How to Follow Through On Your Design Ideas and Finally Release Your First Knitting Pattern
Is 2023 going to be another year you let fly by without releasing your first knitting pattern, or will it be the year that you drum up the courage and the determination to follow through on your design ideas and finally get that pattern out there?
I am lucky to have lots of fantastic conversations with readers via email, and frequently I hear from knitters who dream of releasing their first knitting pattern. They have so much creativity and loads of ideas, but they can’t seem to get over the hurdle of that first knitting pattern release.
There are lots of reasons why knitters struggle with following through on releasing their first knitting pattern, including confusion, frustration, lack of time or accountability. In this blog post, I will share the tips I’ve used to overcome those hurdles and get my knitting pattern designs out there so that you can do that too!
Image description: photo of sweaters in shades of beige and brown with the text “How to Follow Through On Your Design Ideas and Finally Release Your First Knitting Pattern” on top of it
How to Finally Release Your First Knitting Pattern
Remember Why
Whenever you’re trying to learn something new or challenging, it can be helpful to remind yourself why you are doing it.
Designing a knitting pattern for the first time isn’t always fun or easy, even if you adore knitting, so thinking of the ways that bringing the project to completion will benefit you and the knitters around you can be excellent motivation to stay the course.
If you’ve ever found yourself on “sleeve island” as a knitter, you likely know how important it is to keep reminding yourself of your motivation (that gorgeous finished sweater) every time you feel the temptation to quit! The same applies here.
Find yourself a post-it note and write down exactly why you would like to design and release your first knitting pattern, then display it somewhere you will often see it. I have a post-it on the noticeboard behind my desk that keeps my own motivation top of mind.
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking always sounds like a great idea until you realise that you’ve got a bunch of half-finished projects and nothing that is complete! When you are already juggling several other commitments, spreading yourself too thin in the limited time you have available will only result in disappointment.
Instead of starting a new design project whenever the impulse strikes you, commit to focusing your time on a single project all the way through to completion. This will help you to remain in “flow”, remembering exactly where you got up to in your pattern so that you can complete it more efficiently.
If single-tasking feels frustrating to you, keep a running list of design projects you would like to start once this one is complete. This will serve as motivation to finish your project, whilst preventing you from forgetting any great ideas.
Image description: photo of 3 people in a coffee shop looking at a phone together.
Find Your Friends
When embarking on a new project, especially one you feel a bit intimidated by, it can be incredibly motivating to journey alongside people who have similar goals.
Students of Sweater Design School often tell me that our student community is one of their favourite things about taking the course, as they can witness fellow students’ growth, help them troubleshoot any problems they might be having and celebrate their successes. It’s almost impossible not to want to work on your design when you see all of their hard work paying off!
Try to find a small group of knitters who dream of designing knitting patterns too. Set yourselves a small challenge of what you would like to achieve, and check in with each other regularly until the project is complete. You’ll be amazed what a bit of accountability can do for your productivity!
Set a Deadline
As a new knitting pattern designer, you are often working completely alone on your design projects. No one is pressuring you to have it complete by a certain date, and the lack of urgency can sometimes result in procrastination or stalled progress.
There was a time in my life where I didn’t have the emotional or mental capacity to work to deadlines, and removing them was the kindest option for me. I would just work on my projects as and when I had the time or inclination.
Thankfully, I’m feeling much more resilient these days, and deadlines have made a welcome return to my knitting pattern design toolbox. Rather than sending me into a shame spiral when I’m lagging behind, they simply let me know that I need to either allocate more time to the project, or if necessary, set a more realistic deadline.
When setting deadlines for yourself, be realistic. Assess the time you have available and consider all of the things you will need to do between now and the deadline in order to achieve it.
Don’t give yourself tons of time if you don’t actually need it, because that can trigger procrastination, too. The sweet spot is giving yourself just a little less time than usual.
Image description: person wearing an oversized white textured sweater. Text reads, How to Follow Through On Your Design Ideas and Finally Release Your First Knitting Pattern.
Follow the Recipe
I had a great conversation with one of my Sweater Design School students last week; one whom I consider to be a real action-taker when it comes to knitting pattern design. She told me that, before, she used to procrastinate on everything, and since taking the course, it’s given her a new lease of life!
I believe that the reason she managed to beat her history of procrastinating is simply because she finally knew what actions she needed to take. Rather than getting stuck wondering what to do next, she had a clear next step to follow, and as a result, reached the finish line!
If you find that lack of clarity or confusion stalls you in your design projects, write yourself a list of everything you need to do in order to complete them. It will make your goal seem much more concrete and achievable.
If you don’t know how to do some of the tasks or processes in your list, add another task in your list to research and learn how to do them. Step by step, you will make progress and finally achieve your knitting pattern design goals!
Track Major Milestones
When working on a longer term project, it can be encouraging to identify major milestones in the project and when you reach them, celebrate! After all, it took a lot of focus and hard work to get there.
Working from home means that I usually live a pretty sedentary lifestyle, which is not great for my mental or physical health. For the last few weeks, I’ve been working towards walking the distance that Frodo walked when journeying to destroy the ring in Lord of the Rings, and using an app to track my progress.
As I reach different milestones, I am rewarded with postcards or short stories, and eventually a medal. It’s amazing how motivating these simple rewards can be! I find myself walking rather than taking the bus to get me closer to my next milestone.
The same tactic can be used with your design process. Refer back to the list of action steps you made, and identify the major milestones on that list. Make a note of how you will reward yourself when you reach that milestone and track your progress as you work towards it. You might even find yourself putting in some extra hours to get there faster!
Conclusion: How to Follow Through On Your Design Ideas and Finally Release Your First Knitting Pattern
Releasing your first knitting pattern can sometimes feel like an impossible hurdle to jump, but with the right support, structure and systems, you can finally achieve it.
Have you published your first knitting pattern yet? Share what helped you achieve this milestone in the comments below!
