Crochet patterns are a smart thing for any Crochet Business owner to add to their business strategy. Patterns are the closest thing to passive income that you will probably get in your business, which is extremely good to have.
Passive income is where you do the work once, then make money from it over and over again without having to do any more work on it.
Crochet patterns are not entirely passive as you do need to market them to keep getting sales, but they are significantly less work than selling what you make as once you’ve made the sale, there is nothing else for you to do except sell it again. No making anything, no packaging, no posting, no lost packages to deal with.
Are Crochet patterns hard to write?
Learning to write crochet patterns is like learning anything new. It takes time to learn how it’s done, and what you need to include. But once you have picked up the skill it becomes easier. As they say, practice makes perfect, and the more you practice the easier it will be to do.
The hard part about writing crochet patterns is remembering to write notes as you are designing. It’s easy to get caught up in the creation process and just crochet away, but you need to keep detailed notes as you go so that your design can be recreated exactly as you made it.
The first crochet patterns that I wrote were very basic, but also missed out essential information. My very first pattern was for a fairly basic chevron blanket using three colours. Single stitch blankets are quite easy to write, but you still need to include all the usual information, but I just got so caught up in the excitement of releasing my first design that didn’t stop to take the time to really thing about what my buyers needed to know to recreate the creation in my photos.
I forgot to include the exact yarn I used, I didn’t include the stitch repeat so the pattern could be extended or shortened. I didn’t mention if my terms were US or UK ones. In essence my pattern was incomplete. I had to answer messages from customers on a regular basis, who were asking for the information I had missed so that they could recreate my design as shown. I later had to go and update my patterns after having to make my design again to remember what that information should be and having to include the new pdf in any messages I got from previous buyers, as the site I used to sell didn’t send updates to previous customers
It will save you a lot of time and effort to get things right the first time, and to take all the necessary notes as you design.
Once you start getting into the habit, it will become second nature.
What to Include In A Pattern
Your first page of your pattern should include all the notes that anyone would need to recreate your design exactly as shown
You should include the type of yarn you used – including the brand, weight and colour – your buyers may want to recreate your design exactly as they see it, so this is important to include. Your chosen hook size, your gauge, even if gauge isn’t important you should include it so that your customers can be sure that they will have enough yarn to complete the pattern if they follow your recommendations on how much yarn to purchase.
You should include a list of all of the abbreviations that you have used along with their meanings. Also include whether you are using US or UK terms. Include the finished measurements of your design and remember to include any extra accessories that are needed such as buttons or zips and if they need to meet specific measurements.
The beginning of your pattern is also a good place to mention any special stitches that are included in your design and instructions on how they are made. It is always helpful to your buyers to include photos on how to make these stitches, as not everyone is confident in interpreting directions in words
It may feel like this is a lot to remember, but it’s all stuff that you look for when you are following someone else’s pattern. The best way to double check that you have remembered everything, is to follow it yourself as is you’re making the design for the first time. Do your notes include everything you would need to know?
The design process can take quite a bit of time, but you only have to do it once for each pattern. Once you’re finished you turn it into a pdf, then upload that pdf to your chosen selling site. That pattern is then available to be sold over and over for years to come, with the only job left to do being to market that pattern and let the world know that it exists.
The more patterns you write and the bigger your pattern library grows, the more income you will make from your designs. After all, the bigger the choice, the higher the chance you have of appearing in search results, so the more sales you are likely to make.
With practice, crochet patterns become easier to write. You just have to go through the learning process first. They may feel hard to do at first, but will become easier with each one you create. You will soon become a master at writing patterns, and you will soon wonder why you ever thought that writing patterns may be to hard to do.
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