Pattern Accessibility Formatting has become easier than ever in the digital age. Creating patterns that are accessible to visually impaired knitters is an amazing way to not only develop a more inclusive brand but also stand out in a heavily saturated market of knitwear designers. With the ability to upload more than one document to many publication sites, we’re able to offer more value to the knitting community by including accessible patterns. Just think how many more people could enjoy your patterns if they included accessibility formatting.
Pattern Accessibility Formatting
Low-Visibility accessible patterns (LVA); these patterns are built for knitters who need a larger clearer font. They use specific font families, font sizes, specific line spacing, and only contain written directions (no charts). This gives legally blind or visually impaired knitters the opportunity to work in a format that best suits their needs.
Screen-Reader accessible patterns (SRA); are written in a particular way that enables devices with read-aloud functions to work properly. Devices with this feature can navigate the knitter through a pattern row by row. Back in the day, knitters would have to get their friends or family to read the pattern into a voice recorder for them. Then they could work on the pattern when they were alone by playing it back. Now, with today’s technology, we are able to set up patterns so they can jump right in. Cool, right?
The accessible formatted patterns will be provided as separate PDFs. I can also help with creating an accessibility statement for your pattern description and/or help to choose accurate tags so that your pattern can be found by those who need it. This service does not need to be combined with our other services, which means we can do your whole back catalog of patterns should you choose to focus just on accessibility.
Communication
I am quite quick to respond to your questions and help to the fullest of my abilities. My goal is to make the process as easy peasy for you as I can. My office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm MST. Do feel free to email me any time during the process, but please understand you may not hear back from me outside of my office hours until the next business day.
My Qualifications
I was a student in Renee Van Hoy’s Writing Accessible Patterns for the Blind and Print Challenged class, who is an industry leader on the topic of accessible knitting patterns. I’ve also spent years working with legally blind knitters and actively listening to the needs of the community. I also publish my own patterns in these formats and understand how valuable they are to knitters who require them. With this knowledge, I can help transform your written pattern to meet the guidelines for accessibility. Helping you make the leap into developing patterns useable for crafters who rely on screen readers and/or large print.
Please contact us for a quote.