The checklist your tech editor wants you to use

You're a designer and you want your pattern to be in the best possible shape before you send it to your tech editor, right?

Of course you do! 

The better the quality of the pattern you send in, the better the quality of the pattern you get out. 

The more issues a tech editor has to fix, the more things that are potentially going to be missed. It will cost you more time and money. Patterns which come to a third-party publisher in bad shape don't help your reputation with them.

So, here's a checklist that your tech editor will thank you for following (and you'll thank yourself as well):

• Look at your pictures and make sure you include detail shots. Send them in the email to the tech editor if they aren't included in the pattern itself. The tech editor needs these to make sure that your instructions are making what's pictured in the sample. 

• All descriptions make sense. I know designers reuse templates a lot and sometimes you forget to update something.

• Layout is logical and clear and the pattern is consistent in style—for example, you might want to check your capitalization throughout and make sure you haven't used "rep to end" in one spot and "repeat to end" in another. 

• All needles listed are used and all needles used are listed.

• Gauge is listed stockinette stitch but also in stitch patterns used. It's really helpful to the tech editor to have the gauge in stitch pattern listed as well (really helpful is an understatement if you want them to be able to accurately check the finished measurements. Absolutely vital would be more accurate.)

• All notions are listed and in the correct amounts: buttons, ribbons, snaps, stitch holders, tapestry needles, etc. (Make sure you have button quantities correct for different sizes. I know I'm often guilty of listing the number of buttons I used in my sample, but not checking how many each size actually needs.)

• If there is an abbreviations section then check all abbreviations used in the pattern are listed. Remember special or unusual abbreviations including cables should always be listed.

• Pattern makes logical sense. Give it a quick read through and make sure all elements are there. Mittens should have thumbs, socks should have heels and toes, garments should have two sleeves and a neck opening, etc.

• Right side and wrong side are labelled correctly and follow on correctly (i.e. if Row 1 is a right side row then all odd numbered rows should be right side rows.)

• Rows are numbered correctly (particularly if a pattern says something like “Rows 10-20: Work 10 rows in pattern.”). If you have Rows X-Y then the number of rows worked is Y- X+1.

• Check all the numbers—look at pattern repeats working with the number of stitches in the rows and increases and decreases resulting in correct stitch counts. And please list the stitch counts after every change if possible. You can remove these before publishing but it helps the tech editor stay on the same track as you.

• Finishing instructions are listed and correct. Designers often miss listing a seam to be sewn or an area to be grafted.

• All necessary charts and schematics are included. If no schematic is going to be provided then you've got to have finished measurements listed somewhere.

• Charts match written instructions and chart keys are given and correct. All stitches shown in the key are used in the chart and all stitches shown in the chart are listed in the key. It's helpful to let your tech editor know if the written instructions have been generated by your charting software or not. (If they have been then most likely the tech editor does not need to do a line by line comparison with the chart and this is for the two of you to discuss.)

• Pattern sizing should be reasonable when held up to some sizing standard. Perhaps give the tech editor a heads up of what sizing standard you used or make sure you are following the one given to you by the publisher.

• Can you improve the clarity of the pattern in any way? Are there spots you are unsure about the phrasing? Point these out to your tech editor! Let them know your specifically worried about it. It might not raise a red flag with them otherwise and it's important that you get feedback (even if it's just a "looks good to me!") to ease your worries. 

Do you agree or disagree with the points above? Have I missed anything? How do you get your pattern ready for your tech editor? I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment below!

Does reading this list make you think you might be a good tech editor? I've got a course for that!

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Joeli Kelly is the instructor for Learn to Tech Edit and the founder of the Tech Editor Hub. She is a self-belief coach who is obsessed with expanding what you believe is possible for yourself. You can find out more about her at www.joelikelly.com.

Editing for magazines vs. designers

I started tech editing about 2010, and I initially started working with designers who were self-publishing on Ravelry. Then after about a year, I got a gig working with a magazine and after a few months for a variety of reasons, I moved to another magazine -- Knit Now magazine -- edited by the fabulous Kate Heppell and based here in Manchester. They were a brand new magazine and Kate had mentioned on Twitter that they were going to need a tech editor. I applied for the job, and I went for an interview, and I guess they were happy enough with my work to hire me. I was with them as their only tech editor for maybe eight or nine months, and then we brought on another tech editor. I ended working with them for just shy of two years total.

The magazine publishing schedule, at least here in the UK, is very fast paced. Knit Now put out 13 issues a year, which is one every four weeks. When I started, we were putting out over 20 patterns every issue and all accessories, which I loved. Then Kate started to introduce more garments, which is great for the magazine, but it's not my area of specialty and I don't love editing garments. It was a tight schedule, and I had two young kids at home and it was a little bit too fast-paced for me. I did work with a magazine after Knit Now, which was a magazine based in the US, and they only published four or five patterns per issue, with four issues a year. The schedule was a lot less frantic and there was just a little bit more time to edit the patterns, and there were fewer patterns so I enjoyed that a lot more. 

Editing for magazines (and publishers)

Magazine work, in general, is a bulk of patterns given to you at once. There's a lot of editing to do on a deadline, and you, the editor, are making all the corrections. With magazines, there's no back and forth with the designer, and that can be difficult. If I'm making corrections, I might introduce an error, so I really needed someone to check my corrections. When we moved to two tech editors, that helped with that problem because when we got the PDF proofs to check, we each could look at the patterns that we didn't tech edit and run through them as a double check for the other editor’s work.

People might think that editing for a magazine is a dream job, but for me, it wasn't. I didn't like getting a bulk of work to do and to have to try and fit that into my schedule when I had a very unpredictable schedule. I had kids who would get sick or who would not sleep, and it was just too hard to fit a bulk load of work and very tight deadlines into my very chaotic life. Working with book publishers was very similar. The deadlines were a little bit more flexible and longer but you would still get a bulk of patterns, sometimes 20 plus patterns. You were also a lot more involved with the designer and had a lot more back and forth with them which was nice. It still wasn't the right fit for me, but working on books can be a lot of fun, especially if you like that sort of challenge and you like a variety of patterns.

Editing for designers

When you work with an independent designer, often you're just pointing out errors to them. The designer makes the corrections and sends a corrected proof back to you for you to then recheck and approve. You might get only one or sometimes two patterns at a time and I really liked that. I also liked the fact that I could pick and choose my work. I liked that I could tell the designer "No, I'm not the best tech editor for this type of pattern," and suggest they contact an editor friend of mine. I liked being able to just work on the patterns that I knew I could do better than anyone. It was also more flexible. I could tell my designers, "I work Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you need to get the patterns to me by Monday night or Wednesday night or you'll have to wait until the next week." And I could see when my schedule was filling up and tell designers they'd have to wait a couple weeks before I could fit them in. So I had a lot of control over my workflow.

Choose your type of job

These are all things to consider when you're thinking about the types of jobs you can take on as an tech editor. Do you want a large volume of work at once? Would you prefer to have a slower drip of patterns that you can schedule to control your workflow? How much are you willing to do on any one day? Do you mind tight deadlines? Do you love them? If you specialize in something and you're thinking about taking on bulk work, what if there's something that you're not familiar with? With magazines, you certainly cannot control the patterns you get in, so you better be comfortable editing a wide variety. I'm a tech editor who preferred to specialize in a few things rather than everything, but many editors prefer to edit a variety of types of patterns.

The beauty of being a technical editor in the fiber industry is that it's up to you—you get to decide the work you want to take on. Which appeals to you? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Joeli Kelly is the instructor for Learn to Tech Edit Knitting and the founder of the Tech Editor Hub. She is a self-belief coach who is obsessed with expanding what you believe is possible for yourself. You can find out more about her at www.joelikelly.com.

The truth about the role of a tech editor

What is the role of the technical editor in the process of producing a pattern? They receive the pattern from the designer or the publisher, and read it through line by line, working it in their head, going over all the math involved, making sure the numbers are right. They make sure the stitch patterns are correct and that the charts match the instructions.

When I first started editing, I thought our job was to make sure the pattern was correct as written, that what was printed on the page worked out mathematically and was easy to follow, and that’s it, all done. And it is that—the numbers in the instructions and the measurements they produce need to be correct on the page. But is that all? Are they the numbers the designer wants, just because the math works out? Is it our job to know what the designer wants, to question what is in front of us?

