“I wish I knew how to evaluate a pattern to know whether or not it’s ‘good’ before I start knitting.”

You love supporting indie designers, but you also want to have confidence that the pattern you're buying will "work."

Modeled photos, schematics, and tester projects are the gold stars for evaluating the finished sweater’s look, feel, and fit - but you need to know what you're looking for.

Reading fit on a model 

Is there room for the front neck?

Do you see:

• A neckline with no curve for the front of the neck?
• The collar extend up onto the base of the front of the neck?
• A bump or buckle under the collar or turtleneck?

These are red flags that there might not be enough room for the front neck.

This is a common issue, and you can read more about what causes it and how to fix it here.

How deep is the armhole? 

If the armhole is too shallow, there will be ‘whiskers’ or drag lines coming from the underarm and reaching up towards the neck. If the armhole is too deep, the garment will bunch under the arm and may cause felting or chafing. In set-in sleeves and yoke sweaters, a long underarm depth will prevent you from being able to lift your arms.

Does the garment appear to be clipped?

Sometimes photographers will resort to using clips to change the fit of a garment. How can you tell if you're looking at an honest photo?

Look for pictures of the garment at all angles and see if the ease looks consistent. Some red flags:

• It looks like it has waist shaping but none is noted on the schematic or in the description.
• The front or back of the sweater seems to change in size from photo to photo.
• Some part of the sweater seems to have ease inconsistent with the pattern description. For example, the pattern describes a sweater with equal ease in the front and back, but the model appears to have less room in the back, even though she’s busty. That doesn’t make sense, and it means that the back has probably been gathered up and clipped.

Be suspicious of weird poses

Ideally, modeled photos will include pictures showing the whole garment from the front, back, and side. I also look for photos seated and standing, and in a variety of poses. Here are some things that would make me cautious:

• All the photos have the arm held close to the body
• The photos are all art photos (highly staged, may have other objects in the foreground, may focus on hair, jewelry, or accessories)
• One part of the body appears to be pinning the garment in place, such as holding the sweater hem to one side of the hip.
• All of the photos are detail shots.

All About Schematics

Back to basics - what's a schematic? A set of measurements, typically accompanied by an illustration, that details the exact measurements a knitting pattern will create. Of course, you have to get gauge and follow the instructions, but the schematic will tell you what exactly you're making.

Designers should provide a schematic that you can review ahead of time. If you’d like to see my thoughts on this, I share them on this Instagram post. If the schematic is not available, the pattern description should clearly indicate that the pattern includes a schematic, and at least some key measurements are included before you buy.

Things to consider when reviewing the schematic

Evaluate consistency (a.k.a. will your sweater will look like the model’s?):

• The armhole depth should not change dramatically – every size should have a similar amount of ease under the arm. If this measurement varies from the smallest size to the largest size by more than 5 inches, I would be suspicious.

• The neckline should look the same on everyone. Our necks don’t get much wider as our bodies get larger, and yet I consistently see larger necklines relative to neck size as sweaters get larger. I wouldn’t expect this measurement to change much more than 3” across the entire range.

•  Sleeve and body length – from the underarm to the cuff, I would expect this measurement to get *shorter* as the sizes get larger (and in some cases, stay the same).

Does the schematic provide adequate information for you to make an informed decision?

Full bust and upper sleeve measurements are rarely enough information to tell you whether or not your body will 'fit inside the schematic.' Most knitters will get the best fit if they make at least one adjustment. Reviewing these measurements will tell you how the pattern will fit YOU, and give you a heads up on anything you might like to consider changing. 

Different constructions have different key fit points. I go into more depth on taking your measurements in this blog post. Here are the key points a schematic should provide to let you know what you're getting!

• Full bust
• Waist
• Hip
• Cross shoulder (AKA shoulder-to-shoulder) (critical for drop shoulder and set-in sleeve construction)
• Yoke depth OR raglan depth + back neck depth (critical for raglans & yokes)
• Armhole depth
• Front neck depth
• Bicep
• Wrist 

Quirks of schematics

A pattern schematic is typically drawn as a 'flat,' which means that any curves on the drawing illustrate shaping. 

For example, if the line between the underarm and hem curves in, you can expect waist shaping. If the ribbing is smaller than the body, it will look like a rectangle under the body or sleeve. Similarly, if a sweater is shown on the schematic in one piece, you can expect it to be knit seamlessly. 

Pattern schematics and measurements do not include neck bands or button bands. Unless marked otherwise, they will include hems and cuffs.

Other info from the designer

Has the designer provided these key pieces of information?

• Which techniques are used? Does the list match the garment you see?
• Is yardage provided in yards or meters, or only skeins?
• Does the pattern description tell you what size the model is wearing, and with how much ease in the full bust?

Is the designer a size-inclusive designer?

I evaluate the sizes offered and the consistency checks listed above, and choose to purchase from designers who offer well-graded patterns with consistent ease for bodies with a full bust of at least 64.”

Has the pattern been through a technical editing process?

Tech editing ensures that the pattern you'll receive is accurate, consistent, and clear. Test knitting and tech editing do not have the same goal, and are not interchangeable. There's no wrong way to love knitting or supporting small designers, but if a smooth knitting experience is valuable for you I recommend checking the pattern for credits for a tech editor.

Evaluating tester patterns

As more users decline to use Ravelry, seeing other knitter’s projects can be increasingly difficult. But even on Rav, as a knitter, I’ve long despaired over poorly lit and ill-described finished object photos from other knitters. How to make sense of a sea of such projects to know if I’ll be able to create the sweater I want? Or conversely, how to evaluate sparse tester projects if a designer is little known or a pattern has just been released?

Here’s what I look for in tester projects:

• Read the notes and captions. If they’re ALL glowing, check to see if any of the testers have left constructive feedback on other tests. It’s easier to trust a portfolio of great reviews if you can build confidence that testers will be honest with their feedback and notes.
• If the sweater looks kind of wonky, check other projects by that knitter to see if it’s the knitter’s skill level or the pattern.
• Compare the finished garments to each other and the model. Do they all seem to fit similarly, and generally be the same sweater but in different sizes?
• If a lot of testers started a project but did not finish it, check to see if they stopped in the same place. If many testers get to the same point in a pattern and then stop, that can be a big red flag.
• Consider the mods. Even testers who are reluctant to make critical remarks will leave detailed and helpful comments about the modifications they’ve made. Are they modifications you might also want to make? Does that set your mind at ease about any concerns that surfaced at another point in your review?

Evaluating non-test patterns

There's no denying that knitters are less biased with their feedback when it's independent of a testing relationship - when they paid for the pattern. Here are some things to look for as you evaluate these projects.

• Look for knitters in your size, and evaluate the location of key fit points
• On Ravelry: click into the notes – did they like the project? What did they say about the instructions? Do they wear it?
• On Instagram: browse their grid. Do you see them wearing the sweater again?
• Did most knitters finish the project? On Ravelry, see how many were frogged. On Instagram, see how many cast-ons grew up to be finished sweaters.
• Try to ignore color choices. If your brain won’t let you do that, take a screenshot and apply a black and white filter.
• Look for knitters with a cup size relative to their body that matches yours. How does the sweater fit? Did they make modifications? If you wanted to add vertical darts or short rows, would that be possible?

I hope that this has been helpful, and if there are some other things YOU look for, comment below and share your thoughts!