Pattern writing & designing for Cognitive Accessibility

When it comes to cognitive disabilities, making accessible patterns isnā€™t just about the format theyā€™re presented in; we also need to consider how theyā€™re constructed during the design process, and how we approach pattern writing.

Cognitive disabilities can vary greatly in their needs and severity, and there are many different types. But two key things that they all share and that need to be considered when it comes to accessibility are memory and executive function.

Making our patterns accessible for cognitive disabilities can be different to making them accessible for visual or other types of disabilities, and sometimes whatā€™s accessible for one may not be accessible for the other. But if we want to work towards true accessibility then cognitive impairment needs to be considered, too.

I have ADHD and Autism, which are both cognitive disabilities, and have Alzheimerā€™s and Dementia on both sides of my family. Iā€™m happy to share what Iā€™ve learnt over the years, and what helps me.

 

Formatting, Space and Information Hierarchy

    • break up paragraphs, and avoid walls of text – whether it be words or numbers. This is Accessibility 101 for many disabilities but itā€™s particularly important for cognitive disabilities. If thereā€™s a list of instructions that arenā€™t numbered or arenā€™t part of the main pattern, bullet points are really helpful. Use clear headings and try to break things up into logical sections.
    • similarly, whilst extra information about the pattern i.e. why you came up with the design or the story behind it may seem like a nice extras, theyā€™re distracting and can cause someone to forget what theyā€™re doing. Keep those out of the actual pattern if you can, or put them at the end if theyā€™re not necessary, so that the important stuff comes first – you donā€™t want to overwhelm or derail someone before theyā€™ve even started.
    • keep how you present your documents as consistent as you can so that folks can become familiar with how you do things. If things move around or things change or something unexpected happens, it can really throw someone off.

One of the things I really struggle with is the way a shop or website will change things around or rebrand. It doesnā€™t matter whether they add new signs for things, Iā€™ve lost my routine and any familiarity, and I have to start from scratch learning a new system. And learning a new system is incredibly exhausting, and the loss of familiarity can cause a panic attack or meltdown.

 

Abbreviations and Common Terms

    • abbreviations can be a hurdle but rather than remove them all, it might be better to think of how many are used within a pattern, and how. A few abbreviations may not pose a problem if theyā€™re used regularly, as things that are consistently repeated are easier to remember. But a technique or abbreviation thatā€™s only used once, even if itā€™s fully written out, could be a stumbling point.

For instance if you can use one decrease or increase method throughout, thatā€™s far more helpful and accessible than switching between decrease or increase methods. Or if you use two types of decreases, should you wish to mirror them, use them consistently throughout and avoid changing their context.

    • common terms are often ambiguous. For example if you want someone to pick up and knit stitches for a section, donā€™t just say ā€˜pick up stitchesā€™ – be specific and say ā€˜pick up and knitā€™ or conversely ā€˜pick up but do not knitā€™.

Thereā€™s a lot of common terms in knitting that everyone thinks everyone knows but actually, people interpret those differently if theyā€™re not specific. We see lots of new knitters struggle with these kinds of terms, or knitters for whom English isnā€™t their first language, so imagine how it must be for someone with a cognitive disability, who is unlikely to be able to retrain their brain to remember the assumed meaning. Itā€™s better to be specific, direct and clear.

 

Presenting Instructions

    • if you can, avoid long instructions, repeats or even long documents. The more text there is to keep track of or navigate through, the easier it is to get lost, especially if clear headings are lacking. Keep things as brief and as succinct as possible, whilst also avoiding ambiguity – which is easier said than done, I know.

There are tools to help folk keep track of things but theyā€™re not much use if we forget that we have those tools because theyā€™re not used often, or if they come with a steep learning curve, or if the instructions to use them arenā€™t written with cognitive disabilities in mind. I canā€™t tell you the amount of tracking or memory apps Iā€™ve downloaded or purchased then given up on because theyā€™re not designed with my disabilities in mind.

