Pattern Mistakes

If you've knit you have more than likely experienced times like this.

Free patterns have a reputation for not being appropriately checked for errors before they are made available to knitters.  These patterns can be designed by one person who knits up the item a couple of times and then shares the rudimentary instructions or perhaps the pattern is prepared by someone new to designing.  Depending where you look for free patterns, you might be able to find the errata (plural for erratum, meaning a sheet listing errors in printing or writing).  Other times you are on your own to figure out the mistake.  Of course, you get what you pay for and having errors in this type of pattern is almost forgivable.

However, a person commented in a forum today she purchased a book of patterns recently where 16 of the 60 listed sets of instructions had mistakes.  She came to realize this as she started checking out why the instructions she was using were not working out as expected.  I find that number of mistakes of about 1 in 4 troubling for a printed book.  This rate might be acceptable for free patterns, but if I had purchased that book I would be mighty unhappy.  Of course the poster to the forum was told she should take the book back.

As another example, check here to discover the list of fixes for the book, Knitters Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes, a well known designer.  If you review the list you will see many of the changes are editorial having no consequences to knitting at all but an amazing number have to do with patterns contained in the book.  So even a reasonably well known designer and publisher can have lots of problems getting it all right.  What's a knitter to do?

Where does a knitter look to find if a problem they encounter in following instructions is with an error in the pattern or with their own knitting?  Here's a few places to start looking:

1.  Knitblog has put together a list of published items by the authors' names here.
2.  Patternworks lists errata by name of the pattern and by the name of the yarn brand here.
3.  Knitter's Review has a forum that lists changes needed by the name of the pattern here.
4.  Going directly to either the designer or the publishing company can work.
5.  Ravelry does a nice job of sharing errata for patterns as well.  And the results are relatively easy to  find as well as very timely.

These are just a start, but you get the idea.  Human endeavours are fraught with problems.  But when trying to follow directions that are not properly written, frustration can quickly double or triple.  I have learned the hard way that it is a good idea to check any free or purchased knitting pattern for errata before starting it; a lot of time can be saved.