At first, I didn’t ask those questions. I checked the math and made sure it was right and that stitches and rows equaled the right measurements. It didn’t take me long, however, to realize that there is a lot more going on in a tech edit than checking for accuracy and clarity. That may not be true for all tech editors, but it certainly was for me. What exactly is the tech editor’s role? What is their responsibility to the designer and to the pattern?

RESPONSIBILITY TO THE DESIGNER

A tech editor’s goal is to help designers put out their best work and produce quality patterns. They also want to be sure the designer’s voice in the pattern is their own and matches what they are striving for. They have to be thinking about the maker too—my goal is always happy makers because ultimately makers being happy with a pattern is what will make my clients successful. Making that happen includes a lot more than just ensuring the pattern is correct as written and is easy to follow, and once a tech editor sees how much the pattern needs to accomplish, it obligates them to expand what they are looking for and what they check when editing that pattern.

There is the responsibility to the designer, but there is also a responsibility to the craft of making clothing and to the maker of that clothing. In our industry, the tech editor is a person in the process that is also bound by that responsibility. I maintain that it is our job as tech editors to do more than check what is in front of us, because we are where the buck stops in this process of creating patterns, and designers are counting on us to consider the maker’s needs,  to value what the designers are trying to accomplish in writing a pattern. We make sure the art of writing a pattern is its best. We respect both maker and designer by making sure the business of making clothing is done well.

RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ART OF MAKING CLOTHING

Consider what a maker is looking for in a pattern and from a designer—they want a pattern that will come out as they expect when they work it and that the project will be fun to do.

The instructions need to be clear and consistently done, as well as correct. This may lead a tech editor to check for consistency across a designer’s pattern portfolio and not just that one pattern, which might mean they help the designer write a style sheet, or consult their previously published patterns. This may lead to some conversation back and forth about establishing trust and cementing a designer’s voice in their pattern. These things help the maker along and get them to trust the designer, but they also make the pattern easy to follow and fun to do!

The finished item needs to look like the picture. This may lead a tech editor to work a little bit of a repeat or a bind off or a shaping section, to be sure the instructions have it right. It may lead them to research yarn characteristics, stitches, cables, or shaping constructions, to be sure the finishing instructions are clear as to what the photo shows. A pattern can be written so it will produce what it states and be correct, but not match the picture the maker was promised. Watch out!

The item has to fit as the designer intends. This element of tech editing is often missed. Patterns can be correctly written but produce poor fit, and the designer doesn’t want that, and it will not make for a happy maker.

Why does fit often get missed? Tech editors (rightly so) work hard to respect the designer’s autonomy over their work, and they recognize that it is not the tech editor’s place to change their pattern or take any ownership over it. And fit is certainly something that is subjective in the design process—a design is intended to fit and look a certain way, and that is the designer’s call, 100 percent.

So, not all tech editors think to question fit, or even check for it. They do the math of the pattern and it produces the measurements it produces and they call it good. The pattern is correct. But part of checking a pattern, part of checking all those measurements, is checking the grading to ensure that the measurements on the pattern actually reflect the fit the designer intended in their process—to make sure their intended fit is indeed coming through in the instructions. And that is entirely objective, and does not take anything away from the designer’s voice or ownership of their work. It is, in fact, supporting their work and their choices!

Interested in learning more about grading or learning to grade? Click HERE!

CHECKING FOR GOOD FIT

This doesn’t mean all tech editors grade patterns, or even need to know how to grade patterns. You don’t have to know how to grade to check the grading for accuracy. Checking grading means seeing what ease was applied to all the body points in the sample size and making sure that the same ease was applied in all the sizes. It also means checking the sample size for things that seem off—like a neckline that is wide when the photo shows a close crew neck, or an upper arm so tight it wouldn’t make sense in that size.

This checking practice is simply using tools, like construction resources and body size charts, to determine if the fit is what is intended based on the sample. This is also part of the correctness of a pattern! Remember that what the maker wants is to get what they expect. This is based on the pattern pictures they have seen or the gauge listed in the pattern—those things need to come true when the work is done.

Just like you would check to make sure the cables are leaning the proper way, the ribbing is the right pattern, or the chart matches the written instructions, the fit also needs to be checked. I would go so far as to say that fit may be the most important thing to be checked, far above cables and ribbing, and not the thing that is overlooked or forgotten. If a clothing pattern doesn’t fit, it hardly matters that cables cross the same way or ribbing is instructed correctly.

