Hi everyone! I have a question or a few for fellow crochet pattern designers/makers:
How do you usually go about running pattern tests?
Iāve never hosted one myself before (Iāve only participated in a few on Facebook), and Iād really love to start doing them for some of my patternsāespecially for a new low-sew frog pattern Iām working onā
I donāt have a big social media presence (just Facebook), so Iām not really sure:
ā¢ How to find testers
ā¢ How many testers to choose
ā¢ What requirements to set
ā¢ How long to give for testing
ā¢ Or justā¦where to even start
Also, all my patterns are free because I believe crochet should be accessible to everyone, so Iām curious how that might affect testing too!
If you have any tips, advice, or things youāve learned (good or bad), Iād really appreciate itā
Iāve only ever done testing on Ribblr so all my advice is from using this app
ā¢ The testers will find you. The more your active posting about your patterns, and if people like them. Then that will be more inclined to test for you.
ā¢ I usually do 10 testers but it doesnāt really matter. I would just suggest more than 3
ā¢ some good requirements are. What yarn to use, must make a journal if the testing is on Ribblr. Must provide a good picture, must give feed back on the pattern. If you need more ideas just go to other peopleās tests and get some ideas.
ā¢ depends on how big the pattern is. For example the frog in the picture I would maybe say 2-3 weeks, but it also depends on how fast you want to publish your pattern.
ā¢ and just a tip for testing on Ribblr. For all the people that apply, just go look at theyāre journals just to see if you like their style, and see if theyāve tested before.
I do have at least one question at the moment - what exactly is a journal on here (Ribblr)? I have never tested on here before so I am still trying to learn how everything works.
I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this!
You can find testers here on Ribblr, when a tester call is posted it appears in the Community and people apply (I donāt have any social media presence at all, so Iāve only tested patterns via Ribblr).
This one is up to you but Iād recommend that for however many you want, choose a few extra on top of that in case people drop out or are non-responsive. I tend to accept around 5 to 10.
I usually include:
A due date
What kind of feedback I expect from testers
A journal with a photo of the final result (itās a Ribblr feature that acts like a review)
The type of yarn you want testers to use (or if any yarn is okay)
If you want to have a group chat, many designers make it a requirement that testers agree to actively participate (I personally like to message people individually)
Depends on the complexity of the pattern. For something small and simple one week is fine, but for more complicated projects at least two weeks (clothing items or blankets can be a month or longer)
The help center has a lot of information about how to use Ribblrās testing features:
Disclosing whether your pattern will be free or paid can affect how many testers apply. Some people might not bother to test the pattern if they know it will be free later, and vice versa some might apply just because they know it will be a paid pattern. Itās more of a problem with the latter as these people often arenāt interested in giving detailed feedback (not all, but probably the majority of testers who applied only because they want to get a paid pattern for free), but with free patterns youāll know that people who are offering to test are genuinely interested in helping you improve the pattern.
As a heads up, when selecting testers who have applied you can see a completion rate statistic next to the username. Look for people who have a high number of tests completed vs the number they have been accepted for. You can also have a look at their previous projects by clicking on the āMy makesā button on their profile.
I still have 2 days left till the tester pattern I posted is due and itās my first one. Hereās what Iāve learned so far, and observed from testers Iāve done for others.
You can find testers on here or any other crochet, etc. app/site, Instagram, Facebook or discord. If you are finding the on social media youād want to have a more poster like post I think with the requirements, due date and a picture. Also, you would want to put a āhash tag tester or pattern testerā making sure they know itās for crochet, etc.
Personally I asked for 3 to 5 testers on this pattern and itās my first, but Iāve tested a lot. And Iāve seen anywhere from 4 to 12 testers for different patterns.
The amount of time you alot till the due date really depends on how much work is being put into the making of the pattern. I put a 3 week timing on the bag I currently have testing and Iāve seen other put anywhere from a week to a month to finish.
When listing requirements you can leave it blank but I donāt recommend it. Ask them to put in the comments a certain emoji or there yarn type and hook size, etc. If youāre doing a bundle pattern then you can ask them to put in the comments which pattern(s) they will be testing.
Thatās all I can really think of and I hope that pretty much covers it and helps!
Also, if you do release a tester for this frog on here please tag me in it because I would love to test. If not on here and youād like me to test, you can message me and Iāll jump over to wherever you made your post! I would be willing to test any pattern you throw at me honestly
