How to Buy

In case the following tips help you, here are just a few of the basic assumptions I use in the patterns I publish:

• WILL YOUR GAUGE MATCH MINE?  I am an "average" knitter when it comes to stitch count estimates -- for example, if I'm knitting stockinette stitch my knitting will come out almost exactly as the estimated gauge using the recommended needle size that the yarn label recommends.  So if you know you are a "tighter than average" or "looser than average" knitter, that should help you make a first guess as to whether you should use the needle size I recommend in the pattern.

• HOW MUCH YARN DO YOU NEED FOR THE PROJECT? I hate to run out of yarn, don't you?  AND, I hate patterns that call for a specific number of skeins of a specific brand of yarn that I don't have or (worse yet) doesn't even exist anymore.  ...SO, I write my patterns telling you -- 

  1. How many yards you need (not weight) -- AND the yardage I suggest is rounded off and is at least 10 percent more yards than I used for my sample.  So the estimate should serve you well as a guide AND

  2. sometimes I will also include the approximate weight of the yarn I used (I may mention a specific brand of yarn on occasion, but usually not)
     

• WHY ARE MY PATTERNS NOT AS ABBREVIATED OR DIFFERENTLY ABBREVIATED FROM MANY OTHERS THAT YOU MAY FIND?   Well, first of all, and to be truthful, I rarely read other patterns -- cuz I have too much fun creating my own designs.   But I do remember the extreme brevity of some patterns, and I hated that.  AND I've taught enough knitting classes to know that I wasn't the only one that didn't understand what some of that gobbledy-gook shorthand meant.  So I try to be less brief, and give longer explanations of some techniques.  I hope they help you!  Let me know if there are parts that, despite my care, are "as clear as mud" to you, so I can try to do better, revise patterns as necessary, and post the information here for others who may have the same problems with my designs.

• WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW BEFORE YOU KNIT MY PATTERNS?  Just send me an email and I'll see if I can answer your question and/or post the information here for you and others who may have the same questions.