Please check the grades in your clients’ patterns. Check for correctness in fit. Because if the fit is off, even if the numbers work out, the pattern is not correct. 

Ask your clients for the following in each pattern:

·         What is their sample size?

·         What ease did they apply (and want) for each body point in the sample?

·         What sizing chart did they use to base their grading and design?

·         Are there any specific issues they had in grading that need to be addressed?

PRODUCING A GREAT PATTERN

Our responsibility as tech editors is to our client, to help them produce a clear and correct pattern, to check to make sure the maker will have a smooth experience working the pattern, to make sure the pattern supports the designer's vision and communicates what they want to share—the design, the fit, their voice, and their style.

A technical editor’s role is to check that a pattern is clear, correct, consistent, and concise, and that encompasses a lot more than making sure the math on the page works out. There is a lot in a pattern that has to be right for it to produce a beautiful item and for it to be a happy experience for the maker. The math and words have to be right for the pattern, not just right on the page. Well done style and proper grading are the nuances that make these patterns great and allow them to stand the test of time. Making sure this is accomplished is our role, and our responsibility, when we pick up that pencil.

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Kristina McGrath is a knitting tech editor and designer consultant who is passionate about size inclusivity and well-written patterns. You can find out more about her at https://www.kristinamcgrath.com/

What is pattern grading?

Grading is the process of creating a range of sizes from a single sample size in a garment design. Grading is also commonly called sizing or multi-sizing a pattern, making it larger and smaller to fit the body sizes the design is intended for in the same way that the sample size does, with all the same design elements and style. It is a skill that requires the knowledge of garment construction, design, and fit, as well as the necessary technical skills specific to the area of garment production (ready-to-wear, sewing patterns, knitting/crochet patterns).

When does grading happen?

Grading comes after all design decisions have been made, most importantly after a test garment or sample is finished and the fit and design eases are confirmed. Depending on how the garment will be produced, the pattern for that one size may also be written or drawn out before the grading process begins.

How is grading done?

Here is where the process gets its name: grading is accomplished by using grade rules. These are measurements applied at specific points of the pattern to increase or decrease the total size by a particular measurement, which is also called a grade.

Grading in flat pattern

paper sewing pattern pieces graded to 4 sizes

In garment manufacturing and in the sewing industry, pattern graders apply grades and size specifications to each flat pattern piece systematically to produce all the sizes required. Grading is often done using specialized computer software, but it can be done manually using rulers and other tools to cut and spread or shift the base pattern to produce the sizes. Each size has its own set of pattern pieces that are then used to cut out the fabric and construct or manufacture the garment.

Grading for flat pattern does not change the shape of the base design, but only increases or decreases the size. This means that there often needs to be more than one sample made to accommodate the changing body shapes as the sizes increase or decrease.

Grading for knitting and crochet patterns

In garments that are made with yarn, the fabric is produced at the same time as the garment pieces, so there are no physical pattern pieces used in the garment production. Instead, the grader (which can be the designer or a technical editor) uses spreadsheet calculations to apply the grade rules to the sample pattern measurements. They then write the pattern instructions that will reproduce the design for the various body sizes, including a schematic drawing and/or table that illustrates the finished measurements (and sometimes more instructions).

schematic table for a knitting pattern

Grading for designs made with yarn is more flexible than in flat pattern because the grader is working with numbers and calculations, not physical patterns. Thus, there is rarely a need to make multiple samples and the shape of the garment can be easily adjusted so the finished pattern fits all the sizes well. 

Want to know if your knitting or crochet design is ready for grading? Read more here.

What grading is not

Grading is not adding or subtracting the same amount of design ease at every part of the pattern, nor applying the same percentage change everywhere.

As body sizes increase and decrease, the various body parts do not increase/decrease at the same rate. For example, if a chest circumference increases from one size to the next by 2”/5 cm, the neck circumference may only increase by ⅛”/0.3 cm. So adding the same 4”/10 cm of design ease at both the chest and neck as the sizes increase would yield a catastrophically ill-fitting garment.

What is a “good grade”?

