Make your knitting patterns mobile friendly
I read knitting patterns almost exclusively from my phone, so I have a lot of opinions on ways to format them to make them easier to read on small screens. But, to feel like discussing those opinions would be valuable to you, I needed confirmation that I wasn’t in the minority reading from my phone, so a couple of weeks ago I asked BlueSky knitters/crocheters if they print patterns out or view them digitally on a phone, tablet, or computer.
A lot of people do a combination of methods so I counted each method that was used, even if it’s not their main way of reading patterns. Seventeen people said they view patterns on a device and 11 said they print them out. Of the people viewing patterns on a device, 7 use a phone, 6 use a tablet, 3 use knitCompanion, and 1 uses a computer.
It’s also interesting to note that several people said they would just use their phone if patterns were in a more mobile-friendly format.
I know we probably can’t get away from PDFs when buying through a place like Ravelry, but we can format those patterns in a way that is more friendly to anyone on a mobile device.
Use a two column layout
I believe the best layout for patterns on mobile is to arrange information in two columns. When you’re viewing a website on mobile, it’ll look way different than if you were on a desktop; it’s adapting all of its styling and formatting to the device it’s being viewed from to give you the best layout possible for whatever screen size and shape you're on.
PDFs, however, are kind of like screenshots of a document; no matter what device you’re on, the PDF will look the same. That’s great for compatibility and making sure a document looks consistent regardless of who is viewing it, but it's not great when you’re trying to read a knitting pattern from a phone. To read it, you probably have to zoom in, and if it’s not in two columns, you’re going to be constantly scrolling back and forth to read the lines of instructions. This might not be annoying if you’re just reading a document, but if you’re actively knitting and having to do this, that means putting your knitting down to scroll to see the rest of the line, so it's pretty disruptive and annoying.
When things are in a two column format, you can just zoom in to one of the columns and see everything you need for the section you're working on without needing to zoom in or out or move the document around.
Don’t make patterns read-only
Another tip for making knitting patterns mobile-friendly is to make sure they’re not read-only.
If you’re knitting a sweater, you might want to highlight the instructions for only your size, but if the pattern is read-only you won’t be able to do that. It also prevent other edits from being made, which can make it hard for the maker to leave themselves a note.
Be sure to offer an accessible version of the pattern too
Two column layouts are great for displaying on small screens, but they’re not great for accessibility, as screen readers sometimes have trouble reading them. I recommend always offering an accessible version of knitting patterns in addition to the main file.
Check out this post by Kate Atherley on Stitchmastery’s blog to get guidelines on accessibility.
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