TECH EDITING HOBGOBLIN

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hobgoblin: once considered helpful, this mythological spirit of the hearth is now held to be responsible for any worrisome, mischievous, or troublesome occurrence.

I have always admired Emerson’s philosophy. And I have ample evidence as a tech editor that consistency can definitely become a hobgoblin creating generous amounts of mischief. However, please note that what Emerson warns of is ‘foolish consistency’. Not all consistencies are foolish. Some are absolutely inspired. As a result, consistency in knitting patterns can be either wondrously original or disastrously troublesome.

It’s a matter of perspective. Designers want anything but consistency of style or fashion. Their creativity flourishes through originality, inspiration, and freedom of expression. All of which are good. Yet, for the tech editor and the pattern knitter, a bit of judicious consistency needs to be implemented for the sake of clarity and readability.

I frequently find consistency to be problematic within written patterns. Originality and inspiration, not consistency, is paramount at the design stage. But once the design is laid out in written format, consistency needs to be applied to the presentation of the pattern. Consistency should be evident in all the elements that go into making an exciting one-of-a-kind pattern accessible, dependable, and predictable in terms of knitters interpreting exactly what the designer intends so that the item can be successfully produced: format, flow, layout, grammar, punctuation, usage, etc. Knitters could become confused when some abbreviations begin with upper case letters and others don’t. Or, inconsistent punctuation with periods used in some but not all row/round instructions leads to loss of understanding. Pattern guides differ from magazine, to book, to online. Therefore, it becomes important for each individual pattern to evidence internal consistency. And when a designer releases multiple patterns over time, knitters should expect to find consistency in style and layout from that particular designer.

Tech editors excel at locating the inconsistencies that detract from a pattern’s effectiveness. Suggesting fixes is a bit more problematic. We turn to grammar experts for assistance. Unfortunately, grammar experts don’t always agree. There are four major style guides in the United States, alone, which often contradict each other: MLA (Modern Language Association, academic), Chicago Manual of Style (book), AP (Associated Press, news and business) and APA (American Psychological Association, scientific). International styles also differ from the above.

As an example, I frequently see both ‘cast on’ and ‘cast-on’ in the same pattern. Three of the four US style guides call for “cast on” when employed as a verb (cast on 20 stitches) but ‘cast-on’ when employed as a noun (use your favorite stretchy cast-on). Unfortunately, many designers do not understand the differences so that both forms might be present in a pattern but not used correctly. Moreover, industry standards regarding this usage is not consistent. Of the 6 pattern/how-to knitting books I examined, only 1 used the hyphenated noun. The others preferred to employ ‘cast on’ without a hyphen for both verb and noun.

What should the tech editor do when style guides disagree? Select their own preferred style? Should the TE kick the issue back to the designer with a list of the different choices? I prefer to work closely with independent designers on a case-by-case basis and discover their individual preferences as long as those choices conform to one of the accepted guides. Designers submitting to publications will have access to the publication’s specific guides and style sheets to refer to for many consistency issues.

Industry standards offer significant assistance when style guides fall short. Don’t hesitate to check examples in published pattern sources including online magazines, print magazines, how-to-knit books, and pattern books. Do take note that industry standards are not always standard as indicated in the ‘cast on/cast-on’ example.

I try to encourage designers to develop their own style sheets in order to not only produce patterns that are internally consistent but to produce patterns consistent within their collected works so that their knitters come to know what to routinely expect from all of their patterns.

Consistency. Ignore it at the inspiration stage but strive to achieve it within your patterns. Don’t allow those mischievous hobgoblins to haunt your patterns. Consistent, readable, knittable patterns make for satisfied knitters.