Cuboidal and the Community Pattern Fund

With the release of the new Cuboidal collection just around the corner, I’m hoping that with your help we can boost the number of free copies available.

If you’re not familiar with my Community Pattern Fund project you can read more about it by clicking through to it’s page, but in short it’s a way for folks to pay it forward and help knitters who can’t stretch to buying a full eBook right now.

The mechanism is fairly simple - a selection of free patterns have been made into eBooks that also include the relevant premium tutorials. All of the content is available for free on this blog, yet by putting it all together in a handy eBook format folks can have the convenience of a PDF whilst also paying it forward by buying CPF credits. The CPF patterns come in a range of price points - full single pattern, 1/3 eBook, 1/2 eBook, full eBook, and so on - and each time one of these is purchased it gets converted to a credit of the same value. When there’s a new release, in particular a new collection, those credits can then be redeemed via exclusive discount codes that go out in The Woolly Hat Society newsletter. It’s all done anonymously because I know what it’s like to not be able to afford stuff.

The CPF patterns can be purchased on Ravelry and Payhip, and you don’t have to buy them for yourself - you can gift them to a friend, too, should you wish.

The credits always get used very quickly, and I hate disappointing folks who get in touch to ask whether there’s a problem with the code - there never is, it’s simply because the credits will all be redeemed within an hour or less. In the latest newsletter I gave folks a heads up so they can look out for it.

Cuboidal is perfect for using up oddments of yarn and leftovers in different weights and gauges, making it suited to tighter budgets. With your help I’d love to be able to offer more CPF copies, so that fewer folks miss out, so I’m going to match any credits purchased between now and release day.

For each copy of the Alata CPF file that's purchased - $23 = 1 eBook credit - I'll donate another copy; for each copy of the BibBob CPF file that's purchased - $12 = ½ eBook credit - I'll match that and make it a full credit. In short, I'll double the amount of credits, in turn doubling the amount of free copies, that are purchased between now and when Cuboidal is published.

Purchase eBook credits:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alata-2
https://payhip.com/b/W6sm3

Purchase ½ eBook credits:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bibbob
https://payhip.com/b/8I90Q

If you’re able to help, it’s very much appreciated - thank you!

The layout is done, we’re just making final tweaks to optimise it’s readability and usability. My two tech editors have started doing their final edits and once they sign off, we’ll be ready! I’m expecting that to be next week now, and I’ll be sending out a newsletter with a member-exclusive discount and details of how many free copies have been made available via the CPF scheme. If you’re not a member yet you might wanna join now!

It’s getting exciting, I can’t wait to hear what you think of the book and what projects you make from the patterns.

Knit Hats review in Vogue Knitting!

The latest issue of Vogue Knitting is the 40th anniversary edition and it features a great review of my Knit Hats book!

“… nonconformance is more Woolly Wormhead’s game. Rather than plop a new cable on a tried-and-true shape, Woolly is more interested in the sculptural and engineering properties of Hats.”

My nonconformity is being celebrated, finally!

It really is a great review and it did me so much good to learn about it - thanks Yvonne for letting me know. The reviewer gets my work, my approach, and it’s so refreshing because more often than not magazines shy away from my designs because they’re “too out there”. In the past I’ve been asked by publishers to make my designs simpler, or I’ve been asked to stick to “regular” Hats, and that always makes me sad as knitters deserve to have access to creative projects that stretch their skills.

And to have Vogue Knitting recognise and say all that? I’m a very happy soul.

Cuboidal - beta knitting opens up tomorrow!

This collection I’ve been working on, called ‘Cuboidal’ that features mitre squares with a twist, is ready for beta knitting!

The beta knitting form went out to Patreon supporters yesterday, as they get first dibs. Tomorrow I’ll be sending out a newsletter for any remaining spaces, so if you’re not a member of The Woolly Hat Society you might wanna join, as I doubt there’ll be any spaces left for a public call. And if you are a member keep an eye on your inbox!

There are 8 styles and no, I haven’t revealed the Hats yet - all in due time! - and they’re written for 8 gauges across 12 sizes. However, their construction is the same regardless of yarn or size, and with some slight tweaks - and I’ve got the maths covered - you can make then in any size for any yarn.

Several of the styles are rather versatile and push the style category boundaries. However they’re best described as:

• Beanie, could be slouchy

• Beret that can be worn in a number of ways including a flat-cap

• Bonnet that doubles up as a helmet

• Cloche that doubles up as a slight bonnet or brimmed Hat, depending on your perspective

• Helmet that would like you to try and find another way to wear it

• Quatra Peak, which is very crown like

• Square Top

• Envelope Slouch that could could be reversed or finished differently

I’m expecting to send the files out this Thursday and beta knitters will have until 31st August to complete their Hats.

To enter you’ll need either an Instagram, Twitter or Ravelry account - places that can be linked to to show me your completed Hats but also places where you can share your progress, talk about what you’re up to and help generate some interest! You won’t need to email me photos, and I won’t ask you to, simply sharing your progress online is all you need to do. I’ll explain more about that in the files.

Knitters who both share their projects online and complete their Hats before the end of August will receive a copy of the eBook as a thank you when it’s published in September, and you can let me know via the sign-up and feedback forms whether you prefer Ravelry or Payhip.

The patterns and tutorials have already been through several rounds of editing and we’re not expecting anyone to find any issues. Similarly I won’t be asking you to provide text knitter feedback unless there’s something you run into, or something that crosses your mind, but I’m not asking beta knitters to look for problems. I want this to be fun and enjoyable!

I’ll start introducing the Hats once Rachis is live. The content is already, it’s into the layout stage already! I’m excited.

Gearing up for beta knitting

As the new collection gets closer to publication date, I’m going to open it up for beta knitting!