  • columns can be helpful, but not always, and it really does depend. For instance I find single-column pages really hard to follow if the lines of instructions arenā€™t long enough to cover 3 or 4 lines – I lose my place very quickly. A 2-column layout is better for me with patterns like mine where the lines of instructions tend to shorter in general.
  • where possible avoid instructions that require too many steps for different sizes or different outcomes. Iā€™ll give some examples of this as itā€™s not easy for me to explain:

Rnd 5: P 0 [1, 0, 1, 0], ^p2tog, ssp; rpt from ^ to last 0 [2, 2, 0, 0] sts, p2tog 0 [1, 1, 0, 0] times

An instruction like this absolutely screws with my brain and I avoid them as much as possible in my patterns. Itā€™s not the abbreviations, itā€™s the different steps required at the beginning and then end of the repeat; itā€™s all the similar numbers and trying to work out which one I should be doing. Even with clear punctuation to break up the steps, it takes me several readings and a quiet room to understand. If this were written out in full, without any abbreviations, it would be an even bigger mess and screw with my brain even more because thereā€™d just be even more text with no reduction in the number of steps I have to take or the decisions I have to make.
What Iā€™d suggest is setting up repeats that donā€™t require this kind of instruction, and that would work with one repeat for all sizes. This is what I mean when I talk about how making something accessible for cognitive disabilities means you have to think about how something is constructed from the very beginning, and think about how many different steps someone may be asked to take.

Repeat these 44 rows a further [6, 7, 8, 9] times for a total of 7 [8, 9, 10] panels.

On the other hand, an instruction like this for different sizes is much, MUCH easier to follow. This is from one of my sideways knit patterns, so itā€™s a completely different type of pattern to the one above, but you can use this format for different types of repeats. My sideways patterns are incredibly popular with my Neurodivergent customers and I believe itā€™s because thereā€™s one short set of instructions repeated over and over – small bite sizes chunks that get repeated are much more likely to be successful with cognitive impairment than longer chunks that are only needed once. Notice also how the total number of repeats are given, as this removes any ambiguity in this kind of instruction.

 

Charts

  • many of us can use charts, and in lots ways charts are easier as thereā€™s less text – numbers or words – to work through. And charts make things much clearer, visually explaining how the instructions come together, thus providing context – and context is critical as it helps us make sense of things we might not be sure of. BUT it does depend on how the charts are presented and the types of symbols used.
  • to show repeats in charts Iā€™ve always avoided red, which for some reason is really common amongst designers – I find it aggressive and distracting so I use a much thicker very dark black line for repeat boxes. I avoid colour in my instructions full stop because itā€™s distracting.
  • chart symbols are a whole subject in themselves! The ā€˜blank square = knit stitchā€™ short-circuits my brain as it makes no sense to me. I use the symbol family that looks like the stitch the knitter is being asked to make – this is one less step for us to jump through, as although that kind of symbol to stitch translation may be instant in a neurotypical brain, it very much isnā€™t in ours. Again, not all of our needs are the same but our brains will likely just pass over gaps and miss any inferred meaning so again think about how youā€™re presenting the steps, and whether the chart symbols visually look like the stitch or the manoeuvre.
  • donā€™t be afraid to reconsider standards, whether it be chart symbols or abbreviations. A lot of what is considered ā€˜standardā€™ in our industry has been built on neurotypical – i.e. someone who isnā€™t neurodivergent or who doesnā€™t have cognitive impairment – norms. Those ā€˜standardsā€™ were never developed with us in mind and simply put, to suggest that we should stick to them only perpetuates our exclusion.

This isnā€™t a complete list by any means, but I hope it provides some food for thought.

Iā€™ve been wanting to write about this for some time, as Iā€™ve noticed more and more how as whole folks donā€™t consider cognitive disabilities much when we consider accessibility, or that we only consider cognitive decline as part of the ageing process. Yet there are many of us who, as designers, manage cognitive disabilities daily at any age and Iā€™ve been paying attention to how that comes through in our pattern writing, and the responses we get to that.

Please do share any thoughts you may have about how to improve things for us, or things that have worked for you! Similarly, if youā€™ve any questions ask away and Iā€™ll do what I can to respond.

Woolly Wormhead

Woolly Wormhead is an internationally reknowned knit designer, specialising in Hats, technique and construction. Their patterns and techniques have been used by thousands of knitters worldwide. Join The Woolly Hat Society to be the first to learn of their latest projects and special offers!

18 Comments

  1. Shelagh

    This is brilliant. I found the section on charts really interesting. The one time I’ve found colours useful in charts was for a pattern with complicated cables. The designer colour-coded all the different cable stitches she’d used, and I found it really easy to follow. I usually struggle with ‘busy’ charts and pages, but it worked really well with this particular pattern. I like Hilary’s comment about double-spacing text. The other thing I’d add is avoid fancy fonts, and also pale grey text. I bought a pattern several years ago that was in some weird script font, it was awful!

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      Charts are worthy of their own discussion! But I wanted to highlight them here as it’s often suggested that removing charts is better for accessibility, which isn’t always the case.

      There are times when colour can make complex charts easier, although the colour may impact other accessibility needs such as colour-blindness – it’s not always easy, finding the right balance.

      And oh yes to fancy fonts and pale text! They’re often cited as being unsuitable for visual impairment but they absolutely impact cognitive impairment, too.

      Reply
  2. eimear

    Finding it hard to put into words; anything that requires flicking back and forth, repeatedly, is bad for my brain. Eg row by row instructions such as ‘row 10, repeat row 2, row 11, repeat row 9’ etc, common in older patterns.
    I’ve taken to putting full stitch definitions on the chart page for more complicated sts (eg when there are multiple cables), and using shades of grey for charts where possible. I hope that also helps if someone is printing in b&w.

    Reply
    • eimear

      And thank you for taking the time to write this post.

      Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      Flicking back and forth is hard. In the past, trying to keep to a tight print format, I’ve written those kinds of instructions but I’m slowly working on eliminating them.

      Ditto with chart instructions – the key has the symbol and explanation going forward, not the symbol and the abbreviation.

      It’s these little things that make a difference and I often wish we didn’t have to learn them the hard way.

      Reply
  3. Sarah Dawn

    This is something I’ve thought about, but I always knew I would be unable to design for every brain because, all brains are different! And different people need different things! So, one of the things I do is sometimes I will point people to other people’s patterns, because maybe their style works better then mine for this particular customers brain. I would rather have someone happy, and knitting someone else’s pattern, then miserablely trying to brain my patterns if it just doesn’t work for them.

    Also, there are no ‘stupid’ questions. Speaking for myself, if you want to contact me and ask a question, please, do so! I know that sometimes, patterns can get a little bit wibbly no matter how hard I try and write/re-write something, or I end up with a section of ‘I think this is the best I’m going to get in making this particular instruction clear’, so if you want to reach out and ask questions, just do so respectfully, and it’s totally fine! You’re not ‘bugging’ me or ‘wasting my time.’ You’re telling me where I can improve.

    A few things I have started doing (need to update some of my older patterns!)

    a) I use colour but also different lines to denote things on charts. So, one repeat might be a thick dotted red line, while another might be a thin dashed blue line. This means it works for folks who are colourblind or who are printing the charts in black and white. (It also means if you find colour distracting, you could totally just grey-scale my charts and it would be fine! Also every chart does have written instruction, either somewhere else in the pattern, or in a second download, if it’s a big chart).

    b) I don’t jump around rows or rounds. So you won’t see ‘repeat row 2’ unless it’s row 3.

    c) I don’t double-space text, but I do use paragraph breaks liberally. And I offer a large-print version with much bigger line spacing as an option which might help some folks too?

    It’s definitely something we as an industry need to look at more, that’s’ for sure!

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      No, we can’t accommodate all brains within our patterns, our needs vary so much! But agreed, it is something we as an industry should be considering more.

      So much can be done simply by using clearer language and avoiding common pattern writing methods such as the jumping around of rows/rounds, or anything that causes us to flick back and forth – those kinds of things are proper taxing on the executive function and memory!

      You’re a star for recommending other designers patterns if you think they’re a better match! One thing I wish we could do better is to find a way to indicate how we present our patterns and our writing style ahead of purchase, so that folks know they’re going to get something they can use. I know it’s not popular amongst designers but having a free sample pattern can go a long way, but only if it’s up to the same standard as the premium ones. Seems to me that it’s not as easy to describe the needs that have been accommodated for a cognitive disability as it is a visual disability?

      Apologies for not replying sooner, I’m still running on empty/burnt out :/

      Reply
  4. KaceyS

    My biggest pet peeve – don’t make me turn a page if I don’t have to. Whether printed or digital.

    Eg a pattern where the stitch pattern is only used ONCE and it’s not inline with the pattern, it’s on the previous page. I keep having to flip back and forth and lose where I am.

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      I struggle with that kind of instruction too, where the stitch pattern is described before the main pattern instructions start, and it’s then referenced later.

      From a print perspective I can understand why it’s done – to save space – but it’s not particularly helpful, and it’s not necessary if it’s only used once.

      Reply
  5. KaceyS

    Regarding ambiguity; I remember a chevron pattern that had 3 sections: increase, straight, decrease. The pattern then mentions "work Chevron Straight Repeat for x rows, do these 2 rows, then knit straight for x rows." The pattern meant work the Chevron Straight Repeat…

    It was "obvious" if you thought about it that if you just knit straight, you’d lose the chevron pattern, but I have lots of experience knitting, not everyone does, and "knit straight" means a particular thing…..

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      ah, yes – what’s obvious to one person isn’t obvious to another and that’s one area, at least in my experience, where being neurodivergent can really trip me up!

      I’ve gotten a lot better at being more explicit about instructions and I hope it becomes more common, and that folks become more aware that we don’t all share the same idea of what’s obvious.

      Reply
  6. Woolly Wormhead

    I don’t use double spacing, but I don’t use single line spacing either. Double spacing adds too much white space for me and I get lost! I know in the end we all design to our own needs so what works for me is 1.15 line spacing, or thereabouts, and greater spacing in paragraph breaks with more paragraph breaks.

    How much white space is enough vs too much is a whole other discussion! But the white space is always important, it can’t be underestimated – and not just in terms of aesthetics.

    Reply
  7. Damaris

    Thank you.

    Things that mess with my ADHD brain are:

    Knit the knits and purl the purls

    And at the same time

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      Oh yes, that messes with my brain too! Just write it out already.

      I get muddled very quickly with left and right, push and pull, back and front and so on. I always felt really rubbish and a failure because I couldn’t cope with those seemingly basic things. Now I know it’s my ADHD/Autistic brain and I’m much more confident in asking folks not to do it, and in making sure I reduce that confusion as much as possible for others.

      Reply
  8. Helen Mathey-Horn

    The common term (abbreviation) ambiguity gets me. I’m always running to find a description of the abbreviation or to make sure I know what the term wants me to do. I don’t think I have any unusual cognitive differences, but ‘lots of words’ can be off-putting. Thank you for the comprehensive article. šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      Like with with most things with accessibility, what benefits a particular disabled group will usually benefit most people. Being clear in our patterns, especially with abbreviations or supposedly common terms, makes for a better pattern and therefore more enjoyable project overall šŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Erssie

    I LOVE this post Woolly. As you know I have a project to write all future patterns to be accessible as possible and will be rewriting my patterns.

    Having had a break of almost a decade from knitting and coming back and seeing patterns with more disabilities of my own, makes me see "standard" patterns with fresh eyes.

    As I rewrite my patterns I will be removing all colour from main instructions and writing out my charts as text as not everybody can follow one.

    I am going to possibly do away with many abbreviations because I don’t think they’re all helpful. They were originally designed to save space in print when knutting pamphlets or inclusion in newspapers was common. We should question the usefulness of some of the obscure ones now.

    I have always hated patterns that are mixed up with chit chat in the main instructions. I have dyscalculia and sometimes strings of numbers are confusing. Can’t even write down a telephone number read out to me. I like sections for sizes best, I should imagine it makes it easier to pick out your size, E. G.

    Rather than
    S (M, L, XL, XXL)
    K20 (24, 28, 30,32) in A 2(4,6,8,10) times
    It is sometimes easier to read if you write:

    SMALL
    Using Yarn A, K 20 2 times

    LARGE
    Using Yarn A, K 24, 4 times

    EXTRA LARGE
    Using Yarn A, K 28 6 times

    You get the idea. It might make a longer pattern, but separating out sizes can make it a lot easier on brain and eye. However, some technical editors have condensed my patterns before for books.

    When it comes to charts, I quite often have done the same thing and separated out a different chart for each size rather than multiple repeat charts. Or worse, when a chart works for a few sizes but on the ones it doesn’t fit, the author decides to get you to refer to the chart, then back to but if written instruction to fill a gap, then back to a chary. Ugh!
    So, on some of my charts I will write out my varying repeats again in a new chart.

    I like separating out a pattern template to sections and keeping tjose sections on different pages even if that means there is a gap in the pattern. Having disabilitiws can n ake it really difficult to have a new section start half way fown a page then have to follow to a new page to continue. Imagine if you need to reread, you’re just getting it muddled if you keep having to jump backwards, forwards flipping pages.

    MAIN PAGE
    1 large photo
    Short description
    Matetials
    Sizes
    Gauge

    PATTERN NOTES PAGE
    Explain any unusual techniques or special abbreviations
    Extra instruction to suit newbies. Diagrams if necessary
    Resources E. g.. links to videos or tutorials or articles

    PATTERN INSTRUCTION PAGE
    The bare bones if the pattern as pure instruction, no chit chat, line by line in single column and separated out into sections not just parts of the garment.
    This page has no colour, no extra descriptions other than essential instruction and no photos gor decorative purposes. A photo or diagram only If it us totally necessary to the instructions.

    ABBREVIATIONS PAGE
    A glossary of all terms used in a single list assuming a person has never seen them before. This is something I want to change yo use fewer of these where I can. My
    K 50 sts
    I might change to
    Knit 50 stitches
    In a low vision pattern because of visual impairment or screen readers.

    But also that has me thinking, maybe a long line of only abbreviated terms might actually be cognitively confusing. There’s got to be situations where however standard abbreviations are, they’re counterproductive and don’t save a lot of space.

    CHARTS PAGE COLOUR
    – Charts in colour that match the garment but must also be optimised for contrast.
    – Charts for each size if necessary.
    – Rep boxes if used are thick as a frame that goes all the way round a repeat, not just a small bracket at bottom of chart as eyes can jump if trying to follow a repeat up the rows.

    CHARTS PAGE GREYSCALE
    On a seperate page the charts repeated in greyscale or black and white because not everybody can cope with colour. Contrast can be adjusted better in black and white. Not everybody can see contrast in greyscale though, but if one form of chart doesn’t suit everybody then why not repeat in colour AND greyscale ir black and white?

    SCHEMATICS PAGE
    A separate page on it’s own for any diagrams to show structure of pieces. I often put diagrams to help technique too. Like a diagram of a dorsal view of hat marking off where Earflaps might be placed, like number of stitches at front face, neck, Earflaps etc. Crochet diagrams go here. Any drawings that can help people visualise the finished piece better.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    This is a section yo list anybody who worked with me or who inspired me. It’s an important section but I will keep it out of the way of the bare bones of a pattern.

    Anyway, clearly setting out my pattern in distinct sections as a template can help people be familiar and know what they’re getting. More experienced knitters can skip the notes and go right to PATTERN INSTRUCTION PAGE.

    There’s, another aspect too. Many designers who write patterns have disabilities too and for me I get brain fog/mental fatigue and one of my drugs induces a compulsion to either jump task to tadk or get locked in and cant move on. I also have trouble with numbers, and have several forms of visual impairment. So we do have a need to write a pattern that we can follow ourselves or we can’t be in control of our designs. I keep a journal of instructions and write out how I made stuff with diagrams. In the past I’ve been encouraged by publishers to cut out as much instruction as I can and ditch any pictures. But lately I’ve gathered my 12 journals to review back to 2004 work I haven’t yet published and as my memory fades, I’ve looked at my notes and where I have more written words and, a diagram, I understand what I made 20 yrs ago very very clearly. But, where I have only pure abbreviations and no words or diagrams/sketches, I have a much harder time understanding what I actually did. That was my little insight of what it is like for a person with a non typical brain to see a fresh pattern and try to understand what the Dickens, a designer is trying to ask them to do.

    One of the things that can help as well is to give a heads up of what’s coming next. For example, rather than just going a hg eqd with a lot of shaping, or setting up, you can tell knitters what’s about to happen E. g.
    Now start decreasing for the Crown as follows: etc.
    Or
    Now set up your sleeve to shape the sleeve cap as golly ws:
    Or
    Now start to shape a Short Row Heel, see Pattern Notes if you’ve never done th s before.

    These little heads up really help someone to trigger a familiar memory of doing it before, or they help a person pause, take time to read Pattern Notes first if they realise they’ve never made anything with that technique before.
    I always point out things that are unusual or exceptional. It hellos people who might ignore something then do a usual technique because they assume they have misread it. And if that is not there, or edited out by a publisher’s own tech editor, it can get a person making a project that doesn’t match the photo. For example I had a striped beanie in rib, the stripes were solidunbroken because where colours changed, I did a round of all knit and not rib. But the publisher cut out my line explaining that. 18 mths later the book was out and knitters all made sporty striped Beanies whose stripes were all broken up. They were disappointed, thought the pattern was wrong. It was!

    Reply
    • Woolly Wormhead

      Writing out the sizes separately can be a big help, especially if the different sizes require different instructions at different points. I find lengthy patterns really tricky, as it’s too much text, but that’s where thought to a good layout and plenty of clear headings can go a long way. I’m convinced that the layout is as important as the content for cognitive disabilities, just as it is for visual disabilities.

      You hit on a good point, that we end up designing and writing to our own needs. I bought a book last year about it, and in true form I can’t remember the name of it, but it highlights how that happens. It’s why it’s so important that we keep talking about our disabilities and what our needs are – once we’ve become aware after battling the healthcare systems at least – because if folks don’t know, they don’t know.

      Thanks for commenting with so many valid points!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *