Monday 28 May 2012

Modification Monday: Origins and Backstory

By request, this is a special Mod Monday- explaining how Mod Monday got started, and how new projects are found, week after week!

The History
I was inspired by two things-  Teresa's blog, Canary Knits, which has a long-running feature for independant designers called Indie Designer Day. I love the feature, since it often exposed me to new patterns and designers that I hadn't seen before. Also, by the sheer quantity of amazing knits with creative modifications  on Ravelry was really inspiring- and considering that there are over 4.5 million knitting projects currently on Ravelery, it's impossible to see them all. I wanted to share the really beautiful projects that I was finding with others, so Modification Monday was born on June 15, 2009.

What is an Ideal Modification Monday Project?
Ideal projects have enough modifications (or one major one)  to give it a very different look from the original pattern; they are also well photographed (with at least two different photos of the knit), and have good notes on the modifications. That is the ideal situation, but I have at times featured projects that hit only 2 out of 3 of the criteria, because they merited a mention either due the scale of the modification or really great notes on how to acheive a similar effect. When it comes to the notes, clarity is key- I'm not a big fan of lengthy, documentary-style project notes that read like a diary, but prefer an overview that outlines what they did that got the the final result.

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How Mod Monday Projects are Found
I constantly have my eye out for a great modification, which I might find in my ravelry feed because another knitter has favourited it, or I might do a search on projects that are tagged with the ket word 'modifications'.  I also sometimes search popular patterns- I find that statistically speaking, people are more likely to modify a pattern if it is either free or if there have been many, many other existing FOs of that pattern; no doubt wanting to make their knit a little more unique has led to some seriously inspiring modifications. Also, I've had a LOT of help- there have been some readers/fellow knitters that send me links to amazing projects they have found while cruising Ravelry, and I've even had some people nominate their own projects. I love it when people send me links for great knits to feature, because it's impossible for one person to have seen all the amazing modifications out there, and it reminds me that we're a community of knitters, and we all have an interest in supporting and sharing each other's creativity and originality. For those that have sent me links, THANK YOU! You're awesome!

Has Anyone Ever Opted Out?
I don't think so (nothing is leaping out in my memory, but don't quote me on it). Everyone I've contacted to be featured has been gracious enough to allow me permission to feature their projects, with the exception of a couple of knitters who, due to language barriers, didn't understand what I was asking, and I didn't think it right to feature their knits unless I had explicit consent. Some have taken a while to get back to me, and some have asked for more time to update the project page or get new photos, and I'm always happy to work around that. After all, it's the creativity of those knitters that make Modification Mondays so much fun to begin with!

9 comments:

Kathy in Michigan USA said...

Hi, Julie, thanks so much for doing this post on the origins of Modification Mondays. I figured it didn't hurt to ask. The only downside I see is that now you're going to be getting more & more suggestions for projects to be featured. You may have to do Modification Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays . . . . . .

Chantal Boucher said...

Keep writing that kind of post.I love it. Very inspiring!

julie said...

Just wanted to add that it's my favourite blog feature possibly ever, please keep them coming :D

grandmastatus said...


I love searching ravelry for projects tagged with modifications. There are so many creative knitters out there! And I want to say thank you for hosting modification monday: it always cheers me up.

Well... except for the fact that sometimes it makes me uber jealous of other peoples' skills!

Erin Kate said...

I've always wondered how you find so many! Your featured-feature (ha) is so beautiful

Dreamsherl said...

Thanks. I wanted to ask you how Modifications monday came about.

Nat at Made in Home said...

Great to know how it came about! Always looking forward to seeing what you find on Mondays!

Hilary said...

Thanks for this little history of Mod Mondays! It was fun to read about how it all came about.

Teresa said...

Ah shucks! I blush with pride. I love your Mod Monday feature. It's such a fun idea. Very inspiring to see how creative people are.
Thanks for working every week to find, write and publish these great posts.