Make Me Feel Brand New
When I first thought of designing, part of the appeal was do it once and move on. Create the pattern, launch it and sit back and let the coins drop. And it almost works just like that. The one thing I didn’t count on was repetition. I sell the finished products of my patterns and sometimes they sell well enough that I make it over and over during the course of a year.
I don’t open the pattern each time I make it but every so often, I do go back and see if I am being true to my own pattern. Well…. It seems I don’t stick to my own patterns. This is not surprising as I don’t stick to anyone else’s either. But I have found that I made my own patterns better by adding something or taking it away or using a different stitch. But the original pattern, which people buy, remained the same. I’ve knitted enough hats, written enough patterns, and answered enough questions to have a better understanding of what makes instructions useful to someone who wasn’t sitting beside me when I designed the thing. That’s really the point of these revamps. I’m not trying to turn every older pattern into something new. I’m trying to make the original design easier to understand, easier to follow, and better presented. The Rasta Slouchy has received that attention, with updated instructions and new photographs that give a much better look at the finished hat.
There’s something worth mentioning about knitting patterns. When I sell a finished hat, I’m selling the materials, the labor, and the completed design. Someone can put it on and enjoy it without ever picking up a knitting needle.
A pattern is different. I’m selling the instructions and the design knowledge that allow someone else to make the hat. The buyer chooses the yarn, decides on the color, does the knitting, and eventually has something that reflects both my design and their own handiwork. So we become partners, I would even say co designers. Like I said, I don’t know of a knitting pattern that I’ve followed to the letter and even if I did, my hat would be slightly different than the original made by the designer or the same hat knit by the person sitting next to me. We have our own way of putting our signature on our work.
This revised version makes the texture pop more and ups the personality factor. I love the drape and the chunkiness. The color I used is so rich and fu but I can imagine it in different colors from subtle to variegated. That’s the fu of being a design parent. All the siblings are unique.
You can find the Rasta Slouchy here.