The word “Neurodivergent” is a broad umbrella – it encompasses so much more than Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia. Woolly Wormhead patterns are written to be neurodivergent friendly, which is a bold claim, so I thought I should lay out what that means to me, and how that translates to my patterns.

For reference, I’m Autistic with ADHD and and have long suspected that I may be dyslexic. I also have Complex PTSD and OCD, which also fall under the neurodivergent umbrella, as do most mental illnesses. I also have immediate family with Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia, and not only spend time advocating for, and educating others on, their needs, but am a Neurodivergent and Mental Heath advocate, both inside and outside of my job as a knit designer.

In addition to my personal needs, I used to be a school teacher for 11 to 19 year olds, and part of my job included what was then known as being the ‘Special Needs Liason’ for my department – I needed to help ensure our resources and teaching methods accomodated as many different learning types and styles as possible. During my post grad in education I specialised not only in my subjects – Art and Textiles – but also in what was then known as ‘different learning styles’.

For the purposes of this article, I’m writing from the perspective of neurodivergent conditions that impact how we process and interact with information, drawing from both my personal and professional experiences.

I should also note that these neurodevelopmental disabilities are not learning disabilities. They impact how we learn, because we process and interact with information differently, but they don’t mean we’re unable to learn and they don’t impact our intellect. A good percentage of ND folk have a comorbid learning disability, which leads to the assumption that they are learning disabilities, but they’re not. You can check Mencap’s definitions if you’re unclear on this.

Design Approach

One important aspect to consider is that designing for neurodivergent brains, including cognitive disabilities, starts before the pattern writing process. Because our brains process information differently, designs need to be more intuitive and logical, with fewer executive function hurdles (decision making or task switching steps). This means accessibility for neurdovergent folk needs to be built into the construction (how it’s put together) and the grading (how the different sizes are worked).

This means considering construction and grading in particular before casting on the sample. This doesn’t just improve design and pattern writing skills, it also helps in considering how accessible a pattern will for a wide range of needs.

For me and my patterns, wherever possible I avoid designs that require different sets of instructions for different sizes. I also avoid instructions that have broken or incomplete repeats – i.e. the repeats will work for all sizes. It isn’t always possible to achieve this in every design, but it is something I work hard to minimise.

I start designing a Hat from the crown down, regardless of which way it will be knit. By this I mean I start with the crown maths, which in turn ensures mathematical continuity all the way through a design, forming an invisible yet integral design structure. This not only helps a design flow and feel more intuitive but also helps folk, especially nuerodivergent folk, visualise how a design comes together.

One example of this would be a sideways constructed Hat. Sideways knit Hats are made by knitting consecutive panels (or wedges) until the Hat is complete. The instructions for one panel is generally short with minimal grading, and is repeated over and over until the Hat fits. Short, easy to follow instructions that are easily memorable. e.g:

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

Another example would be a vertically knit Hat where the instructions for the brim, body and crown are clearly labelled, and where the repeat instructions work for each size. A stitch pattern may need to be repeated a different amount of times for each size, but the repeat is always complete, with few or no additional steps, to finish a row or round. e.g.:

Rnd 1: *K1, yo, K3, ssk, K8, k2tog, K3, yo; rpt from * to end

Presenting Instructions

Designing a pattern with the above points in mind makes writing the pattern much easier, because how the different sizes will work, how the different parts of the pattern are presented, and how they connect, have already been worked out.

The next thing to consider is keeping the instructions short and succinct, with plenty of white space and clear headings.

It isn’t always possible to keep instructions short, as it is very design dependant, but I keep this in mind when designing my Hat patterns. If a design gets too wordy or unwieldy, it gets ripped out and started again. I spend a lot of time refining my designs so that instructions are more intuitive, easily memorised, and use markers or other visual clues to help reinforce the instructions.

White space is really important in helping our brains process information, but at the same time too much can be just as difficult. I keep consistent margin sizes within my patterns, as well as line breaks and paragraph spacing. I avoid long paragraphs, as walls of text are particularly difficult to process. In combination with frequent paragraph breaks, clearly labelled headers are used to help guide you through.

Columns within a pattern are incredibly useful, but this is one area where it depends on the pattern and the neurotype reading it. As my instructions and repeat rows/rounds tend to be short, a 2-column presentation in my standard layout is most effective for the majority of people. I do have a low-vision/screen-reader format that is single column in large text, but I haven’t yet converted all of my patterns to this 2nd format. However, the large font in the low-vision/screen-reader format often makes a pattern more challenging to read for folks with Dyslexia and ADHD as there are more pages to scroll through, meaning more opportunities to get lost or confused, and the instructions end up much longer. A smaller font that allows for fewer pages and shorter lines is preferable for most neurodivergent folk.

Clear headers are used for the different sections of the pattern, and they are presented in chronological order.

Information Hierarchy

This is particularly important for ensuring brains with processing disorders don’t get confused. In short, this means presenting the most important information first – my patterns start with all the material requirements, gauge and sizing information on the first page.

Then the Abbreviations are given, followed by any pattern notes – this could be information about adjusting the pattern, how yarns are combined, or anything that needs to be noted before you start. This way there are no hidden surprises at the end, and it helps reduce the risk of rushing into a pattern and missing important details.

Pattern Length

The more text there is, and/or the more steps there are, the more difficult it is for a person with a cognitive disability, or a processing, memory or executive functioning disorder, to follow a set of instructions.

I don’t include romance text, or the story behind a design, in my patterns or even on the pattern pages. Whilst I know it’s good for marketing, I keep that sort of thing purely for marketing – blog posts, Instagram and so on. This allows me to focus on the important information – the instructions! – without concern about overwhelming someone or asking them to read or process too much information.

Page count is kept to a minimum. I do see my patterns as educational resources, and provide in-depth photographic tutorials to help guide knitters through unfamiliar techniques. However, I don’t include all of these tutorials within the patterns themselves, as that would quickly becoming overwhelming with so many pages to sort through. Instead, I provide download links for the tutorials, so that you can download them as needed. If you’ve already downloaded and learnt a technique from a previous pattern, there’s no need to add to the page count by including it again!

Clearly Defined Steps

One critical thing to bear in mind when writing patterns for neurodivergent, cognitive and even learning disabilities is to ensure each step is clearly explained – don’t assume anything. Don’t assume prior knowledge, don’t assume that everyone understands knit-speak the same way.

One example would be the expression “pick up X amount of stitches”. I’ve had many a discussion with fellow designers, teachers and authors about what this means, and many assume that people know that it means to “pick up AND knit”. But unless you explicitly tell people to pick up and knit, then you’re being unclear and assuming knowledge – and that’s a stumbling point for many.

Years ago I would use “pick up” in my patterns to literally mean pick up a certain amount of stitches. I then learnt that some people were having trouble with the patterns that included that instruction, and the reason was because they were picking up and knitting, and the instructions in my patterns would have them do something other than knit those stitches. I didn’t understand why people added an extra meaning to a short sentence, but I later understood why when I learnt I was Autistic.

Now I use the instructions “pick up and do not knit” and “pick up and knit” – it removes any ambiguity for all knitters.

The same goes for other areas of pattern writing – if there’s a step that needs doing, however obvious it might be to you, explain it. Type it out. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, and this isn’t “dumbing down” your patterns – it’s being clear and conscise.

It not only removes executive function hurdles – because missing steps like that will be a stumbling point – but it also helps in organisation and logical flow.

Everyone learns knit-speak differently, there is no universal standard – not for abbreviations, chart symbols or common phrases. Explain what you mean each time, ensure every step is covered, and your pattern will be far more accessible to many more people.

Charts

Charts within knitting patterns can bring about strong opinions, and there isn’t one method that works for everyone. For instance I have trouble with the charting notion where the chart shows what’s happening on the right side of the work – it means, if I’m working flat, that I have an extra translation hurdle to jump in my head. I prefer charts that are instructional, where the symbols represent what’s actually happening to the stitch(es), not what it looks like from the right side when it’s done.

Within my patterns, where charts are included, they will nearly always be a full chart for the entire pattern. The chart page is self-sufficient, meaning wherever possible there will be little to no reference to the written instructions needed. The Abbrevations and any additional notes, including how to start and finish the Hat, will in the majority of cases also be included on the chart page.

Charts are very useful for people who process information visually, and they’re particulary good at providing a lot of information in a short space. A full chart, that includes shaping such as those in my sideways knit Hats or many of my vertically knit Hats that also have an internal panel structure, are the most useful – they allow us to see how the pattern is structured, as well as including every single step involved and how each step relates to each other in a short and succinct way.

Again, full charts link back to how a pattern is designed, constructed and graded, and how that needs to be one of the first things considered when starting a new design.

I do not use colour in my charts. I find a lot of colour use, or a variety in colour use, distracting so for my own needs as well as colourblind accessibility needs, as well as printing needs, all of my charts are in greyscale with high contrast symbols and repeat boxes. Where more than 3 colours are used in a chart symbols are used to represent colours, and knitters can print them off and colour those in as they prefer.

I hope this overview of how I’ve approached neurodivergent accessibility needs helps! I know I won’t be able to design, write and present my patterns to suit every brain and neurotype, but I have tried to cover as many as possible based on my personal and professional experience. I’m always keen to hear how my patterns work for you, so do leave a comment!

And if you’d like to try a sample pattern, you can download the Meret for free to see if my pattern writing style suits you 🙂