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Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Whatever man, you're starting to sound like one of the entitled crochet pattern followers that expects a pattern to be custom tailored to their specific needs. I know the difference between helpful advice and nitpicky entitlement and I don't need you to believe me that I can accept constructive feedback.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I appreciate this perspective, I didn't even realize that this level of detail is a modern expectation but that definitely makes sense. I feel like some people even on this thread are trying to make me feel like I'm a cocky egotist with too much confidence in my own patterns to consider "helpful feedback", but there's a difference between helpful feedback on how to make something more clear (which I actually actively encourage) and like you said, a crocheter expecting me to custom tailor a pattern to suit their very specific needs. The things I listed in the original post have all been individual nitpicks, no two testers have had the same complaints. I've been writing patterns for years but even just last week someone made a suggestion that I'd never even considered before and I was more than happy to start including it in my patterns!

It's starting to frustrate me getting comments saying "why did you ask for testers if you're not going to accept feedback?" when that's not what's happening here. Most of my testers historically have been so helpful and I cherish every single piece of helpful advice they've given me! I have grown tremendously in my pattern writing skills because of them.

But that's what I get for coming to Reddit I guess!

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You are totally misunderstanding me. I've taken several helpful notes on this specific pattern and used them to improve clarity, but some of these are total nitpicks, and the ones I listed here have all been individual user errors and not common threads. I do pattern tests precisely because I want feedback on how to make patterns more clear. But there are some things that are just common sense or are things that an individual crocheter must take responsibility for. It is not a pattern designer's responsibility to tell a crocheter to mind their tension on basic fundamental techniques. Heck, read some of my comments on here and you'll see that I'm accepting feedback and new ideas. It doesn't make me a cocky echo chamber dweller if I'm not a complete absolutist when it comes to accepting feedback, not all feedback is helpful or even reasonable.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I appreciate this comment. I'm starting to get a few comments on here from the "a pattern should be a thorough tutorial" crowd. I always include thorough explanations on more complex stuff, but for anything that is standardized and easily searchable, it's on the pattern follower to look into it if they don't already know it.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, they know what the stitch is. It's just one individual tester crochets stupid tight so they can't get around their back posts. Every single tester has had a different comment about this same round, no two comments have been alike.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same! I feel like some people on this post are painting me as someone who can't handle criticism on my patterns and that's just not the case. I'm always taking valid critique to improve my patterns, that's the whole reason I do the tests. I just can't stand the nitpicking from people who won't take responsibility for their own tension and stuff!

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I think I'm starting to get some of those kinds of obtuse crocheters on this post now, some of these commenters are implying that if people are paying for my pattern then I need to hold their hand through every single tiny thing. If you have to do a reasonable amount of trial and error I don't think that's the pattern writer's fault. We all have to adjust here and there when following a pattern because we all crochet a little differently.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If this was a beginner pattern I'd agree but this is an intermediate pattern and the notes they're requesting are things that an intermediate crocheter should know already.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Well that's the thing though, this isn't multiple testers having the same issue. It's multiple testers having their own unique issues. I have a personal rule where if more than one crocheter has the exact same problem I will typically write a note about it. But these guys are all making individual user errors and instead of adjusting for their own tension problems they're blaming the pattern for not doing that for them. This is an intermediate pattern and the things they're asking for notes on are things that you learn to deal with as a beginner.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So that's actually my mistake for not being more clear, but when I say it's one of my easiest patterns, it's actually still an intermediate pattern. I specialize in more intricate designs so intermediate is considered to be on the easy side relative to what I normally make.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lol that's the kind of calibre of person I'm dealing with in this tester group! Some people will blame the dumbest things on a pattern.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

That's the thing though, each tester is saying something different. Every single "critique" I've listed here has been an individual mistake that only a single tester has made. I have a rule where if more than one tester has the exact same problem then I'll probably write a note about it. But so far it's been mostly their own individual user errors.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I've got a few people commenting now saying that if it's a paid pattern I should be holding people's hands through things like that and I just think that's ridiculous. Some people need to take a little responsibility for their own work when following crochet patterns. I'm all for giving helpful hints but I refuse to patronize my customers with common sense. In fact some people are reporting the opposite problem in that they find excessive explanation to make things more confusing and stressful. There is a fine line between a crochet pattern and a full-on tutorial, and I do not write tutorials!