Beta knitting isn’t test knitting; you could consider it ‘preview knitting’. The patterns and tutorials will all be polished and should be error free, so I won’t be asking for a lot of feedback. There’ll be room for it, of course, feedback is always welcome! But you won’t be asked to work from patterns that knowingly contain errors or are unclear.

What I will ask is that you share your knitting progress on social media - take photos, talk about what you’re knitting! You might wish to try out the crochet options, too. Beta knitting is about helping me generate interest in the collection, talking about and getting early access to the shiny new thing, and sharing your thoughts not just with me, but other knitters and crocheters too.

In return you’ll get a full and complete copy of the eBook as a thank you. You’ll be working from temporary files that will include all the tutorials, as the eBook won’t quite be ready, and when it is you’ll get a choice of Ravelry or Payhip for download. However, I’ll only be able to send out download links to folks who’ve shared their projects in various ways, and I’ll provide details as to where and how.

The last time I ran beta knitting for a collection was for Imperceptions and it was incredibly popular! It took me by surprise to have so, so many people up. Thankfully I’d got help in setting things up backend, especially with the google forms, that made it all that much more manageable.

This time around I’m going to give first dibs on signing up for beta knitting to my Patreon supporters. Then I’ll send a newsletter to members of The Woolly Hat Society, inviting them to sign-up. Then any remaining places will go public here on the blog. Doing it this way will help me manage things even more smoothly and avoid anything getting muddled. There will be a limited amount of places and I’m expecting them to get filled pretty quickly once the newsletter goes out, so if you’re keen to beta knit this collection I’d suggest joining Patreon or The Woolly Hat Society. The TWHS in particular is one option I have to help folks with more limited budgets get their hands on my patterns, as I offer member-exclusive discounts and early access to new free patterns, and offering beta knitting through there is an extension of that.

There will be a sign-up form, and with there being 8 patterns of varying styles I’ll ask for 2nd or even 3rd choice patterns, just in case some styles prove more popular than others. I’ll explain more about the styles nearer the time but even if you don’t get your first choice it’s still worth doing as you’ll get a copy of the eBook and you’ll be able to make any of them then!

Now that we’ve had the photoshoot - I’m up to my neck in photo editing as this post goes live - I’m not expecting it to be long before we’re ready for beta knitting. I think the first call will go to Patreon supporters within the week? Then the newsletter shortly after that. Things are moving along quickly and it’s all getting a bit exciting!

Considering publishing options

I’m still undecisive about the name for this new collection that I’ve been working on. I really ought to make up my mind because coming here and mentioning it’s working title, ‘mitre magic’ feels a bit odd!

‘Cuboidal’ is one of the names on the shortlist, as is ‘Polygonise’. It’s all about the squares and geometry and being rather 3-dimensional. I mean, my designs usually are about the geometry and being rather 3-dimensional; it’s the fact that it’s squares, not circles, that are behind this collection that makes it different.

But I digress, I’m sure I’ll make up my mind about the name soon.

Not long after I published Going Straight, when Ravelry was in it’s infancy, I posed the idea on the designers forum about releasing patterns from a book individually. The idea received lots of positive comments, it wasn’t something that was done in publishing after all, and it provided an option for folks who couldn’t afford the whole book or who might only want one pattern.

This was 2008 sometime and whilst I couldn’t say I was the first indie designer to offer single patterns from an eBook, it was a really new idea. It’s now pretty commonplace to do it, and it’s almost expected of designers.

With the exception of a few, I’ve continued to make patterns from my collections available as singles. However recently, as I went through the great reformatting, I withdrew a whole load of single patterns that are in eBooks but don’t sell enough to justify carrying them forward.

Reformatting, translation and any editing that occurs during these processes comes with a cost. Then listing on multiple platforms, and not just the fees but the time in doing so or paying someone to do it for me, also gets costly. So it makes sense to trim my back catalogue from time to time. I want to keep as many options open as possible, but I’ve also got to keep things balanced and manageable. Not to mention avoid overwhelming everyone with All The Hat choices!

Going forward, the ones that will likely always remain as single patterns are those in my recent collections, from Circled onwards. They’re generally my best sellers anyways and the collections, and designs, that I’m proudest of. Yet looking at the sales figures for those patterns, with the collections having anywhere between 4 and 7 designs in them, only 2 from each sell really well. Most of them sell well enough, but there’s a few - Get Garter and Introspection - that really don’t sell as singles at all.

I think this is because of the nature of these collections - the eBook is way more than the sum of it’s parts. There’s so much extra design, sizing and construction info in the eBooks, not to mention all the details about calculating yardage and more, that it makes sense to buy the eBook and not just a pattern.

This new collection relies heavily on the tutorials in a way previous collections haven’t; if you’re familiar with mitre squares you might not need the tutorials so much, yet there’s a lot of new twists on familiar techniques that are essential to the construction and success of the Hats, and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss that.

And if I release these patterns as singles patterns, they’d each need an extra 20+ pages of supporting material. Which is serious chunk of the eBook. And I can’t justify doing this. It’s a LOT of material to maintain, correct and support in the single patterns, and the $9 price tag won’t cover it.

And so I’ve come to the decision to not publish this collection as individual patterns. It’s an 8 pattern collection with an incredibly in-depth guide to not only the mitre squares but also the construction for each Hat. There’ll be a section on making the Hats from other types of squares, including crochet, as well as details about yardage and other related techniques. It’ll cost $23 for all of that which I think is really good value.

It’s weird, breaking this tradition of mine of nearly 15 years, and it’s not been an easy one to make - the want to make sure that everyone has the choice to buy just one pattern is strong. But I have to be kinder to myself and more practical with my business thinking if I’m to get out of this burnout and keep us afloat.