, I worked up 5 sizes on paper and am using those numbers to make a sample for my 8 year old daughter.

In my excitement at having a real live garment pattern (in 3 to 5 sizes, no less!) in the works, I worked up a proposal for publication. Sadly, *violins softly playing* my proposal was rejected. Disheartened, I lay the project aside for a time. Encouraging comments from a crochet buddy got me thinking that perhaps I could also use this as a first effort at completely self-publishing for sale. I have free self-published patterns and am selling my Gathery Up Scarf pattern through Ravelry, but that was initially published by Inside Crochet magazine in the UK, so was not run completely through a self-publishing process.

As part of the process, I will try to track my progress via this blog and perhaps dip a toe into the social-media self-advertising sphere as well. Wish me luck!