Contributor guidelines
Experienced designer or writer? Send us your ideas! Not experienced? Send us your ideas! We encourage submissions from old hands as well as from new, aspiring designers and writers, along with anyone who has a good idea that they think might be publishable.
We are seeking patterns primarily for handknitted items (using handspun or commercial yarns), but patterns for crocheted projects are also very welcome. We regret that we cannot accept patterns for machine knitting.
Articles can be on any yarncraft-related topic: knitting/crochet, spinning, dyeing or felting, to name a few starting points. Some of our regular features are ‘Roving’ (articles on travel and regional events), ‘Wearable Art’ (on knitted or other yarncraft items that would be difficult or impossible to reproduce as a pattern but are beautiful or inspirational), "Thinking Stitches" on the philosophies and thoughtful aspects of knitting (can be as funny or as serious as you make it) and ‘Absolute Beginners’ (on learning new aspects of knitting or craft, or on teaching). We also publish media reviews and new product listings, news, and a calendar. We welcome ideas at all times, even if you just have a suggestion and don’t necessarily want to write or design for the magazine. Yarn also accepts proposals for illustrations and photography.
For a more narrative take on the designing/submissions process, please also see this article in Knitty.
What Yarn expects in a submission
- A short written bio that tells us about you and your crafting background.
- If you’ve been published before and have clips, we would love to see them. If you haven’t been published, that won’t count against you. What’s most important is that you have good ideas and are willing to be flexible.
- Contact details including your real name (not blog handle, etc), your daytime phone number, your evening number if you prefer to be contacted then, your mailing address and an email address if you have one.
An article or illustration/photography proposal
We will consider your article or artwork for publication if it has not been published anywhere else (including on a blog or other website) and it is not currently submitted to any other publication for consideration.
Please send a short article outline along with any supporting information (such as photographs). For artwork, send rough sketches or low-resolution images. You may use a watermark to prevent unauthorised reproduction.
A pattern proposal
We will consider your pattern for publication if it has not been published anywhere else (including in a pattern book, on a blog or any website) and it is not currently submitted to any other publication (print or electronic) for consideration.
What to submit
You will need to submit at least some of your material by post to the postal address at the bottom of this page. Please send detailed information about your plans including:
- Photographs (you can also email these to the editor at editor@yarnmagazine.com.au with your name and project title in the subject line) and/or clear drawings (or photocopies of drawings) in black on white paper.
- A large swatch (bigger than the usual 10 cm for tension is preferred), or more than one swatch if appropriate. Details of the yarn used: brand (if applicable), fibre content, and amount used in grams and metres. An unknitted sample would be appreciated if the yarn is handspun, unusual or not commonly used.
- You may not need to send a whole finished project—that can be expensive and we may not be able to print the pattern for a garment exactly as knitted. Please check before putting it in the post.
What happens next
- We may ask you to rework your ideas, to work with a different yarn, or to alter your idea and resubmit it.
- We may not be able to return submitted materials, so if you are not sure you want to part with something (eg a photograph or knitted sample) please inquire about returns before you send it.
- Contributors of all knitted projects will be expected to provide their own written pattern, schematics and charts where applicable. Multiple sizes are required for most items, with exceptions in some cases, such as some accessories or housewares.
- The editors of Yarn may be able to provide assistance with pattern writing and sizing of garments, but you will need to be able to at least write a basic pattern as well as several sizes of your item (where sizes are required). If your work is accepted for publication, you can expect that your pattern or article will be edited for reasons including but not limited to length, clarity and content.
- An editor from Yarn will get back to you as soon as possible to let you know whether your idea has been accepted or not. We may ask for more information before a final decision is reached. While your idea is being considered by Yarn, you must not submit it anywhere else and you must comply with the confidentiality undertaking set out at left. We will try respond quickly so your work isn’t tied up in a queue. (Please keep in mind we are a small office; feel free to check up on your submission if we haven't got back to you within a reasonable time period.)
- If your idea is accepted for publication, we will outline an individual working schedule and final deadline for each project. We will also provide you with a short form Contributor Contract to sign and return to Yarn that will set out the terms and conditions of our Agreement while you are a Contributor to Yarn Magazine.
Contributor payments
We pay upon publication of your design, article, artwork, etc, with fees commensurate with size/word count and complexity of accepted work. Fees will be negotiated individually upon acceptance of work for publication. We may be able to provide yarn to designers in some cases. We may also be able to reimburse designers for cost of the yarn used for the final garment in a published pattern, not necessarily including prototypes or test knitting. To be reimbursed, you will need to submit your tax invoice and the original band or label for each ball/hank/cone/etc of yarn used (and you should keep photocopies of the originals).