The Sisters Not Twins Project seeks to unite the arts of crochet and knitting by creating visually similar patterns while highlighting the unique qualities of the crafts.
This collaborative is very close to my heart because I have love for both crafts. I want to share with you about the design process, but also about the Pay What Works model of pricing and how we as consumers can create reciprocity for patterns offered at a discount or free.
The search for similarities between knitting and crochet, and learning to view their differences as unique qualities we can work with and highlight has been a project like no other I have undertaken as a designer. Ya'll it was so much WORK! hahah @knotbadbritt and I put in so much time in design meetings, after those meetings working up samples, coming back together only to realize we needed to plan differently, ripping out and meeting again to take our plan in a more workable direction.
A joint project is serious fun, and in some ways made easier by shared tasks - in a lot of ways- Brittany knows how to work computers like a Queen and is she can make spread sheets do anything. Having someone to work with is motivating, and bouncing your ideas off them is inspiring. At the same time a joint project is much more challenging! There is less flexibility, as other people are counting on you to work in a timely manner.
Pattern design in general is a great deal of investment. We invest time (so much time!) money (tech editors, yarn, computer apps), creative energy and time. Did I mention time twice? Well good. Pattern design takes so much time. When Brittany and I were choosing a price for Freia and Fenna Shawls, we knew we needed to respect our work as designers and communicate via that price to the makers out there that these patterns were brought to the world at an expense.
We also believe strongly that money is not the only measurement of value. We recognize and respect economic differences and believe that they should not hinder creativity. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO CREATE. To honor both our work as designers and the human need to be creative, we chose to use the Pay What Works model of pricing. There are standing sales set on our patterns for 15% and 30% off. If using one of these discounts will make the pattern more available to you, please feel free to do so. To access the discount codes, sign up for the SDK newsletter HERE.
If money is not the only measure of value, how can we offer reciprocity to designers who are making their patterns available for free or at a discount? Fortunately, there are so many ways to support an indie designer, all of them free to us.
Ravelry:
Heart their pattern and save it to your favorites.
Add the pattern to your queue.
Leave a comment.
After you begin the pattern, make a project in Ravelry (this one is a HUGE support).
Rate the pattern (and the yarn if you are using an indie dyed yarn)!
Social Media:
Post pictures of your project to your feed and stories and tag the designer!
Like, comment and share their posts.
Share your projects made from their patterns to the Facebook and Ravelry groups you are a part of.
Like, comment and share their posts. (this one is helpful enough to say it twice!)
Websites and other platforms:
Take a minute to visit their pattern pages on all their platforms. This tells the Internet Gods people are interested.
If you can leave a review do so - even if its super short and all you say is "I love this pattern so much!"
If you can heart it, heart it!
Share their patterns to Pinterist or Facebook to direct traffic back to their platforms.
Want to support this indie designer right now? Heart this blog post! Share a photo from this blog post to Pinterist! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Ravelry! Comment below with your favorite indie designer, dyer, stitch mark or project bag maker! Let's continue to support each other and create the community we want to be a part of.
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