S3 E9 What Knitting Patterns Can’t Teach You with Patty Lyons

What can a knitting pattern teach you, and what can only be learned by understanding your own knitting? Patty Lyons joins me for a frank, funny and thought-provoking conversation about the skills that exist beyond the written instructions. Modern patterns can help knitters tackle projects that might once have felt impossible. But when every technique and decision is explained for us, do we lose some of the curiosity, experimentation and problem-solving that make us more capable knitters? Patty is one of the most respected teachers in the knitting world. She is known for examining what is actually happening to our stitches, questioning the accepted wisdom, and helping knitters understand why something has gone wrong rather than simply showing them how to correct it. We talk about Patty’s belief that we have “stopped knitting and started reading”, and why completing a pattern is not necessarily the same as transferring skills to your next project. We also discuss the proper roles of pattern testing and professional tech editing, why size is not the same thing as shape, and what gauge reveals about the different ways we knit. The conversation also takes us into social media, the pressure to use negative hooks, and the responsibility that comes with teaching a large audience. Finally, Patty explains the thinking behind Knitting ER and why sometimes the right decision is not to fix a mistake at all. In this episode: • What knitting patterns can and cannot teach us • Following instructions versus understanding your knitting • Why detailed patterns can both help and hinder learning • Pattern testing and the role of professional tech editors • Why “size is not shape” • Gauge, tension and individual knitting styles • Negative social-media hooks and knitting confidence • Including Eastern and combination knitters in knitting advice • Diagnosing, repairing and sometimes accepting mistakes • The ideas behind Knitting ER Find Patty, her books and her classes: https://pattylyons.com/ Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks classes: https://education.pattylyons.com/ See Patty at Munich Knits: https://www.munichknits.de/kursleiter#PattyLyons Find my knitting patterns and other work: https://cleevelyknits.com/ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleevelyknits/