The age old question in pattern design, should I have my pattern tested or tech edited?
I’m a strong believer that both need to be done for each and every pattern. I know you’re thinking really, do I really need to do both? Here’s why I would say yes you do need to do both…
A tech editor is going to review your pattern and provide feedback with a focus on 3 key areas; Style – is your spacing, abbreviations, and writing style consistent through out the pattern, Grammar/Spelling – do you have any grammar or spelling issue, Math – do the numbers make sense, does your gauge align with your stitch and row counts to create the expected finished measurements, do your increases and decreases result in the correct number of stitches, do your pattern repeats work within the available stitches and rows.
A good pattern tester may identify issues in any of the same errors as the tech editor but that is not their specialty and they are generally only focused on the size they’re making. What’s great about a pattern tester though is that they are going to validate that your sizing is accurate, if it’s a garment does it fit, and they are going to help with marketing of your patterns through Social Media posts.
As a Designer I’m sure one of your goals is to publish the best pattern possible; combining your design & pattern writing with a full tech editing and testing process is a giant leap towards that goal.
When a new designer asks me what the tech editing process looks like, here’s what I recommend:
