For better or worse, it’s fair to say that I am very British. I queue like a pro, I’m sometimes jolly in the face of adversity, I would rather gnaw my own arm off than discuss money, and if I murmur that I’m ‘slightly dismayed’ by something then what I really mean is that ‘THE SHEER AWFULNESS OF THIS THING FILLS ME WITH BURNING RAGE!’
In the hope of uncovering some more interesting heritage, I did one of those ethnicity DNA tests recently, wondering whether I’d uncover roots in Senegal, or Indonesia, or Peru, or Siberia, but nope: it came back with a result that pins me almost exclusively in (northern) England, with only a smattering of genetics from the rest of Britain and some nearby countries. I was disappointed (by which I mean I WAS EXTREMELY FED UP), because I was hoping to learn that my ancestors had crossed continents and moved wisdom and traditions around the world. Oh well. Looks like they just stayed home and queued for stuff.
There is a reason why I’m telling you this.
I have another hat pattern to offer you (thank you so much for your kind words about The Elisabeth Hat yesterday). But there is the uncomfortably un-British need to mention money. Ahem. The hat is based on the computer game of Tetris. Do you remember Tetris? You had to orientate falling blocks so they slotted together neatly to form a wall. Doesn’t sound like much when you say it like that but man, that game was addictive. Here’s the hat. I hope that you like it:-
All of the patterns I’ve published before now have been free, but there is a charge for this one. NO WAIT, PLEASE HEAR ME OUT! As the twinnage get older and costlier, I need to either up my clinical psychology hours (and so do less knit-blogging) or make some aspects of the knitting/crochet thingy pay their keep. So whilst I’ll still offer lots of free patterns, there will be a charge for others that have taken more work to develop. I’m planning to begin a professional knitwear design course shortly, which I hope will help me to take some aspects of this yarn stuff in a more professional direction.
Shall I stop blathering on defensively, now?
I’ve named the hat ‘Game On’, and as you can see, this particular game of Tetris isn’t going too well:-
The pattern includes three different adult sizes, the smallest of which should also fit a teen. It’s knitted using one ball of Stylecraft Wondersoft Merry-Go-Round DK in ‘Rainbow’, and one ball of Stylecraft Special DK in ‘Black’.
If you’d like to buy the pattern, you can find it HERE IN MY RAVELRY STORE.
Enjoy.
Phil x
Fab hat ! Don’t be defensive, what you do is brilliant, you should be paid for your time. Good luck with the course when you find time for the doing of.. you never know – little acorns and all that !!! xxx
Thank you! (And yeah, I’m not sure quite where the time is going to come from…)
Once a Brit, always a Brit. I still queue, keep a stiff upper lip, and say, ‘I wonder if we should….’. And I’ve lived in the US for a long time.
Yikes, I didn’t even realize that ‘I wonder if we should’ was a Brit thing. What would US people say instead?
This sounds great! Lets do it!
I love the hat! Mostly, I liked your description of your britishness… I too did a DNA thingy and the “smattering” you mention became overwhelmingly important because I am a tiniest bit Polynesian! Who wouldn’t wanna be Polynesian!
That’s so very cool! Now I have DNA envy…
I LOVED tetris and spent (wasted) way too many hours on it. The hat is fabulous, hope you sell a bunch of the patterns. Thanks for letting us know you’re British through and through, and confirm my deciding NOT to do a DNA test, mostly because I really don’t care who or what is in my DNA.
Ha, another past Tetris-aholic! Fair enough re the DNA test. I believe we’re all mongrels, and I was just curious about whether there was anything interesting sloshing around in my DNA. Oh well…
That’s a fantastic pattern and why shouldn’t you be paid for your time and skill in creating it? We (and by “we”, I mean women in general) do have this overwhelming need to justify ourselves when we ask for money for something but twins don’t come cheap and if you can earn some of your living by doing something (else) that you love then why not? It’s the sales thread day in my FB groups tomorrow so I’ll post about your pattern if you don’t mind as I know that there will be a lot of people there who would like to see it 🙂 xx
Thank you so much for your understanding and encouragement. And yes please, it would be an honour if you included me in your sales thread. You’re right about female labour, of course. There’s a book out that I’m tempted to buy: it’s all about knitting, but very much in a socioeconomic context, with a feminist perspective too. Sounds interesting…
as always, the hat is amazing! and don’t you dare feel defensive about charging for your work!!! As I said yesterday, you are an amazing designer, and should be paid for your time.
You’re very kind to say so. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I agree with the comments above. Don’t undervalue your work. I bet you say that to your clients! Unfortunately, I only crochet, so how about one in crochet that I can purchase and support a fellow clinician. If it comes in different sizes, it would be cute for the charity I crochet for (sorry for the bad English there). Can’t wait until I can retire and then have more time to crochet. I am thinking this might be a good pattern for a blanket. We made over 30 blankets for the holidays, for the kids (0–5 population) we serve. Hmmmm, I will have to think this one out……
Oh, now you’ve got me thinking… I could draught a crochet version, just as I produced knitting and crochet versions of one of my cowls. Hmm… And yes, I can see this working on a blanket.
I see a crochet blanket version becoming as addicting to crochet as the game is to play. And possibly an interesting way to use up all the odds and ends of short bits of yarn that I just haven’t thrown away. I’m with the others too, your time is valuable and so are your patterns.
It’s so hard to ask people for money isn’t it? But why should you give away your time for free, I hope you get lots of sales.
Thank you so much. And you’re right, of course!
Love the hat… and tetris. Worth every penny you charge! Fun post to read too!
Thank you on all counts!!
Fab hat. Tetris passed me by but I love the pattern
Thank you! Be glad that Tetris didn’t devour hours of your life!
And thank you so much for your generosity in offering the free patterns that you’ve offered! Especially with their beauty and complexity!
You’re very, very, welcome. I enjoy putting patterns out there, just as much as I enjoy discovering the beautiful designs that other people have created.
I love the pattern and certainly do not mind paying for something of value. Never undervalue or underestimate yourself. It has taken me half a lifetime to come understand that. All the best in your goals
.
Edit: come “to” understand
Wise words, I know that really. It’s just difficult to live them sometimes. But thank you for saying this.
Why shouldn’t others pay for your patterns, everybody needs to earn a living somehow and kids never seem to stop costing you money! Love it by the way, spent many a long hour on Tetris!
Thank you. It’s funny how many people on here are saying that they, too, spent many an hour on Tetris. And there was me wondering whether anybody else had heard of it. Thank you for understanding about the payment issue.
I buy patterns, it’s normal to pay for a design. I\’ve my favorite designers and if they bring something new I’m so happy! I always thought free meant to attract you to the paid patterns but I now discover you think the other way around. It’s oke to do so. x
Thank you. I guess this will get easier with time!
Yes, you should be paid for your work. No apology needed. I truly enjoy your blog. Thank you for what you do.
Thank you, Tracy. It has genuinely surprised me how encouraging and understanding everybody has been about this.
You design wonderful things. They are worth paying for!
Thank you. I always appreciate your kind comments, but these words are especially helpful.
It’s what someone told me when I started selling some of my patterns. And if it applies to mine it definitely applies to yours.
Please don’t feel defensive or uncomfortable. Time is a precious commodity especially, when you have a family with young children. I loved Tetris and your hat brings back fun memories.
Thank you, Ann. Good to know that the design brought back happy memories.
The hat is amazing!
Your patterns are amazing a I have, in the past, wondered why you didn’t charge for your wonderful patterns.
Keep doing what you love!
I love reading about what you create and your posts are a highlight!
Thank you so much. I’m blushing now because of your kind words. People have been very understanding.
Stop apologising. Patterns take time to design and remuneration is appropriate. Starving designers make mistakes!
Ha, I love the argument that starving designers make mistakes!
don’t be worried about charging! I know the hours of effort and thought that goes into designing and testing a pattern so whatever you charge will be a good deal. The hat is lovely! charge away! ????
Thank you. That’s heart-warming and reassuring to read. I’ve been bowled over by everybody’s supportive comments. Can I just say that I love Freddie the field mouse!
thanks! he’d love you too if he had learned how to read so could read your blog I’m sure! ????
Perfect for some gamer kids of mine! And I loved Tetris in the day!
Glad you like it. I suspect that quite a few of us have spent far too many hours on Tetris…
Your hat is beautiful and I wish you every success with your pattern. Don’t feel awkward about asking people to pay for your hard work! Here’s to a financially sustainable knitting future
Thank you. That’s very kind and very reassuring.