• A well-graded pattern results in the same fit for all the body sizes. In each size, the neckline is proportional to the neck, the cuffs and hem all end at the same point on the body, and fit in the arms, chest, and hips are all the same. 

• A well-graded pattern also takes every design detail and scales it correctly to the body size: trims, pockets, cuff depths all will match the sample size in style.

• A well-graded pattern is inclusive in its size range. It is available for all body sizes in the market that the pattern is being sold to; no body size is excluded.

Want to learn how to grade knitting and crochet patterns?

Sign up here to be notified when our Masterclass on Grading opens for enrollment.

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Sarah Walworth is an instructor for A Masterclass on Grading and the owner of the Tech Editor Hub. She is a tech editor, knitting instructor, and loves to solve grading problems. You can find out more about her at www.sarahwalworth.com.

How to Become a Knitting Technical Editor

There isn't one definitive path to becoming a tech editor. There isn't a universally recognized qualifications program that one can do or a specific course that grants you a certificate that says "Congrats you are now a tech editor!".

(And no matter what an organization or course website may say otherwise, there really isn’t a certification process that you need to go through.)

I started out as a test knitter and then fell into tech editing. Luckily, it turned out that I was quite good at it. And this makes sense -- I come from a math background, I'm analytical, I have a good eye for detail, I'm comfortable with spreadsheets. I also read a ton of knitting books just to keep learning. I buy patterns that have interesting constructions so I can read through them and figure out how they work. All these things combined make me a good editor. 

While I have a degree in mathematics, there are plenty of people who come into the tech editing world from something other than a math background. They might have a science, engineering, English or communications degree. Or they might have 20 years experience working in a yarn store providing pattern support for customers that come in. It actually doesn't matter all that much.

See, I firmly believe it is our natural skills (being comfortable with numbers, having an eye for detail, a slight tendency towards perfectionism) that make us great editors and not a certain degree or qualification.

If you want to be a tech editor you could go the same route I did and just dive in and learn as you go. It takes a long time, and it kind of sucks when you mess up and disappoint designers, but it works fine. But you might want encouragement and support as you learn a new skill. You might want to learn from someone who’s been there before and be sure you are doing it right and going in with your best foot forward. That’s what the Learn To Tech Edit course is for.

Now maybe you're thinking "I currently work full time, I like the idea of tech editing but I can't fit that in right now." or "I'm a busy mom and I'm not sure I will ever find the time for your course." And I totally understand those concerns.

But here's the thing: My entire career as a technical editor has been built whilst also raising my kids. I started when my oldest son was 8 months old, I kept going through my pregnancy with my youngest, and was back at editing when he was 1 month old (and I still had his 2-year-old brother to contend with.) You don't need to have childcare (it helps of course, even if it's just your partner or a grandparent taking the kids out of the house for an hour). You can work during nap time if that's all you have available. (It's all I had when I started out! For a few months, nearly all my editing work was done standing up with my kiddo asleep in a sling on my back because he did not enjoy napping in a crib.) If you're in a full-time job you can fit this into your evenings or weekends if you can find a couple hours here and there.

The truth is, you can become a tech editor no matter what your current work/life situation is and no matter what your background is.

Here's what it comes down to:

Yes, crunching numbers needs to make your heart sing if you're going to think about this as a career but you don't need anything beyond high school math. You need a few hours of free time a week. You also need to have an eye for detail. You need to be able to tell the difference between:

Row 1 (RS): K1, p2, k to end of row.
and
Row 1 [RS]: K1, p2, knit to end.

If you can't spot the differences (hint: there are 3), then maybe tech editing isn't for you.

Still not sure? Well if any of the following apply to you...

• Read books on knitted sweater construction for fun

• have passionate views about the Oxford comma,

• have done a bit of test knitting and really impressed the designer with your feedback

• noticed all my grammatical and consistency errors in this post ;)

…then I think you'll love tech editing. 

If you have any questions, please send me a message.

P.S. If all of this makes you scream "YES! This is the career I've been wanting!" then you might want to check out my course, Learn to Tech Edit..

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Joeli Kelly is the instructor for Learn to Tech Edit and the founder of the Tech Editor Hub. She is a self-belief coach who is obsessed with expanding what you believe is possible for yourself. You can find out more about her at www.joelikelly.com.