Mikey's Crochet Pattern Writing Skills & Tips to Know How A Designer Writes Patterns

Michael, aka Mikey, follows the Craft Yarn Council's standards for pattern writing. It's not always been that way, but the game changer has been working along with Yarnspirations Design Team to learn, understand and get better at pattern writing.

The Craft Yarn Council brings together industry professionals from yarn manufacturing, publishing, and related sectors to create standards that facilitate users' ability to move from pattern to pattern. Through this council, new crochet designers can learn to teach, write, and more, thereby strengthening their ability to communicate effectively with crocheters. As much as all of the council members are pretty much competitors of each other, working together in this realm only enhances the crocheter and knitter experiences.

Michael Was Asked to Change to Match the Standards

This is one of the oldest videos in Mikey's library. The way he wraps the hook changes direction in the double crochet.

Mikey yarns OVER... goes into a stitch. Yarns OVER to pull through. He yarns UNDER to pull the yarn through the first two loops, then yarns OVER to pull it through the final two loops. He's inconsistent but consistent in the way his mother showed him. This changeover makes the projects overly tight and will not meet standards. He never noticed this before.

Red Heart Yarns, when he started teaching in 2013, requested that he change his method to align with the pattern books, which provide how-to instructions for double crochet.

Mikey took a week to force himself to stare at the stitch consciously and to use his hands in ways they weren't accustomed to.

Pattern Writing Skills

The skill of writing patterns is to cut the nonsense out and get straight to the point. Sometimes designers are too long-winded or over-explain, leaving the pattern user disoriented. That was one of Mikey's problems for years.

Yarnspirations asked Mikey to design for the first time in 2016. The pattern would be written, and the tech editor would submit the design in the proper format, without sharing exactly what was changed or how. By 2018, Mikey asked the design team to identify the mistakes and propose fixes. It would allow him to identify simple inconsistencies and improve his skills.

Crochet Snowflake Cowl Pattern

Crochet Pattern Writing Style Guides

Each publisher has their own style guide. Mikey, working with Yarnspirations for so long, writes to the standards of Yarnspirations.com. It's challenging to design for other companies, such as I Like Crochet Magazine, because their standards differ. Still the same instruction, but their layouts and presentation differ from Yarnspirations and Mikey's personal writing style. He will miss many things as a result of the styling changes.

Silly little things like Mikey and Yarnspirations use 1st Rnd, but I Like Crochet Magazine uses Round 1. Stitch counts for Mikey and Yarnspirations have a number at the end of the instructions. I Like Crochet prefers the number to be in ( Brackets ) and being italicized.

Best Way to See How A Designer Writes

Find a free pattern that the designer wrote; we have several on this website. You can see the designer's style and the consistency of their writing.

Many designers, like Mikey, strengthen their skills over time. The early patterns for Mikey in 2009 differ markedly from those in 2025.

Additionally, many designers claim to be designers once they have launched a few patterns, but they may lack the knowledge of how to write a pattern. Mikey didn't officially claim to be a designer until 2022, as he felt he needed years of education, training, and practice to write a cohesive pattern effectively. Unlike others, he wasn't quick to self-label himself as a designer, as the title is earned rather than self-appointed.

Patterns Written in Different Formats

Amigurumi patterns are often written differently from standard crochet patterns. It's usually abbreviated, as it typically involves continuous rounds rather than row by row or round by round. You may notice that the top amigurumi designers have their own style guide, which works well for them and their community. Yarnspirations tends not to write in this exact format, unlike the amigurumi designers themselves. Neither is better, but each serves a purpose.

Over the years, emerging designers have sought Mikey for a list of abbreviations and other information. He had to find them all on his own, and part of the journey is understanding where to find them, how to look, and how to apply them. At the beginning, designers don't need hundreds of abbreviations, but as they work through patterns, their list will grow.

Organizational Tips for Pattern Creation

Mikey maintains a master list of crochet abbreviations on a computer. He keeps it in alphabetical order, and when he thinks he's run into something new, he adds to it. He also keeps instructions on how to do the stitch if it's unique. When listing crochet abbreviations in a pattern, keep them alphabetical in order and don't put any abbreviations in a pattern if they are not used in the pattern. There are usually between 5 and 7 consistent abbreviations, such as St for stitches. RS for Right Side and many more.

He also keeps a master list of crochet diagram symbols. Like abbreviations, he adds to it when he runs into something new instead of just finding random symbols so that he can understand better.

Finally, Mikey maintains a master list of crochet gauges for all the yarns he works with. The manufacturer and his gauge aren't usually the same, as his hands function differently. Instead of constantly gauging everything, he records it once, and it generally remains consistent. He needs to review the list and add it to the pattern.