Textile Encephalopathy

I received a custom order this week for a green and purple striped hat. While I was knitting it, I decided this might be a great time to show other knitters how to knit stripes with NO jog at the beginning of the round. The little blue and purple sample on the left was knit normally and the green and purple hat on the right, was knit with this trick! The one on the right has a much smoother transition at the beginning of the stripes.

Image #1: Begin by starting your new color row and knitting it until the end. (Stripes must be at least 2 rounds in size for this to work. If they are single round stripes, helix knitting is a better option to create smooth stripes, but that is a topic for another day haha)

Image #2: Remove the stitch marker and slip the next stitch PURL wise. 

Image #3: Place the stitch marker back. This is the new beginning of the round.

Image#4: Continue knitting until its time to switch colors again!

The app I used to knit my rainbow sweater is officially launched in the App Store (I use an iPhone, I’m not certain if there’s an android version)

It’s called Bellish and it’s pretty neat. You start by choosing the base/silhouette

So far they only have raglan style. You go on to pick your neck shape (v neck, scoop or regular) and the sleeve length (there’s 3).

Next you pick if you want color work or any lace, then you pick the yarn weight (fingering, dk or worsted). And finally you pick your size: goes from a 30 inch to a 54 inch bust.

Then the app spits out your pattern for you with all the right measurements! There’s a little row counter and highlight function to keep track of where you are at and the app remembers after you close it.

I found it really helpful and great because I hate carrying around a bunch of paper and my phone goes with me everywhere anyway. It’s also a fairly new app and they’ve worked really hard to add lots of new features (since I was a tester) so hopefully if people use it they can add more base patterns like set in sleeves or cardigans!

There is no evidence they did any sort of accessibility planning or thought about accessibility at all during the design process

Beta testers say they reported issues regarding the new design causing headaches/nausea and this was clearly ignored

Once the new site was shown to give a significant number of users health problems, some very serious (seizures, migraines, nausea, visual problems) they made a few minor tweaks and let you opt-out of the new design - but you have to navigate to that page through the new design which some people physically can’t do

They have not apologised or explained, at all

You can’t have the first word on your Twitter bio be ‘inclusive’ then be this fucking ableist. I’m disappointed and I’m sad, because I loved Ravelry. I would really never have believed that they would act, and respond, like this.

Yes, they’re a small team and they worked hard on this etc etc etc. But they are MAKING PEOPLE ILL. If they’d immediately rolled back the changes and said ‘we’re so sorry, we fucked up’ then that would be something. But no apology, and only the barest minimum attempt at mitigation. It’s all very, very poor.

So far Ravelry has “pulled a tumblr.com” by acting like the change is irreversible, and they’re using silence in response to pushback as a professional facade.

The redesign has sent several people into full blown seizures. Has sent people to the hospital (which is bad enough on it’s own) but is even worse right now as hospitals are epicenters for Covid19.

Ravelry took forever to respond to any of these (100% legitimate concerns) and when they did respond, it was with a half-assed non-apology that pointed out how “good everything was for 92% of their users”. Which is crap.

And before anyone comes on here and says “but it’s a free website, you can’t expect them to hite someone for accessibility programing”. The website makes revenue- they get a percentage of sales from the patterns that designers sell on their platform. People have always donated to website as they loved the Ravelry team and the community they have built on there.

So yes. I will hold Ravelry up to the higher standard. Even as they continue to fail. There is no excuse to continue to cause pain and harm when literally hundreds and thousands of people have been publicly voicing how it’s hurting and the very easy way to fix it : roll back to the old design until the new one is fixed.

1. Whatever they make requires time, effort and resources.

2. As their friend, you should want to fully support them.

3. If you ask for the Friends and Family Discount™, you’re not really a friend and you probably don’t deserve it.

Comfy Skull

Me, three years ago: This beanie pattern is so easy I don’t need to write it down. I’m sure I’ll remember how to space these decreases.

The Cable Cross Cap: free, quick, and fun.