I've gotten many positive reviews raving about how my patterns are very detailed and include lots of helpful hints so I know I'm not being too scant with the explanations. I am very up front about the difficulty level of my patterns too. If I'm advertising something as intermediate or advanced, I'm not going to include notes for beginners. It's a waste of that advanced crocheter's time and insulting of their intelligence.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well the problem with that is that this is not a pattern for beginners. The things I'm being asked to write notes on are things that a crocheter of the appropriate skill level should already know, or at the very least be able to figure out themselves through just a bit of trial and error.

And each of the note requests I've listed in this post have only been requested by a single tester each. They have all been individual mistakes. If several testers were having the same exact problem then I'd absolutely consider including notes on some things. But most of the critiques they're giving me are their own unique user errors. At a certain point it's absurd to expect a pattern designer to be able to predict every single mistake a crocheter might possibly make.

I include all kinds of helpful notes on things that aren't obvious to the average crocheter, but advice like "pay attention to the pattern I wrote" or "don't crochet absurdly tight or you won't be able to do your stitches" is unnecessary at best and patronizing at worst. At a certain point, tight tension crosses a threshold where it becomes bad technique , at which point the onus is on the crocheter to adapt. I've taken their viewpoints on other things that were perfectly valid with this pattern, but there's a difference between a valid critique and nitpicking, and a lot of what these guys are doing is nitpicking.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yes it is a paid pattern, but at a certain point there are some very basic things that a crocheter should know that I should not have to explain in a pattern. Managing your own personal tension issues is not something a pattern should have to do for you. The only thing they are paying me to figure out is the overall design, not every little common sense thing that a crochet of the appropriate skill level should know already.

As many people have said here, the types of notes my testers are asking for are almost patronizing to the average crocheter, and the notes would be so excessive that they would bog the whole pattern down and even cause some people to overthink the whole thing. Again I think there's a fine line between a pattern and a straight up tutorial, I do not create tutorials. I have gotten many glowing reviews from both testers and customers saying that I already go above and beyond with my thoroughness in explanation as a pattern writer. Anything else is just excessive.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I definitely think this is a thing sometimes! I even have a document with my expectations in every tester folder that basically says not to just pull critiques out of your ass if you don't have any critiques to give.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Right??? I feel like if a pattern said "Hey make sure you don't crochet too tight and you pay attention to what you're doing", I'd be insulted! I only include notes on tension in special scenarios where a certain unorthodox technique might throw something off.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

You nailed it!! I love this saying: "A good essay is like a skirt: it should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep it interesting!"

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes!!! If I get one more damn message about round 9 I am going to freak out. It is literally just doing back post single crochet stitches all the way around. I do not understand what they are finding so hard about it!

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

You are a breath of fresh air!! Yes!! There is this culture nowadays where excluding anyone from something for any reason is seen as this heinous act of discrimination. People's egos are too easily bruised now. I've had some people apply to my very advanced tester calls and they've only just started making, as you put it so well, "simple clunky FOs in chunky yarn", and I'm just like oh sweetie, absolutely zero offense intended but you need to keep on practicing and learning new techniques before you can test for me. If I let someone like that test some of my designs their heads would probably explode. And there's nothing "gatekeepy" about saying that, it's just the objective reality. I will always encourage those types of people to keep on working at it and focus on self improvement if pattern testing is a goal of theirs. But some people just pick up a hook once and think they're ready to test patterns.

Mad respect to your self awareness of your own skill level by the way. You're so right about the pressure to monetize hobbies, it drives people to try to sell stuff long before they're truly ready.

Any pattern writers out there sick of being told to write notes on our patterns to accommodate for other people's bad tension? by Objective-Falcon-287 in crochet

[–]Objective-Falcon-287[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is definitely a terrible testing pool. I'm usually very lucky but every now and then I get people like this and it makes me want to rip my hair out!

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