Design Topic: Developing Patterns—How Do You Do It?

Dear users and authors,
how do you create crochet patterns, knitting patterns, sewing patterns, craft patterns, etc.?
Let me know.

I’ll be honest: trial and error :-)
When it comes to items that need to fit—like sweaters or hats, for example—you can’t just keep going until the piece is big enough; that’s what size charts are for, and in that case, the infamous gauge is also important.
I imagine getting the size right is just as important with a sewing pattern—even though I don’t really have any experience with that. But when you buy fabric and cut pieces out of it, you probably don’t experiment for long to see what might work; instead, you take precise measurements.

I crochet or knit a row or round after I’ve chosen the yarn and know what I want to make.
Then I jot it down in OpenOffice.
Often, the pattern takes shape little by little in my head.

Sometimes I already know the entire pattern beforehand. Then I try to bring it to life somehow.

It can also happen that after a few rows or rounds, I unravel the whole thing and make something completely different because I don’t like it.