So you’re considering submitting a design or article to Knotions? That’s great! We welcome both experienced and new designers and writers.
Get on our email list so we can let you know about calls-for-submissions!
What’s Your Schedule?
We publish SIX (6) times per year.
Techniques and themes
We have a monthly theme and technique for all designs, articles and tutorials. Most issues are a combination of knitting and crochet designs (unless noted). We choose the mix based on the theme and what we’re trying to showcase.
- Jan Issue: Eastern European Designs (due Sep 1 2024)
- Feb Issue: Romanticism in Literature (due Sep 1 2024)
- Apr Issue: Cables in Lace (due Dec 1 2024)
- Aug Issue: Bavarian Socks (due Feb 1 2025)
- Nov Issue: Bioinformatics in STEM (due Feb 1 2025)
- Dec Issue: Shawls with Celtic knotwork, twisted sts and outlines (due May 1 2025)
How do I Submit?
Just fill out our form and it gets sent to us!
Due Dates
This one is important, and it’s for everyone, both US and International designers and writers.
- It doesn’t matter if you’re from the US or International. The dates are the same for everyone.
- This also means that we will NOT be deciding on accepts or declines until after that date passes. You can submit early though and we’ll keep it until your chosen issue.
- We’ll use the submission date as the tie-breaker. Earlier submission means that if someone else submits something similar after you do, that yours will win out.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for designs
Chart Guidelines for Knitting?
If you use Stitch Mastery, please submit the knt2 files as well as pngs.
- Odd rows are RS, even rows are WS.
- For flat knitting, RS row numbers are on the right and WS row numbers on the left. For in-the-round, all row numbers are on the right.
- If your first row is a WS row, call that “Setup” so your first real row can be Row 1 and on the right side.
- Include column numbers.
- All key symbols use the Standard Abbreviations; any additional sts are defined in the pattern.
- Key has RS and WS definitions for all sts worked on both sides. If your chart is for in-the-round, there should be NO WS definitions on the chart.
- Include edge sts when possible.
- Chart shows the RS of fabric.
- This means that stockinette looks like all knits (regardless of flat or in-the-round) and garter is a row of knits followed by a row of purls.
Charts/Diagrams for Crochet
- If you have a chart, you can submit a picture of it.
- Or a PNG or JPG will work too.
- We’ll re-do it and send it to you for a final review/approval.
Knotions does the photography?
Yep!
And it’s free to you. It’s a big service we offer to our designers. We use a professional photographer and you’ll get rights to them as well!
This means you don’t need to submit photos!
And, it also means that as a Knotions Designer, you get professional photography of your accepted design!
Do you accept both garments and accessories?
We sure do!
We’ve been very heavy on the accessories side. But as of January 2024, we’ll be showcasing both types of designs.
Do the free services differ depending on the type of design?
Every accepted design receives all the same services. The only thing that differs is the pay scale for each.
What are the pay scales for both garments and accessories?
We strive for fair and equitable payment to our designers.
Payment for all published accessories is currently between 75 and 200 USD.
Payment for all published garments is currently between 125 and 300 USD.
Payments are made via Paypal approximately 3 months after the issue goes live.
How. does payment work?
Payments are determined by a combination of factors, including:
- The template. The template, The template, The template. Yes, we repeated it. Yes, it’s that important.
- Pageviews (via Google Analytics).
- # Favorites, Queues and Projects in Ravelry.
- Test Knitting/Crochet – whether you’ve done a test, and also – how many testers created projects in Ravelry.
- Designer responsiveness to Knotions.
- Designer responsiveness to crafters who have questions.
- The amount of your promotion (and yes, it impacts all the others listed but we like to call that one out separately as well).
- Quality of your pattern.
- The template (just in case you missed it!)
What about the rights to my design?
For the first 3 months of it being live and on Knotions.com, rights are exclusively Knotions’.
After the first 3 months, rights become shared, and both you and Knotions have the same rights.
