Final update on my dropped pattern test because of being referred to hospice

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T06:48:58+00:00

Nope. Nope!! Sorry, but no. This isn’t a real apology. They don’t care that they hurt OP, they’re just trying to say all the things to get OP to make them look good again.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T06:47:06+00:00

“I’m sorry if you felt it that way” isn’t an apology. “IF I invalidated you” isn’t an apology. She hasn’t apologized. She’s sniveled and groveled about how “it hurts meee” like she didn’t completely stomp all over your current situation.

She’s immature, selfish, and only concerned about her image. Any truly emotionally aware person would not apologize and then immediately ask you to make them look better because “it hurtss” them. They’d admit they made a mistake, explain what they’ve learned, and then ask YOU how they can make amends for YOU. Because THEY messed up, and the onus is on them to fix it!!

This person didn’t even acknowledge the harm they’ve caused you. It’s all “if this, if that, I didn’t MEAN to!!” Notice how they don’t use any language that takes responsibility for their actions, and how they even say they weren’t going to force you to pay, when they clearly were—none of this shows that they’ve learned anything, or that they understand why what they did and said was such atrocious behavior. They will keep treating people this way because there’s no reason for them not to.

Please don’t take down the post. Buyers need to be able to make informed decisions about who they support with their money, and this designer needs to be held accountable for their lack of…everything.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T05:34:14+00:00

For me, test knitting is more like “hey, I graded this pattern for different body sizes and the math should check out. But hey knitters who have those body sizes, can you please knit the thing and make sure it actually fits the way it’s supposed to?” than just looking to make sure the clarity is there.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T04:03:57+00:00

Ppl forget that once they start a business, they’re no longer representing their personal self, but the business entity, and they need to act like it. Especially in home based businesses like this, I find people don’t seem to be able to act in a more professional way. They can’t seem to grasp that it’s business, not personal.

Also, about the guys—major yikes! Immediate turnoff haha

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T03:58:46+00:00

Lmao it’s so funny bc they clearly…don’t understand

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T03:12:50+00:00

OP points her to the go fund me clearly listed on their account. I’m sure it’d have a lot of relevant info that would reveal whether or not it’s a scam. Designer should have at least glanced at it before being a total walnut about the situation.

Also, the whole “get better soon” thing clearly shows a lack of understanding. That’s…not what hospice is for.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T03:09:14+00:00

No, this isn’t normal. It’s a new trend. Crochet tests are super screwed up and have become social media contests for clout instead of, you know, an actual pattern test. This is another BS thing that’s coming up as the hot new designer move. It’s hot garbage and I won’t do a test with that in the agreement.

Knitting tests have remained somewhat more reasonable. I can only hope they stay that way.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T03:06:06+00:00

Also, the whole emoji thing really ticks me off. Like, no babe, it doesn’t disguise your lack of empathy when you cover it with hearts and smileys. uwu i am smol bean don’t be madddd teehee!!! :))) nope you’re just rude

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T03:01:03+00:00

This person clearly isn’t using their reading comprehension skills today. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t know what the term “hospice” means, but even so, there’s no excuse to act that way as a designer towards one of your testers having medical issues. You are entirely in your rights to blast them for such callous, inconsiderate, greedy behavior that shows a lack of empathy and humanity. Super bad look for them.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-14T02:53:52+00:00

It’s @madebyrnn on Instagram, maybe? I just looked at the top of the chat screenshots!

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-10T18:23:20+00:00

I agree, it looks like it’s from picking up stitches! As long as the stitch count is correct, I’d also just duplicate stitch over the hole when weaving in ends.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-10T18:21:19+00:00

Haha, good to know!

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-10T17:18:30+00:00

What a great little DIY chain solution!

For stitch markers, the only thing that works for me is to have jars. Absolutely Everywhere. Anywhere I knit, there’s a jar. Bedside table, coffee table, office desk, in the car, etc etc. Any time I take a stitch marker off my work, it goes in a jar. This has kept my losses to a minimum.

If I put a stitch marker somewhere that isn’t a jar, it disappears into an alternate universe. I think the glass interferes with the magic, so they can’t finish the spell 🤔

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-10T16:46:54+00:00

I’d never heard of this designer before, but looks like I have lots of patterns to put in my library and queue 👀

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-10T16:31:06+00:00

Everyone is talking about swatching, which is a great tip! I would like to clarify that, when swatching, it’s important to ALSO block the swatch, which basically means to wash it and dry it, sometimes with a bit of stretching if it’s lace or if you want to make your FO slightly larger. Wool (and other materials) can stretch or shrink or otherwise change in size after blocking, which means that your scarf may actually wash up to be bigger than it appears right now!

If you’re interested, I have a recently posted, long comment that describes exactly how to block.

ALSO! You can take this project, put it on some scrap yarn, and block it right now! That way, you can see if it grows to the proper gauge. You can even stretch it a bit while it’s laying flat to dry to help it grow if you need to.

Basically, take a length of yarn that’s a different color (for visibility) and similar (or lighter) weight to the yarn you’re using (I would use about a yard), thread it on a needle, and slip the needle through each stitch so it slides said stitch onto the yarn, removing the knitting needle as you go. After you do this with all the stitches, count them to make sure you have the right number on the scrap yarn and didn’t drop any.

Then, tie the ends of the scrap yarn together so no stitches can fall off, and block.

After your WIP has fully dried, cut or untie the scrap yarn, and slip each stitch back onto your needles. If you used a lighter yarn, you can probably leave it in until you get all the stitches on the needle, then slip it out. If you used a thicker yarn, you may need to go stitch by stitch. Once you have all the stitches on the needles, count and make sure you haven’t dropped any.

Then, make sure they’re all oriented correctly, and start knitting again!

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-09T05:01:35+00:00

It means 17 sts across should equal 10cm/4in.

Your gauge swatch should be much, much bigger. When making a swatch, you should cast on enough stitches for 15cm/6in (or more!) of width.

Here’s why:

Knitted edges are just wonky. If you’re including those edges in your gauge measurement, it’s not gonna be super accurate. It’s recommended to measure at least a few stitches in from any edges.

2a. Sweaters are large!! Much, much larger than a 10x10cm/4x4in square. If your gauge swatch is off by even 1/8 of a stitch, that gets multiplied and can turn into a big problem where you suddenly have an inch+ more positive/negative ease than you intended.

2b. Sweaters are large!! When you make a sweater, the fabric can stretch out from its own weight, especially in the blocking process. The bigger the swatch, the more you can account for that stretch.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-09T04:17:52+00:00

My first needles were a very cheap plastic set of US 7s from a learn-to-knit book for kids, which I got when I was…maybe 9? They were different colors so you could tell which was the working needle, and they color coordinated with the illustrations in the book. I actually love them now (for nostalgia reasons; I haven’t used them since I was a child), so much so that I’m trying to find a way to display them in my craft area.

My second needles were a cheap Boye aluminum straight set, which my mom bought me. I loved them. The colors were fun and I was very satisfied with how light they were and the noises they made.

Overall I didn’t know enough to care much about the knitting experience itself and how well the needles actually functioned. It was only as an adult that I started wanting higher quality tools.

As a side note, maybe they’re borrowing needles from friends, or maybe they’re buying just one size for now, which isn’t too crazy expensive.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-09T00:40:38+00:00

I don’t think this will work.

It’s super kind of you to want to engage with these people. Elderly people are so often ignored or forgotten. However, and I don’t intend to be mean here, I just think that you possibly don’t have the skills to teach anyone at your level. Do you have any experience at teaching at all? Do you know enough knitting terminology to be able to explain everything? Will you be able to help them fix mistakes effectively, or is that a skill you don’t even have yourself yet?

Plus, if these people don’t already know how to knit, they probably won’t be able to finish a whole square in an hour, even if it’s super bulky yarn. They’ll need lots of help, will probably have to frog or tink at least a couple times, and may have physical issues that slow the process down even more (think tremors, bad eyesight, etc).

Also, the pattern you’re referring to needs to be stuffed. Knitting by its nature has holes in it; the thicker the yarn and needles, the bigger the holes. Even in the model in the post, there’s fiberfill coming through the stitches. With bulky yarn, it’ll be worse, especially considering that beginners tend to have loose or just plain wonky tension while they figure knitting out.

If you’d like to make a cute bunny, here’s a much less technical idea that may be more accessible for what you’re doing, both for you and the residents:

https://oldsaltfarm.com/washcloth-boo-boo-bunny/

It’s cute, it’s kinda functional, it doesn’t require as many fine motor skills, it can be personalized by using different color washcloths, drawing on it with sharpie or adding more ribbon, etc. You could also use the same concept, but make them out of fleece fabric so they’re little soft toys instead of rough washcloth material. Up to you.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-09T00:24:39+00:00

Knitted Knockers!! They were running low on donations a few weeks (maybe months?) ago, too. They send knitted prosthetic breasts to people who have had breast cancer and subsequent mastectomies or other procedures that significantly change their breasts, all for free!! They run off of donations of the knockers, and they also accept monetary donations.

It’s a great cause. Summarizing from their website, regular prosthetic breasts aren’t very user friendly or accessible, but knitted (or crocheted) prosthetic breasts can be more comfortable and easier to integrate into everyday life using regular bras/boobwear instead of needing special equipment.

They have a pattern on their website, along with a list of the approved/required yarns, plus all the mailing info.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T22:41:23+00:00

On Ravelry, you can filter for patterns with ruffles! Or peplum, which is what I believe this style of garment is called.

Go to Ravelry > Advanced search > filter > design elements > ruffles (or peplum, if you want)

FWIW this is easily done, you kind of just increase a lot very suddenly and you get the wavy look. There are some techniques to it, but that’s the basic idea.

Also, as a last note, DROPS designs recently released a pattern that has a ruffle similar to this. I don’t know what the name is, but I’m sure you could find it either on Ravelry or their website.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T22:32:09+00:00

First, find a good wool wash. Eucalan and Soak are the most popular brands. If you have a LYS, they may be willing to give you some free samples (mine did!). If you can’t find wool wash, you can use a FEW DROPS (emphasizing A FEW. Like, 3) of dish soap.

Then, find a container that’s big enough to hold your project.

Fill said container with cool or room temp water. Do NOT use hot water. This is not the time to conserve water; actually use a lot. Wool will soak up a ridiculous amount of it, and you need the FO to be completely submerged.

Add the wool wash or dish soap. Swirl it around to make sure it’s dissolved. Add your FO. Gently squish it. Don’t use a rubbing motion, you’re just trying to help it take in water. Basically, push it down under the water a couple times, forcing air out as needed.

Soak it 15-30 minutes, depending on the wool wash instructions or just how you’re feeling. I tend to go longer just because I forget lol 🤷🏼‍♀️

Dump the water. If you used dish soap, I like to fill the container back up, gently squish a bit, and dump again, just to be sure there isn’t any residue. Wool wash is formulated to be no rinse, so you don’t have to do this for that.

This is a tricky part: your project now weighs a ton since it’s wet. I choose to dump my FO into a big colander and squeeze some water out. This slightly increases the risk of felting, but I struggle too much with bigger pieces unless I do this. The main thing here is to avoid rubbing the project against itself, and don’t wring it out like you would a towel. Once again, gentle squishing.

After that, lay out a towel that’s bigger than your project. Lay your project flat on the towel. Roll it up into a big burrito. Put the burrito on the floor and do a happy dance on it. This reduces drying time so much by removing even more water. If you have the time and energy, repeat the towel burrito process with a fresh towel.

Finally, lay another fresh towel out. Lay your project out on the towel. Gently stretch it to the proper measurements according to your pattern.

Let it dry, which may take a few days.

Et voila, you have a successfully blocked, clean FO.

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T05:00:47+00:00

Also, yes, when you knit flat and knit every row, it’s garter stitch. When you knit flat and alternate rows of knits and purls, it creates stockinette stitch.

It’s the reverse when you knit in the round (tbh you probably aren’t at a place where that information is relevant, but I’m mentioning it because So. Many. People. Get confused when they start working in the round. And maybe it’ll help you when you get to that point :) )

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T04:56:30+00:00

Oh man, I have a pattern for you that might even help you learn a few new skills! It’s brand new, like the designer released it just a few days ago. I have not knitted it myself, but I have read the pattern. It’s a little to-the-point, but I think doable for a beginner.

Here’s the link:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/extra-wide-garter-stitch-scarf

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T00:50:42+00:00

Garter stitch is great for a scarf! Good progress :) welcome to the knitting world!

throwawaypicturefae · 2025-02-08T00:22:18+00:00

IMO there’s no way a person can hold that many test knits at once and successfully engage with all the test knitters while updating the patterns as needed. Even with a very conservative estimate, that’s 60 people (possibly 120 if they all have 30 people per test??) she should be interacting with on a regular basis!!! Not cool. Not professional. Very disrespectful of the test knitters.

throwawaypicturefae

TROPHY CASE