Variations on the Helleborus Gloves

Version 1

Version 2

One of the most wonderful things about having your designs listed on Ravelry, is that you get to see what other crocheters have done with your pattern!  It was so exciting to discover these two versions of the Helleborus gloves I designed for the Winter Issue of Tangled Magazine.  Version 1, by Tracy St. John, has little flowers at the ends of the vines instead of berries.  Version 2, by Debbie Schuster features the gloves in a shorter length, 9".  Both are unique and beautiful, and show the versatility of the pattern.  It is also fun to see what the gloves look like made up in different colors.  I hope that others will post their photos on Ravelry, and that seeing these versions will encourage more people to make the gloves!

When I was preparing this blog post, I found out some interesting information about designs that  are featured in Tangled Magazine.  All of the patterns are very well tested!  Tracy St. John and Brittany Tyler, the creators of Tangled, work at Stix, a yarn shop in Bozeman, Montana.  This gives them the opportunity to be in contact with many knitters and crocheters.  

Sometimes they do a class at the shop to test selected Tangled patterns,  and sometimes they offer a class as a way to promote one of the designs which has already been published.  Classes are free of charge, and are open to people who have purchased the pattern (if it is an already published pay-pattern) and the materials for the class.

When I asked Tracy to tell me more about the pattern testing, she replied; "We have gotten very valuable feedback from students when we do a class to test a pattern....several errors have been found and we always find ways to clarify and refine a pattern when we are helping students work through them. We also have several customers who work through the Tangled designs as testers.  They get a free pattern and a discount on materials (or sometimes even free materials), and then they make notes, offer suggestions, and check math and size grading for us. It works really well to get lots of eyes at different skill levels looking at the instructions".

As a designer for Tangled, it is comforting knowing that the pattern has been tech edited and tested so thoroughly.  This gives me the chance to clarify anything in the pattern that may be difficult to understand, BEFORE the pattern is published!  This is also comforting for any stitcher who would like to purchase a pattern from the magazine.  Well done, Tangled!