A while back, some knit and crochet designers and I were having a conversation about the "state of the pattern creating industry". While the pandemic and "stay at home" orders that we all lived through in 2020 created a huge influx of beginner knitters/crocheters, and a significant increase (in some designers cases) of pattern sales, through the first half of 2023 many, if not most, are seeing a decline in those sales.
We asked each other for opinions of why? Why were pattern sales numbers for many of us declining the way they were?
We had guesses, but of course, no reliable data to base our assumptions on.
What we came up with was the pandemic meant that many people were simply bored and needed something to do with all the hours that had previously been devoted to commuting to and from a day job (for those lucky enough to be able to work remotely) and the hours that had been devoted to that day job for those who could not work remotely but still had to "stay home".
2023 has the world acting like we are back to normal, people no longer have those extra few (or many) hours in their day to learn a new hobby.
The conversation from there went on to how to attract more, new knitters and create more easy to make beginner patterns, with my lone dissent of "Who takes care of the intermediate knitter?".
My point, which was quite soundly put aside was designers already have people who can knit, purl, cast on, bind off and who are ready for something a little more challenging but don't have those same few (or many) additional hours in each day to devote to a hobby they came to enjoy when they did. Surely what they need, if they know it or not, is a way to build skills from making a one size doesn't quite fit but is good enough hat, to a perfectly fitting sweater, but in smaller bite size projects that won't take years to finish.
In the meantime I went on to design some rather complicated shawls and "easy" socks that still assume that the knitter knows how to do things like pick up stitches evenly, or pick their favorite cast on, but the thought was niggling in the back of my mind and my inner muse (I call her Minnie Mouse) kept asking "What about this, what about that?"
So I've decided to put my money, and time, where my mouth is and create that series of skill builder patterns. Each will include two or more projects devoted to a specific skill, a small practice project (some would call it a swatch but I know how much people, in general, would prefer not to swatch) and then a larger "level up" project, that is still smaller than a sweater. Possibly some could be used by Yarn Stores for a teaching opportunity like the My First Lace, My First Cable classes the yarn store I worked at during my teens would occasionally offer.
As someone who has been knitting for cough50pluscough years, I don't remember what the techniques were that tripped me up the first time I knit a sweater, but I do know that in the past 15 or 20 years I have learned new and better ways of doing things than I did for the longest time and there is always something new to learn about knitting. For everyone one way of doing something there seems to be 3 or more other ways of achieving the same ends and each one is either best suited to a particular type of project or an individual knitter.
Which is the very long way around of my asking you, if there is still anyone checking in on this sadly neglected blog, what techniques would you like to "Level Up" ?
I am already working on I-cord (which will include 3 different I-cord cast on options, an I-cord bind off, integrated and applied I-cord edges) with three patterns, Picking Up Stitches on Garter Edges, Cast On's and Bind Off's with two patterns, and Shadow/Illusion knitting with two patterns.
You'll never swatch, just jump right into a pattern for a useful object, because a slightly wonky coaster or dish cloth can still be used.
Please leave a comment with what you would like to learn/level up.
Until next time, whenever that may be...Knit Happy!
~M
PS, I am loving my Induction Range! The Power Boost function to boil a large pot of water in next to no time will never cease to amuse me!
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