How we test and label our guides
What craft-verified and not yet craft-tested mean on this site, and exactly what a label is based on.
The two labels
Every guide carries a craft status, and there are only two:
- Craft-verified — a person worked the project from the written instructions, start to finish, with the stated hook and yarn, and the finished object matched the stated size. Only then is the label applied. If the numbers had to change, the guide shows the corrected numbers.
- Not yet craft-tested — the default. The instructions are internally consistent, the stitch counts add up, and the sizes are derived from stitch mechanics and standard measurements, but nobody has worked the piece and measured it.
Right now every guide on this site carries the second label. That is not a disclaimer bolted onto the end of each page: it is the current, honest state of a young reference.
What the craft facts mean
- Hook — the size the numbers were written for, in millimetres with the nearest US equivalent.
- Yarn — the weight and fibre assumed, with the amount used at the stated size.
- Stitch multiple — how many stitches one repeat needs, so a guide can be resized without rewriting it. Where the piece is worked in the round, the starting count is given instead.
- Gauge — given where gauge changes the result. For small in-the-round pieces, fabric density matters more than stitch count, and the guide says so rather than quoting a figure that would mislead.
- Finished size — scale, not a promise. Until a piece is worked and measured, treat it as a proportion.
- Working time — an estimate for a steady worker, including finishing.
Gaps we publish instead of hiding
Every hub ends with a list of what is missing: techniques not written, safety checks not made, measurements not taken. If a hub cannot support a claim, the claim is not made on that hub.
Corrections and testing
If you work a guide from this site and the numbers are wrong, that is useful information and should be recorded. There is no published contact channel yet — a gap listed on the About page and here — and it will be fixed before this site claims to be anything more than a reference in progress.