While we’re talking about rights, we also want to point out all the free services that you get as a Knotions designer (tech editing and photography are 2 of the biggest, but you can see the full list below, in “What else do I get when I’m in a Knotions Issue?”.
What about our contract?
The Statement of Originality is a required checkbox on our form. This means, if you submitted your design via the form, you will have accepted it! No wet signatures are required!
What else do I get when I’m in a Knotions issue?
We’re very proud of all the free things that every Knotions designer gets! This includes:
- Free Professional Tech Editing
- Free Professional Photography
- Free Professional Charts and Schematics (as appropriate)
- Free inclusion in Knotions’ Newsletters
- Free Promotion when the Issue Goes Live
- Free SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your design on knotions.com
- Free ongoing Promotion may include:
- Inclusion on the Knotions Web site
- Pin(s) on the Knotions Pinterest Board
- Mention on the Knotions Facebook and Instagram Accounts
- Featured in the Knotions Daily email list
- Your design will be featured on a Web site that’s kept up-to-date in terms of Web Tech Best Practices. Knotions.com is frequently updated throughout the year, and we do a major upgrade every 2 years.
- Our founder, Jody Richards, is a former Web Developer. Keeping current isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a necessity.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for Articles
How do I submit an article?
Articles should be emailed to our submissions team. Articles on any knitting or crochet topic are welcome – techniques, projects, companion to a pattern and humor are just a few examples.
Articles should be between 500 and 1,500 words in length, and submitted in Microsoft Word (preferable) or a plain text file. Placement and captions for each photo should be noted but please keep them separate from the Word doc. Please put the name of each image in the Word doc to show its caption and placement, and please make sure you include the pic separately (Word can degrade your images). If you’re presenting a technique, step-by-step photos are required.
In your email cover letter, please include a signed Statement of Originality (copied from here and pasted in email is fine as long as you type your name and date below it) and the following author Information:
- Full Name as you want it to appear in the article
- Thumbnail photo of yourself
- Short bio (up to 50 words) written in the third person
- Blog or Web site address (optional)
- Paypal email address
Tell me about Payments for articles.
Payment for all published articles is currently between 50 and 75 USD. Payments are made via Paypal approximately 3 months after the article goes live.
What about our contract?
Please include the below Statement of Originality when you submit your article.
Statement of Originality
By typing my name and date below, I warrant that:
- I am the original creator of the work and have not infringed upon the existing intellectual property rights of any third party.
- The original work has not been previously published, in whole or in part, elsewhere in any format.
I agree to hold harmless and indemnify Knotions from any and all expenses, losses, liabilities, damages and third-party claims that may arise from any infringement of such intellectual property rights.
I confirm that the one-time payment I receive from Knotions is my full payment for exclusive electronic media distribution rights for three months, and non-exclusive electronic media distribution rights in perpetuity. This notice serves as my written permission to allow Knotions to publish my article and all related images in its current and all future formats.
What else do I get when I’m in a Knotions issue?
We’re very proud of all the free things that every Knotions article/tutorial gets! This includes:
- Free inclusion in Knotions’ Newsletters
- Free Promotion when the Issue Goes Live
- Free SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your article/tutorial on knotions.com
- Free ongoing Promotion may include:
- Inclusion on the Knotions Web site
- Pin(s) on the Knotions Pinterest Board
- Mention on the Knotions Facebook and Instagram Accounts
- Featured in the Knotions Daily email list
- Your article/tutorial will be featured on a Web site that’s kept up-to-date in terms of Web Tech Best Practices. Knotions.com is frequently updated throughout the year, and we do a major upgrade every 2 years.
- Our founder, Jody Richards, is a former Web Developer. Keeping current isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a necessity.
Ready to Submit?
I can’t wait to see what you have in mind!
If you’ve gotten this far, but you still have a follow up question, please feel free to contact us at editor AT knotions.com.
This isn’t something I’m saying just to say it – I’m very serious! Our contributors are very important to us, and I want to make sure you’re confident that this is the right place for you!