Working out Kinks and Fingering Yarn

Ravelry is a great place to search for patterns. The most helpful part is selecting different search parameters. In this tutorial we’ll go through a sample search. We’ll search for a sweater pattern that uses worsted weight yarn, uses between 900 and 1200 yards, is for a child aged 4 to 12 and is available for free.

1. Go to Ravelry and log in if you aren’t already.
2. Go to the top of the page and arrow down to find the “Patterns” link. Press enter.
3. This will take you to the pattern search page. You can also browse for patterns but today we’re going to search. Type “sweater” in the search field and press enter.
4. This will bring up your preliminary results. Navigate to the first heading. It will read “Search.” Now use your screen reader’s find next text command once. It should land on the number of search results. I got 22,884 so we definitely need to narrow it down a little.
5. Arrow down until you find the drop box with the words “Jump to filter.” Below this box is a list of all the different search options. They are all the same as what is listed in the drop box. When you select a filter from the drop box it will move that set of options to the top of the list. You will have to go back to the drop box each time you need to select another filter because when you press enter or tab out of the box your cursor moves to the bottom of the filter you chose. The drop box will be the first form field from the top of the page so it’s not hard to find.
6.  Select “Weight” from the drop box and press tab to exit the box. You can arrow up through the choices or go back to the drop box and arrow down to get them in the right order. Either way, press enter on “Worsted 10-Ply”. The numbers after the choices tell how many matching patterns Ravelry has for this filter.
7. Now select “Yardage” from the drop down box. If you have any trouble finding where you are after you tab out of the box, just remember that the drop box is the first form field from the top of the page, and the filter you just chose is immediately after it. Now press enter on “900-1200 yards”.
8. Go back to the drop box and Select “Gender/Age/Size/Fit”. This filter requires you to select a sub-filter before you can make your choice. Press enter on “Age or Size”. Then press enter on “Child (4–12)”. You can press escape to close the sub-filter options if you are going to be arrowing around a lot but it’s not necessary.
9. Now find the drop box for the last time and select “Availability”. Either arrow up to find “Free” or go back to the drop box and arrow down. Press enter on “Free”.
10. Now that your search has been narrowed down you can get your results. After selecting the last filter, your cursor should be at the top of the search results. If you arrow down, you will find a list of the filters you chose followed by your search results. If you get lost on the page go to the top and use your screen reader’s find next text command to find the words “Search Results for Sweater” and arrow down from there.

Keep in mind that you can select as many or as few search parameters as you like. Also, pressing enter on the pattern name will take you to the Ravelry pattern page. This page has a lot of information about the pattern that can include yardage, available sizes. Gauge and suggested yarn. You will also find a link to the pattern source.

After the pattern details you will find the following links: Cast On, Add to Faves, To Queue. Selecting “Cast On” Will add this pattern as a new project in your notebook. Select this if you want to start the project right away. “Add to Faves” adds this pattern to a list of things you like. “To Queue” adds the pattern to a list of patterns you want to do in the future.

Have fun looking through the patterns. I’ll be back soon with another Ravelry tutorial.