Submissions
The Inside Loop publishes quality knitting and crochet patterns from designers all over the world. Fine attention to detail and new and original ways of thinking about yarn will help get your pattern noticed and contribute to the distinction we aim for at The Inside Loop. Articles are also accepted on a range of topics including technique and history of Fibre Arts.
Knitters and crocheters of all levels of ability can find joy in working with luxurious yarns and beautiful patterns. ‘Easy’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘boring’ or ‘plain’, and if your pattern has the power to teach a new skill, or inspire a newcomer to create something beautiful, then it belongs here just as much as any more intricate pattern for advanced knitters.
We hesitate to give you any very strict guidelines for what you should submit – we want to see what you come up with, we’re open-minded and ready to be inspired by your creations.
Kate and Diane
Please read the Guidelines and Any Questions? below before submitting. Tight deadlines mean that we cannot consider submissions which are late, missing essential information or are accompanied by poor quality illustrations or instructions.
Submission Deadlines
| Issue | Submission Deadline | Realease Date |
| Spring | 31st December | 20th February |
| Summer | 31st March | 20th May |
| Autumn | 30th June | 20th August |
| Gift Special | 16th August | 6th October |
| Winter | 30th September | 20th November |
Upcoming Themes
Winter 2008
Winter Warmers
Spring 2009
Children’s Issue
Summer 2009
Summertime
Autumn 2009
All About Spinning
Your Design Submission
All patterns submitted should be your own, original work and not previously published elsewhere, either in print or on the internet. Any designs you submit should not have been pictured on a blog or other website. Please also avoid blogging about an accepted submission before the issue goes live, other than to say that you have a design in an issue. We do want to keep the actual contents a surprise!
Patterns should be written using the appropriate The Inside Loop style sheet:
Once you have completed your design, check it carefully and make sure you haven’t omitted any important information. The information in the Style Sheet will outline the detail of information which should be included in the pattern.
Garment patterns, including small accessories like hats, should be written for as wide a range of sizes as possible. If possible, include as much information as possible to help the reader adjust the fit, for example in the length of a sleeve.
Send the pattern and any accompanying images as attachments to the cover email which should list the following information:
- Your full name
- Your name as you wish it to appear on the pattern
- Your email address for reader feedback or questions
- Your Paypal account address
- Your postal address
- Your website if you’d like us to link to it
- A short (30 word) bio written in the third person
Send your cover email and all attachments (not as a zip file, please) to our submissions mailbox.
Please include ‘pattern sub’, the name of your pattern and the type of project if necessary in the subject line of the email, e.g. “Pattern sub: ‘Annabelle’ hat pattern” this helps us to easily identify your pattern in our inbox.
Remuneration
Remuneration for pattern submisisons to The Inside Loop will be 30 to 50 GBP, depending on the complexity of the design.
Photographs and Illustrations
All accompanying photographs MUST be clear and sharp. The photos you send may make or break your submission: think carefully about your photo shoot, get a friend to model or to help out and get snap happy – pick out the best ones for sending in.
Garment patterns should be accompanied by a clear schematic showing all relevant measurements. This may be hand-drawn and scanned in if necessary.
If your pattern involves an unusual technique then additional instructions and/or photographs to illustrate this would be very welcome. For a particularly complex technique you may consider writing and illustrating a companion technique article which may then be published in the same issue.
Lace and cable patterns should be charted. We recommend that you download the free knitting chart font from Aire River Design, who have kindly given their permission for us to use their font on the site.
All photograhs and illustrations should be a minimum of 500 x 400 pixels in size and ideally portrait orientation and sent as .jpg files separate from the Word document (excluding the the cover photo).
Article Guidelines
Our readers are interested in a wide variety of topics related to the Fibre Arts. Knitting, spinning and crochet techniques, historical essays and interviews are all welcome and help to make the magazine relevant and inspiring.
As often as possible, we like to link the articles in an issue to the patterns they accompany. For example, an issue may contain a traditional Fair Isle patterned ski cap, and an article about one reader’s exciting trip visiting the islands of the north sea.
You are very welcome to submit both an article and a pattern together if the theme is closely related, we may choose to use either or both depending on our plans for the issue. You may also join the contributors’ mailing list – soon to be added to the Yahoo! group – where we will post special requests for articles we feel will particularly complement a given pattern. Articles should be between 300 and 1,000 words in length.
Your Article Submission
Send the article and any accompanying images as attachments to the cover email which should list the following information:
- Your full name
- Your name as you wish it to appear on the article
- Your email address for reader feedback or questions
- Your Paypal account address
- Your postal address
- Your website if you’d like us to link to it
- A short (30 word) bio written in the third person
Send your cover email and all attachments to our submissions mailbox.
Please include ‘article sub’, the name of your article and the topic if necessary in the subject line of the email, e.g. “Article sub: ‘Exploring the Highlands’ visit to Scotland” this helps us to easily identify your article in our inbox.
Remuneration
Remuneration for article submisisons to The Inside Loop will be 30 to 50 GBP, depending on the length and complexity of the article.
Photographs and Illustrations
All article submissions should be accompanied by relevant illustrations to engage the reader and complement the topic material. Technique articles in particular should have as many illustrations as possible to clearly explain the subject matter. Articles such as interviews and reminiscences benefit greatly from the inclusion of personal photographs.
Please remember, photographs MUST be clear and sharp. Drawings or diagrams may also be submitted after being scanned in.
All photograhs and illustrations should be a minimum of 500 x 400 pixels in size and ideally portrait orientation and sent as .jpg files separate from the Word document (excluding the the cover photo).
Any Questions?
Do I have to live in the UK to submit to The Inside Loop?
We believe strongly in our UK ‘home-grown’ designers, but that doesn’t mean that we’re blind to the talents of those living overseas. What we do ask, however, is that your pattern submission uses yarns which are readily available to our readers here in the UK (see “Do I have to use a UK yarn?” below).
Do I have to use a UK yarn in my pattern?
While we like to support UK yarn companies, we have a soft spot in our hearts for many beautiful imported yarns. All materials used, however, must be readily available in the UK – either through a local distributor, or a company happy to ship overseas. If you’re not sure about the availability of a yarn, a good way to find out is to type the yarn name and "UK" into a search engine (e.g. "dream in color UK") and see whether any stockists in the UK are listed.
When will I hear if my design or article is accepted?
When you send in your submission, you will get an automated email reply to confirm that your email has been received. We will try to let you know as soon as possible if we decide not to use your submission. We will also tell you if we are considering the design for a later issue where it may perhaps fit better with the planned theme. We aim to finalise issue content by about a month before going to press, you should hear the good news soon after that.
How and when will I get paid?
Contributors should submit details of a valid Paypal account. Payment will be made to your Paypal account within one week of the issue going to press.
Who owns the copyright on the submission?
By submitting to The Inside Loop you are agreeing for your submission to be published and used by the magazine for the period that the issue is live. After the issue has expired the pattern or article will remain in the archives. You retain copyright and ownership of the submission and are free to use it in any way you choose after the expiration of the issue in which it appears.