Pattern Testing with @PacificKnotCo

I am so excited to introduce one of my good friends and favorite designers, Nikolina of @pacificknotco! Nikolina is well known for her classic modern style, which shines through all of her designs — from dish cloths to sweaters! In the last year, she has started offering some patterns for free and started designing garments, and all of her designs are simply beautiful. She also has an incredible personality and sometimes even pops into her stories with extra goodies — check out her Secret Mom Drinks!

Please enjoy this interview with Nikolina and then head to her Instagram to show her some support!

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Nikolina is pictured above in her Auckland Sweater design, available now! Below she is wearing: her Louellen Tee (available); her Bennet Socks (in testing!); her Dixon Toque (available); and her Miner Toque (available). Be sure to check out all of her amazing designs on Ravelry.

Tell us about PacificKnotCo! How, when, and why did you start your company and how has it evolved to what it is today? 

I learned to knit when I was a kid. My grandma used to knit and made so many garments, some that I’m lucky enough to have gotten handed down to me! I watched my mom knit and crochet as a kid as well, so it was always a normal thing happening around the house. My mom taught me at a young age and I used to knit my friends at school scarves as presents! Fast forward to when I was on mat leave with my daughter and I saw a toque at Zara and thought to myself, hey I could totally knit that. So I went home and YouTubed how to knit a toque, went to Michaels that same day, got a needle set and a skein of yarn and taught myself how to knit a toque!

From there I went back and forth on whether I wanted knitting to be a hobby or something that could be more than that. With encouragement from family, I signed up for my first market and created my first social media account and it's just grown from there. I worked hard at the market scene for 3 years, and worked hard at creating a presence on Instagram and making connections and friendships that I will forever be grateful for.

When and why did you first get into designing your own patterns? 

I designed my first pattern early on in my knitting adventure but never felt confident enough to release it into the wild.

I designed a sweater that was supposed to be part of a book that never worked out and I sat on that pattern for almost a year. It wasn't until I decided that I was going to do Free Pattern Friday that I felt confident enough to consider myself a designer.

What was was the first design you put into testing? Were you nervous about taking that step?

The first design I put into testing was the the Knox Toque. I had no idea what I was doing with this testing call. I asked a few maker friends if they could test the pattern for me and they did a great job, but I feel like I lacked the confidence to really advertise the pattern. It wasn’t until I was encouraged to release the Dixon Toque that it started to take off for me. 

You have an amazing series every once in a while called Free Pattern Fridays.  What motivated you to start doing that? 

Honestly Covid. It was the beginning of the pandemic and such an uncertain time and morale just felt low on all fronts. So I wanted to give back to the community. Sounds cheesy, but it made me feel good to be able to provide makers with free patterns to keep them busy and their minds occupied, and also keep myself busy as well. Free Pattern Friday has also helped me tweak my pattern designing skills, so it was a win win!

I noticed that you often will have testers for your free patterns, even for things as simple as a coaster.  Why do you think it’s important to get testers for free patterns?  What are the benefits of having testers for free patterns? 

Your pattern represents you. I wanted makers to trust my patterns to be easy and accurate. Just because a patten is free doesn't mean it's not as important as a paid one. I wanted to make sure that my math and wording and even the flow of the pattern made sense to others. Sometimes there are mistakes that you don't catch and that another set of eyes will help you with. Testing is very important no matter now small the project is. Also because I was able to create a hype with the free patterns, it lead the way for makers to trust that my paid patterns were of the same integrity. 

You also recently designed some garments.  That’s a big step!  How has pattern testing for garments been different than home decor, beanies, and other accessories?  Was there anything about that process that took you by surprise? 

The hardest and most different thing about designing garments is the math. It was what kept me from away from garments for a while. I wouldn't say that anything took me by surprise because I honestly expected it to be not easy, but having the support of your testers makes a huge difference. 

If you could provide some advice to your future testers or aspiring testers in general, what would it be? 

Be kind to the designer you're testing for. A lot of work and time goes into making a pattern and the testing process is there to help them tweak and perfect a pattern. We are sure to make mistakes, but that's what testing is for!

What’s next for Pacific Knot Co?  What can we look forward to in 2021? 

I have more garment designs coming and I've also got my first sock pattern in testing! I want to focus on building up my pattern collection this year!

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Thank you for reading this interview with @PacificKnotCo! Remember to check out her Instagram and her Ravelry. If you’d like to test for her someday (highly recommend!), make sure to follow along with her on Instagram, as that is where she typically announces tester calls.