The Journey of a Crochet Designer { Entry 4 – August 2023 }

Are you currently embarking on a crochet adventure? Have you ever wondered about the inner workings behind those intricate crochet patterns? Perhaps you find yourself in a similar phase of launching your own pattern design business? You’ve come to the perfect place – welcome! “The Journey of a Crochet Designer” is my monthly series where I delve deep into the highs and lows of being a crochet pattern designer, with a special focus on Amigurumi (toy) design.

Missed the first post? Go check it out here!

August Overview

It seems to be the case that it isn’t until I look closely that I realise just how much I was able to get done over the course of the month…that’s no different for August! I finished my Bull Ant pattern which will be releasing in a few days, entered @Garnknuten’s Space-themed Calendar contest with a teeny-tiny Amigurumi Galaxy Cat, lost myself in the spirals of @Tatin_Hekleraj’s unicorn pattern, played around with a Waldorf doll idea, and completed @TheCrochetPreneur’s August challenge…phew!

Amidst all this creative frenzy, I’ve been pondering my crochet niche. It’s easy to be tempted by the latest trends, but I believe that finding my own unique niche is the key to long-term success. It’s about carving out my own space in this vibrant crochet community and connecting with like-minded individuals who share my passion for crochet toys with playability and that inspire the imagination. 🌿

Pattern Deep Dive

@Garnknuten’s Space-themed Calendar contest was a great exercise in keeping things concise. Besides the space theme, the written pattern itself had to be able to fit on half an A4 sheet of paper (turned sideways). I used some tricks that I wouldn’t need to worry about, utilising things like “crochet to end” on rounds that had similar instructions but added a stitch each round. I also used some abbreviations found more in knitting…here’s what one of the lines looks like:

R8. – R10. Sc3, dec, sc9, slst, inc2, slst, sc to end ( 20, 21, 22 )

Written out normally the rounds would look like this:

R8. Sc3, dec, sc9, slst, inc2, slst, sc1 ( 20 )
R9. Sc3, dec, sc9, slst, inc2, slst, sc2 ( 21 )
R10. Sc3, dec, sc9, slst, inc2, slst, sc3 ( 22 )

That takes up much more realestate! Obviously this isn’t a problem when designing normally, but if your a designer I definitely recommend trying it out as a creative exercise.

✨ Did you crochet something this month? Or have ideas for future things you’d like to see made? Let me know in the comments below! ✨

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Business Insider

Taking a commission boosted my income for this month, which meant my business could cover the cost of a fancy phone stand/holder. There’s not much left over, but my business still covered all of its own costs, so I’m happy! I look forward to the day when it’ll be able to pay me for my time as well 😄

Sales (in $AUD)

Commissions: $100
Etsy: $36
Ribblr: $7.08
Lovecrafts: $7.10

Expenses

Fees (Taxes, Listing Fees, etc): $19.97
Business Upkeep (Gmail): $9.24
Phone Stand/Holder (Steady reels coming soon to you!): $115.69

Total Business Income for July: $5.28

✨ Comment below on how your crochet business went this month! ✨

Things Learned

1. Being restricted in what you can do isn’t always a bad thing, and can help your creativity grow
2. Finding your own niche is more important than following along with the crowd
3. Posting consistently on IG/FB does help over time — take advantage of schedulers and batch the content so it’s not something that has to be thought about every day.

Wrap Up

A shorter post just to check in for this month as I’m in the midst of a pattern launch and coming up far too fast on my toddler’s second birthday and all the things that entails. August was a busy month, and it’s only looking to get busier as we head toward the end of the year. Thank you so much for reading this far, and I can’t wait to share more of this journey with you!

✨ Is there another aspect of a crochet pattern design business that you’d like to see in future posts? Let me know in the comments below! ✨

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