Tech editors look at every mark made on your pattern and check for a wide variety things that make your pattern work and look professional. They ensure that your patterns are completely error free and your style is consistent for a professional and polished look.
WHAT THEY DO
All tech editors have a list of things they go through in every pattern. Most editors, like myself, go over patterns in two passes to make sure they don't miss anything. The first pass looks at the crucial technical things that make your pattern work, like the stitch counts, row counts, repeats, if measurements are accurate and correct, and so on. The second pass looks over consistency in your punctuation and style, checking grammar and punctuation, and ensuring the instructions are in logical order. Maybe you didn't realize you used two different fonts in one sentence, or that you accidentally used 'row' when it should be 'round.'
GET A FRESH SET OF EYES
Tech editing is one of the most important things you could invest in for a professional pattern library. Without someone double checking your work, your pattern is open to a wide variety of mistakes and looking unprofessional. There is a famous saying among tech editors that goes "you cannot check your own work". When you have written a pattern, your brain knows what you want and thinks your work is perfect. It's nearly impossible to find all mistakes in your own work, which is why it's so important to have a fresh set of eyes on it.
SAVE MONEY WITH A PRE-TECH EDIT CHECKLIST
There are a couple of steps you can take to help save you money with your tech editor, and is going through an organized pre-edit checklist. Take the list and carefully go through your pattern to try and find what obvious mistakes you can. You can learn more and download my free pre-edit checklist through this link. You don't want to whip up a pattern super fast and have your tech editor fix every little thing. Well, I mean I guess you can, but it will cost you more time and therefore more money with your tech editor.
TECH EDITING COMES BEFORE PATTERN TESTING
It is also important to note that you should have your patterns tech edited before you send it out for testing. Pattern testers are not tech editors! I'll go more into this in a future post on the difference between tech editors and pattern testers, and why you need both.
What patterns should be tech edited? Well, all of them really. Even the "simple" patterns should be looked at, to ensure your style is consistent with your other patterns and to verify you didn't miss any silly, obvious mistakes. It does happen!
Make sure your pattern library is consistent and professional by hiring a tech editor!