Lol I completely agree about the financial statement – I usually run screaming:)
Yup, I hear you! It just feels awkward.
Nice pattern I like it. I am also in the same state of mind, whether to present the pattern free or paid? But I think most of the comments here answer my question in mind.
Hi Alka, I’m glad that these answers are helping you as well. It’s difficult to take the plunge and begin charging for patterns, isn’t it. But we’re not forcing anybody to buy them, so there’s no harm in asking a small fee for the hard work that we have done. Good luck with your patterns.
I agree with all of the above and thank you for the blog, it’s genuinely the first knitting one I have (will in the future) followed ????
Before getting too excited, having never done any colour-work or followed a chart, would ‘game on’ be too difficult a start? Thanks
Thank you for your kind words. As for the colour work, it’s this is probably as good a pattern as any to get started with. The most challenging thing will probably be trapping the floats higher up on the hat, because some of them are very long. But do shout if you want any help.
We were probably in the self same queue , my DNA test said yes you are British, and if you were a stick of rock…
Nice hat and quite right to charge for the pattern, don’t apologise.
Ha, I love the idea of us being sticks of rock!
Nice hat. I might just knit it for Dear Husband, who has a talent for making any hat he wears look a bit silly. He also used to love Tetris, specially with the Russian backing music.
And don’t worry about charging. You’re becoming known in the Knitting World. You put a lot of time and effort into your patterns, why shouldn’t you receive compensation for that. Even if you didn’t have increasingly expensive children the reasoning still holds.
Besides which, designing is about the only way to make money from knitting. Even for the people who realise the work that goes into knitting even the ‘simplest’ accessories.
As for Philistines who say things like, ‘But I could get that at *** for a fraction of the price!’ . . .
I. Don’t. Knit. For Them!
Well, your husband won’t have to try very hard to make this one look silly. Thank you so much for your kind words. But Russian backing music for Tetris? This is something I need to explore…
I wasn’t in to tetris, so I won’t be buying this hat – but that does not mean I would not pay for a pattern from you or another skilled designer. Designing and promotion is work and deserves to be paid. Filthy lucre as it may be, money is the engine that turns our world. Go for it!
Thank you, and you’re right of course.
Very nice hat, my son would love it. Wishing you all the best with the business side of the crafting/blogging. I could not knit anything, even if my life depended on it. I did embroidery though years ago.
Love the hat. We used to love Tetris when we were kids. Good luck with the selling
Well that’s quite nice (i.e. IT’S BRILLIANT AND I WANT IT IMMEDIATELY!), and you definitely don’t have to defend the choice to charge for it. Your patterns are amazing and it always surprised me that they were free, you deserve to be paid for your hard work and creativity 🙂
Oh my gosh! I’m going to have to knit about 18 of those hats! Tetris on our computers at work and we all play it frequently.
Haha I love this post, both for the humor and the hat. (You’re close to convincing me to pick up my needles and start knitting again but as someone who has only ever done basic stitches and made scarves and blankets, the colour work does scare me a little.) I too am very British but living in Germany, where they absolutely do not like to queue!!! They also find us Brits far too polite, always feeling the need to say please and thank you and making excuses for our very existence :-). They do have their good points too (if you are German and reading this, I’m really not dissing you!) On the topic of being paid for your patterns, why the hell not, it’s obvious a lot of work goes into them. My favourite quote is “find something you love to do and then find a way to get paid for it” (Dennis Quaid).
I love Tetris. I was playing it on my phone just the other day while waiting (ie queuing patiently) at the doctor’s. The hat is fab, great idea!
I love the hat design. What knitwear design course are you looking at? There seems to be a lot of them available in the UK. Sadly not the same situation in Canada. I always wanted to take a course.
Thank you (re the hat).
As for courses, I’m looking at a City and Guilds Level 3 or 4 in Hand Knitting. You mention not having much available where you are, but actually this is a distance course (you send photos of your homework), and they take students from all over the world. Registration is 3rd Feb. Just sayin’!
See http://www.sofst.org/ss4-hand-knitting.htm
I’ve loved your free patterns and have knitted a few of them…but they are your intellectual property so why not charge for them? Agree with all the others about you not need ing to justify your decision!
Apologising for charging for your labour – you are definitely British through and through! It’s a gorgeous pattern. Are you planning matching gloves or scarf?