Pattern Testing is essential for a successful pattern release.
The test knit process does delay your pattern release, but it helps you find and remediate any issues with your pattern before you release it.
Test knitters are kind folks who volunteer to knit your pattern before you publish it, in return, they get a free copy of the pattern, and often some compensation in the form of other free patterns.
The first thing to remember when working with test knitters is that they are volunteers. Be kind to them, if they give you valuable input, be grateful and gracious. Don’t put tight deadlines or make them sign strict “testing agreements.” It’s just a matter of what you’re comfortable asking for from people that you’re not paying.
It might seem like you’d get a lot of unscrupulous volunteers who just take the free copy of the pattern and run, and that does happen occasionally, but not as often as you might think.
Pattern testing takes away a good source of your headaches, dealing with the areas that could cause customer complaints.
Test knitters can double-check the math, make suggestions for more precise instructions, and find mistakes in the pattern.
Yes, they can’t catch everything, but you are ensuring the buyer that the product has been tested, fixed and that it checks out.
You will be able to display a wide size range. If people can see how it looks in different sizes, in different colors, with modifications, with different yarns and notes and tips, it reassures them that if they needed to make any adjustment, the project would still come out looking beautiful.
It is also a great way to create “user-generated” content. During pattern testing, knitters love posting WIPs or showing off their FOs on Instagram, Facebook, take it to knit nights, talk about it. This spreads your reach, introduces other people to your work, gets them excited for the upcoming pattern release, and it serves as a form of mini-advertising for your pattern.
Especially if you are a newer designer and people aren’t familiar with your work, they want to make sure that the money they are paying for your pattern isn’t going to be a waste of their time and effort.