Why you can't find pattern testers

2 days ago
3 min read

The answer really isn't that hard to find either. It's frustrating when things don't go according to plan, but it's all for a reason.

HOW IT STARTS

You write your pattern, you get it tech edited, and you put it up for testing. You send it out to your newsletter, but only two people sign up. You then post it to the Ravelry Testing Pool. You watch the viewer count rise and rise to hundreds of viewers. Yet no one applies. You share it to Instagram, and it shows that the post has been shared multiple times to others. Yet you only get one other application.

THE QUESTION

You look back at what is going on, and try to find the problem. There's not a whole lot of reasons that come up at first. Maybe people aren't interested in the pattern, maybe they think it's ugly. Maybe knitters are just busy - after all it is back to school season, so schedules are changing and new routines are being made. Maybe testers are just full on projects.

MY EXPERIENCE

Now, this literally just happened to me. I sent out a test invite, and four people applied in three days. Now, that doesn't sound bad on the surface. But what you don't see, is my past tests. Previously, I have had my tests completely filled, if not overfilled, with applications by the end of the second day. Usually this includes anywhere from 10-20 knitters. So with that in mind - yeah, four people in three days wasn't at all a great turnout.

WHY NO ONE WANTED TO TEST MY PATTERN

The ultimate consensus that I found for my test, is that everyone was busy. Not only that, but my pattern was a Christmas pattern. My goal, was to have it tested and published in plenty of time for Christmas. I know most of us will be starting gift knitting soon, and will busy all the way through Christmas day. But, that goal just didn't work out.

So, here were the reasons people didn't sign up for this test:

Too busy - they had other tests to finish or too many projects
Christmas theme - it's hard to knit it when it's not even Halloween and it's still blown out hot summertime in most places.
They weren't interested - they didn't like the design or it just didn't fit their vibe.
They didn't feel like they could make the deadline - They didn't realize that for my tests I only require one sock to be done, not both.
They don't knit - that's right. You'll get a lot of viewers, and they just don't knit.

NEXT STEPS FOR SUCCESS

Take a step back and try again later. You could give it a couple weeks, or even a month or two. For me personally, I have to wait two whole months. I am travelling all of September and October, so I wouldn't be able to be active in my own test knit!

Just take a step back, know that it's not a you issue, and try again. Sometimes timing is everything, and this time just wasn't meant to be. Don't stress about it!

I will be re-opening my test and sending out new invitations the first week of November. I suspect many knitters will be busy with Christmas gift knitting, but considering it's a Christmas pattern, it should be better timing.

WHAT TO DO IN THE MEANTIME

Go over your pattern again for the hundredth time, make sure it's good to go. Get your pattern sales page ready to roll, proofread it and make sure all the info is included. Did you use a unique yarn? Reach out to the yarn company and ask if they will help support you by either sharing your pattern test knit or giving your testers a discount if they purchase yarn from them for the test knit.

Maybe make another sample of your pattern in some different colors and document the process. This would be great for social media promotion in the meantime if you weren't able to get videos or photos the first time around.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked this article. If you found it helpful, give it a like! If you have questions, comment them below!

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