Hello everyone! Tara here—

We’ve been going over submitting designs to be published in Crochet! and Crochet World and there’s still so much more to talk about.

If you missed them, make sure you check out the first post about submitting a design HERE and read over last week’s post to see answers to common questions HERE.

Here are a few follow-up questions we received:

#1- Can the Tech Editors check over a stitch pattern BEFORE a full pattern is written and submitted?

Yes! We can definitely look over your stitch pattern before you finish completing the actual pattern. This is something we would do AFTER your project has been accepted, but before the pattern and sample deadline are due.

If we have a pattern we’ve published previously that uses the same technique, we may even send that to you to use as a reference.

#2- What if we can’t get the yarn for yarn support?

That happens sometimes. Because some of our designers are international, they don’t have access to the yarn that is more common in the USA.

Right off the bat, we try to have our international designers use yarns that are more common abroad (like Scheepjes and King Cole). If neither are available, we’ll work with our designers to see which brands they do have local to them that we are allowed to use in the issues.

If they don’t have a brand local to them that we can use, we might ask the designers to stitch the project using whatever they can get or already have on hand, and we’ll list the yarn as a generic yarn in the issue.

The third option would be for us to purchase the pattern rights alone then have the project stitched locally. Sometimes this makes more sense to do and we may recommend this first if we think the cost of shipping the design would be too much compared to what we’re paying the designer for the project.

#3- What if I don’t have time to stitch the project?

This is something you need to let us know immediately.

If something happens and you don’t think you’re going to meet the deadline, let us know. Sometimes we can give an extension on designs or even push the design to a future issue, but sometimes we can’t. Every issue is different and this is something you’ll have to talk to us about as soon as you think there may be a problem.

#4- Can I have someone else stitch the project for me?

Unless we specifically say we’re only paying you for the pattern and will have someone else stitch the sample, you should assume you’re responsible for getting the project to us by the deadline. If you want to have a third party stitch the project for you, that’s up to you. It would be something you would have to arrange yourself, and you should make sure they get a copy of our Designer Guidelines (which you’ll get when we send you the acceptance email) so they know what we expect from the sample and that they know when the project deadline is.

#5- What do I do with leftover yarn support?

There’s no straight answer for this one. It depends on how much yarn you have leftover and which company you’re working with.

If you have one or two skeins leftover, usually you just keep them. Most designers will use them to make swatches of future projects or will even use them for future projects in the magazine. Some designers will use the yarn to make their designs again for social media content (or just because they want the project themselves). There are even some designers that will use the yarn to make projects that they donate to various organizations.

If you have multiple skeins remaining, sometimes the yarn company will ask you to send them back. Sometimes they won’t. In this case, you would either reach back out to myself or Britt to see if we wanted to use the yarn for a future project, or you would reach out to the person you contacted for yarn support and see what they prefer.

When you’re submitting a design to the magazine, ask us questions and let us know if you’re concerned about something. We’re happy to help however we can and will do our best to answer all of your questions throughout this process.

– Tara Orchard, Editor of Crochet! Magazine

Have more questions about publishing designs? Let us know in the comments below!