One Planet Yarn and Fiber: It's Official! - My First Pattern

Saturday, March 03, 2012

It's Official! - My First Pattern - Swirl Beret

Being in this business has given me a great thirst for knowledge. I see all the wonderful patterns coming in and ideas start to pop into my head, or maybe that's just senior moments.

I've decided to try my hand at design work and I am pleased to say that I have completed my first pattern and it is available for purchase in the online store.

I designed a beret. The pattern is called "Swirl Beret". It calls for a single skein of Artesano Aran and it knits up fast!

The inspiration for this design came to me one day while paging through one of my knitting books. The idea just tickled my senses and I had to knit it right then! That was last summer.

I put the idea and the beret aside and other things got in the way. Then, one day this past fall, the beret started to call to me again. Could I do it again from my notes? The answer was yes. I sent the notes off to a fellow knitter (hi Clare!) and she knit it up from my notes too, and loved it!

Next was putting aside my fears and contacting a graphic designer. I found Mary Joy Gumayagay. Mary Joy has done graphic design for several fiber artists and she was responsible graphic design for the book Coastal Knits bu Alana Dakos and Hannah Fettig. Mary Joy is great to work with.

The next step was to find a technical editor. I was able to do that thanks to the help of Michelle Miller (Fickle Knitter Design). I met Michelle at the TNNA show and she was happy to help with well needed advice.

And finally, I needed a great photographer to convey the mood of Swirl. I found that in my daughter, Tessa. Words can not express the joy I felt when I finally had a chance to look at the pictures she took for me. She choose the perfect friend to model and then found several locations to shoot at.

Thank you all for your wonderful support and advice. I couldn't have done this without you.

And now, introducing......Swirl Beret!