Newport started as a submission titled Whisper.
I knew I wanted to design for Classic Elite Yarns, and had gotten in touch with someone on Ravelry who had designed for them before, asking how I would go about approaching them. The Ravelry user told me that Classic Elite has a mailing list for designers who want to know about design calls. The Ravelry user gave me the person to contact, and I went about emailing CEY. There’d been a design call that had ended a day or two ago, but CEY said if I could pull a proposal off by the end of the week, they would consider it.
The design call featured lots of color blocks, open and airy pieces (makes sense – it is the spring call). Some of the pictures had a beach in the background, or sailor themed jackets. You can see some of the slides that were included below:
- I followed the design demands.
- I’ve got a clear schematic, that is actually really well drawn, considering.
- My sketch approximates colors that Classic Elite actually carries in Classic Silk
- I’ve got a bio, my contact information, needles needed, how it’s worked up, and a lot of other information that helps them come to an informed decision.
- Right Place, Right time. I was late, but I just happened to submit a crochet pattern in the yarn they needed to fill in the CEY Crochet Booklet. I was late, but somehow, I managed to be the thing they needed right then. Being in the right place at the right time cannot be discounted. And the only way to do that is to put yourself forward. If I’d decided to put myself forward a week later, it would have been too late, I’m sure.
What I could have done better:
- The Sketch seems rough, which it is. I was rushed. Also, I think she looks rather like a boy. Not a bad thing, but not what I was going for.
- I wish it was on one page. One page is about all people have the attention for, luckily my second page is just a visual, and not much reading. Acceptable.
- The bio needs to be smaller. Gosh, that took up so much space that I could have used for other things.
- The swatch is not blocked very well, and is rather small and long. I would have liked to have done something wider so it gave a better idea of fabric – but again, time.
- you’ll notice the sleeves are shaped differently than is said in the sketch. I figured out the way I imagined was a lot of fabric and didn’t look good.
- Also, there’s only one sleeve length in the final pattern. Grading one sleeve length was enough. Don’t need long sleeves on a spring pattern either.
- Shaping is done differently than described: I use short rows instead of shaping like the Cap-Sleeve Top by Mary Jane Hall that inspired the pattern. This, I think, is a good thing.
- The name changed. This happens in about 50% of patterns, especially in magazines and cohesive collections like CEY puts out. They have a theme, and the name will be changed to reflect the theme. I think Newport is a better name than Whisper anyway.
