FAQ – Stash

May 16th, 2007

Adding / Editing Your Stash:

Q. How do I add yarn to my stash?

A. Go to your Notebook and click on "stash" in the left-hand menu. On that page, click the "Add New Yarn" button. On the page that loads, type in the name of the yarn you want to add, how many skeins of this particular yarn you have in your stash, and any other information about the yarn you’d like to add.

Important: Once you’ve started typing here, you’ll see a link button appear to the right of the field. If you click this button, Ravelry will search the database for your yarn and bring up the results in a pop-up window. If you’re using a handspun or other unique yarn, click the button that says "Unique yarn – don’t add" If you’re using a commercially available yarn, select the correct one from the list. If the yarn you used isn’t listed there, trying using fewer search terms. If you still don’t see it listed, you can add it to the database by clicking the button that says "Add to Ravelry".

Select the correct status for the yarn (e.g. currently in your stash, used up, to be traded/sold, already traded/sold), and then click the "Save and add photos" button at the bottom of the page. If you don’t have any photos of the yarn, then you’re done. If you do have photos, then you can add them by clicking on the "photos" tab up on the top right-hand side of the page. To add another yarn, click the "details" tab and then click the "Save and add another yarn" button on the bottom of the page.

Q. How do I add photos to my stash?

A. Go to your stash page (my notebook → stash), select the stash item you want to add a photo to, and then click the "photos" tab on the top right-hand side. Select the photoset from your Flickr account that the photo is in (if it’s not in a particular set, choose "All Photosets") and click the "Refresh" button. Drag and drop the selected photo to the box with the dashed border — another box will appear. You can add as many photos as you like. The photos are saved as you go along, so there’s no need to go back to the "details" page to click the "save" button when you’re done.

Q. How do I remove a photo from my stash?

A. Go to the photos page for your stash item (my notebook → stash → stash item → photos) and click the "X" directly below the photo you want to remove. This does not delete the photo from Flickr — it only removes the photo from this stash item.

Q. How do I remove an item from my stash?

A. Go to your stash page (my notebook → stash) and click the "X" button below the item you want to delete. (This does not delete the yarn from the Ravelry database — it only removes your particular item from your stash listing.)

Q. I used / sold / traded / etc. an item from my stash. How do I change its status?

A. Click on the stash item you want to change the status of (my notebook → stash) and change the status from the drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the page. Click the "save" button when you’re done.

Q. How do I change the viewing options on my stash page?

A. To view your stash as thumbnails, click the first button (with the little squares on it) to the right of the "add new yarn" button at the top of your stash page. To view as a list, click the second button (with the lines).

Q. How do I download an Excel spreadsheet of my stash?

A. Click the third button to the right of the "add new yarn" button at the top of your stash page. A pop-up window will appear that asks you whether you’d like to open it with Excel or save the file to your computer. Choose whichever option you prefer.

Q. How can I search for / view other peoples’ stashes?

A. If there’s a specific person’s stash you’d like to view, you can go to the People page and search for them by their Ravelry username. Click the link to go to their profile, and then click their projects link on the right-hand side of their profile page. You’ll then see their notebook links on the left-hand side: click the “stash” link to view their stash.

If you’d like to see everyone’s stash images of a specific yarn, go to the Yarns page and search for the yarn you want to see. On the search results page, click the link of the yarn that you were searching for, and then click the “stashes” tab at the top of the specific yarn page. To view information about any of the stash items, you can click on the image or the text link, and you will be taken to that person’s stash details page for that item.

Posted by admin-asduiwaehd

Knitters / Crocheters- Tour

April 12th, 2007

The site is organized into several sections. The first is the Notebook and it includes:

  1. A free, clear and concise index of all your knitting and/or crochet projects. In this section, you can coordinate each work in progress and finished object with the yarn you used, the pattern designer and source, needle/ hook sizes you used, date you started and completed the project, and link it to related groups on Ravelry. You can also attach blog posts to a project, as well as enter pictures and additional notes. You can look at all your projects in a gallery or spreadsheet view, and in the future you will be able to export this to an excel spreadsheet (soon!). If there is interest, we can also develop have a function that will allow you to bind your finished objects in a beautiful book!
  2. A project queue. Finally, something better than a bookmark folder! You can track, tag, and rank the patterns that you would like to do in the future, including notes on the recipient, the “done by” date, and the yarn you might use. You can print out an individual project or your entire queue (including yarn requirements) for a trip to the yarn store or a fiber festival.
  3. Stash Inventory. Admitting you have a problem is the first step toward recovery. ;) In this section you can enter pictures of your yarn and keep track of dye lots, colorways, and number of skeins, and see it all in a gallery or spreadsheet view.
  4. Needle/ Hook Inventory. Keep track of your knitting needles and crochet hooks, and print out the inventory as a handy wallet card – we want to help keep you from buying four sets of the same exact needle or your 15th size f crochet hook!
  5. Friends. In this section, you can see what your friends have been working on, what yarns they have added to their stash, and what projects they have added to their queue. You can keep posted on the progress of their projects – the Friends’ Activity Tab will show you every time one of your Ravelry friends adds a new photo to a project! (You can also subscribe to this information by rss feed.)
  6. Blogs. You can connect entries from your blog to specific projects in Ravelry – once your blog is linked to your profile, Ravelry automatically connects a blog post to your Ravelry project page when you include a link to the project in your entry. Just like magic!
  7. Favorites. Like the Flickr favorites section, you can use this tab to track other users’ projects that inspire you, as well as stash, patterns, designers, yarn brands, and ads.
  8. Message other Ravelers from all over the world! (And Ravelry chat features are coming soon!)

Ravelry offers more than a Notebook for your own information, you can also take advantage of the all-access parts of the site:

  1. Browse for patterns by tags, pattern type, gauge, rating, difficulty, designer, yardage required, etc.
  2. Search for yarns by fiber content, gauge, producer/ dyer, popularity. (More coming to this section soon!)
  3. Discuss patterns, yarns, techniques, and Ravelry in our forums and in Ravelry groups. You can use “magic links” to link back into the pattern and yarn entries in Ravelry so information will be easy to find. Also, use this section to talk about new features and suggestions for Ravelry: For the Love of Ravelry. Go there to check out what other Ravelers have suggested!
  4. Browse the knitalong and crochetalong directory. You can enter your own -along (in your project notebook) or participate in someone else’s. (-Along website admins and pattern designers will be able to track participants without having to enter all the info themselves.)
  5. Track the fiber events going on in your area. (More in this section coming soon!)

And more content is being added every day! Send us your ideas!

Posted by JessicaMF

Knitters/ Crocheters- Getting Started

April 11th, 2007

What is Ravelry.com?

  • Learn what Ravelry is about, who is behind the scenes, and why we started the site here.
  • To get a tour, go here.
  • If you are a designer, get info on what Ravelry can do for you!
  • Super busy? Just want to see how people are using Ravelry? Check out Jessica’s Notebook.

Okay, ready to get started?

  1. Click on your user name in the top right corner to go to your profile page and fill in the About Me section.

  2. To begin adding projects, click on the My Notebook tab. Once you’re on this page, click the “add new project” button. This will bring up your new project page where you can add pictures (from Flickr, other online photo hosting sites, or uploaded directly from your computer) and fill in the pattern, yarn, and other information about your project.

  3. Feel free to play and look around the site! Browse around in the People and Pattern tabs to see what’s new. Connect with other users in the Forums. Check out people’s projects and stashes. Leave comments, and add projects to your favorites and patterns to your queue! Add people to your friends list!

Finding Help

There several great help resources – click on the “Help” tab to learn more and to find links to the Help Chat and helpful groups here on Ravelry. Also, we talk about all things Ravelry on the For the Love of Ravelry board in the forums.

Thanks! Please enjoy Ravelry!

Posted by JessicaMF

Designers- Welcome!

April 11th, 2007

Thank you so much for your interest in Ravelry! We really want this site to be a great resource for independent designers. In fact, that was one of our reasons for creating Ravelry in the first place.

So, what are the benefits of being a part of the Ravelry community?

  1. A free, clear, and consise online design portfolio with information about your patterns: gauge, yarn requirements, needle/ hook sizes, link to the source of your pattern, etc.
  2. A gallery of finished objects– Ravelry shows that information on each pattern page (on the projects tab), which then could be linked on your own personal website so that other Ravelry members can easily find it.
  3. You will also be able to view the people working on your designs in one central location. In an ideal world, we’d love to see the designers participate in the pattern pages- contributing corrections, answering questions, etc. (You could easily stay posted by subscribing to an rss feed for your patterns, for example.) You can also see what modifications people made, comments on your pattern in Ravelry and out in blogland (blog post integration is built into the site), and what yarns people used – all gathered in one place.
  4. We are currently testing a low-cost pattern delivery system with Paypal. Ravelry would be used in conjunction with your own site or on its own here in Ravelry to deliver pattern .pdfs to users. After purchasing the pattern via Paypal, users can then opt to have it saved in their Ravelry library or sent to their email. This system also gives you statistics on your pattern distribution, as well as a “user activity tab” that lets you keep track of the users who are queueing, favoriting, and working on your patterns.

How to Get Started with Ravelry

  1. Create your Ravelry account (from the email invitation sent to you), fill in your profile info and photo in the About Me section.

    After that step, you can start browsing for your designs in the Patterns tab. If you notice that your designs are already on Ravelry and you would like to connect your Ravelry profile to your designs, please contact us and she will do it for you – it has to be done manually at this point. Please include your Ravelry username, the name you would like listed with your designs – first and last (we cannot accept first names or Ravelry usernamesonly)- and the name of one of your patterns that is listed on Ravelry. If your designs are not in the Ravelry database yet, you can add them by following the instructions on the Ravelry Wiki Page for Designers.

    Once Ravelry has made that connection for you, you can edit your patterns’ information and add pictures for those designs from your Flickr account or another online photo hosting source. You can also edit the information at the top of your designer profile page by clicking on the pencil at the top. Please fill this information in to the best of your ability- the more information you include, the better!

  2. You can also use Ravelry to keep track of your FOs and works in progress. We also have sections for a project queue, yarn stash and needle/ hook inventories in your personal notebook. For more information about tracking your personal projects and tools, go here.
  3. Finally, we ask that you please subscribe with your favorite newsreader (bloglines, google reader, etc) to our news blog on the front page of the site so we can keep you updated on new features: http://www.ravelry.com/news.rss

Important Things to Keep in Mind:

Ravelry is in its beta testing phase – we are adding new features every day. We really hope that this site will continue to be a way to help independent designers to get their patterns well-deserved exposure, and for all designers to connect with the knitters and crocheters who are working with their patterns.

Feel free to read the Tour and About pages, where we explain what else the site offers and who is running the show around here.

Also, as a community, we are also creating a guide to Ravelry on this wiki, where you can go to find more information.

If you have any questions about anything on this page, feel free to email us.

Thank you and, again, welcome!!

Posted by JessicaMF