Get Your First Pattern Tech Edited for FREE!
I’m running a promotional deal! Get your first knitting pattern tech edited, copy edited and proofread without paying me! In return, once you are completely satisfied with your pattern, write a testimonial for my business, Midnight Purl. This offer is only available to the first 5 knitwear designers who contact me.
I’m also prepared to offer chart & schematic creation services at this time. You can read more about this on my Pricing & Services page.
My main goal as a technical editor is to be friendly and approachable, making sure each designer is not only comfortable working with me but also satisfied with the results. I am a perfectionist, so I do tend to mark everything I see that could be altered in a way to improve the “knitability” of the pattern. However, I also try to make sure the designer can see the difference between any actual errors I’ve found versus suggestions I have for improving the clarity of the pattern. I think it’s really important that all final decisions on any changes are in the designer’s hands because she/he is the mastermind behind it all! No one is perfect, least of all me, and I definitely wouldn’t be comfortable actually altering anyone else’s creations.
My journey to launching Midnight Purl has not been straight-forward, but I’m beginning to think that most knitting pattern tech editors start in completely different fields from many different backgrounds. I have been an ESL teacher in Switzerland, a High School English Teacher in Nevada, a Library Assistant in Library Development, The New York State Library, a School Library Media Specialist in New York State, and, most recently, a full-time mom of two.
My eldest child began Pre-Kindergarten this year, and my youngest started part-time daycare at the same time. Since I finally had a few hours sans children, I started taking Joeli Kelly’s Tech Editor Academy Course. Before I even started the coursework, I already was pretty certain tech editing knitting patterns would be something that I not only enjoyed but was also good at. As a knitter, I’ve always spent a lot of time reviewing the math in the patterns I purchased. After not paying attention to this for my first sweater (and ending up with one that was 2x too big for my shoulders!), I realized that my body measurements did not conform to the standard, and if I wanted to make sweaters that actually fit me well and looked pleasing to me, I would need to understand how to measure and calculate everything the designer did for a pattern. I’ve altered the pattern for every sweater I’ve knit for myself since then.
Taking Joeli’s course helped me streamline and apply to multiple sizes the tech editing process I was already doing for myself! The course has also been incredibly important to me in terms of learning how to set up and promote an actual business. I’m still working on this section of the coursework, but then I suspect that running your own business means it’s constantly a WIP!
In the near future, I will be offering grading services and German to English pattern translation services. I’d like to finish up a grading course before I launch grading and sizing services. As far as German to English translation goes, I’m fluent in German, having lived and worked in both Austria and Switzerland. I wasn’t knitting at that time, however, so I’m currently brushing up on my German Knitting Vocabulary and how German Designers like to organize and present patterns.
Current WIPS:
Tangential Blues KAL with Carol Feller. If you’re on Ravelry or Facebook, you can still join us in Carol Feller’s KAL and Stolen Stitches. Unfortunately, I tried mine on after completing Clue 2 and realized it wasn’t going to fit at all! My gauge was fine, my math was fine, the knitting was fine! It was my body. I suffered an ankle injury about 6 weeks ago and had to give up all exercising while I healed. I’ve been mostly sedentary and wallowing in chocolate…so I accidentally gained 10 lbs! (Thanksgiving didn’t help). The sweater has been frogged, and I’m starting over with a larger size. I’ve also started focusing on my diet again. I can’t start exercising yet, but I’m working on successfully walking up and down staircases with a bum ankle.
I’ve also started my son’s Christmas sweater. He requested a rainbow stripe sweater, and I ended up using the Lionheart pattern. My son didn’t like just having striped sleeves and hood. The whole thing needed to be striped, so it’s looking quite different from the original pattern. I also decided to double knit the cuffs and hood. So I’m working on some modifications there.
