The Journey of a Crochet Designer { Entry 2 – June 2023 }

Are you on a crochet journey? Have you been curious about the workings behind all of those crochet patterns? Or maybe you’re at a similar stage getting your pattern design business up and running? Well, you’re in the right place, welcome! In this monthly series I dive deeper into the ups and downs of being a crochet pattern designer with a focus on Amigurumi (toy) design.

Missed the first post? Go check it out here!

June Overview

After the month of busy learning that was May, June was quiet on the crochet front. My health took a fair hit, so everything else was moved to the back burner as I focused on the day-to-day that is life with a toddler.

While being ill can give more quiet time sitting and potentially more crochet time, I find nothing saps my crojo faster! Where I could, I pushed through, and where I couldn’t, I rested. One of my main goals for this crochet business is to build a passive income for these exact times, and it felt good to pick up exactly where I left off when I started feeling better.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that my account was also affected and went fairly quiet. It felt like a big task to pick it up and start posting consistently again until @Freddy_Goat_Crochet nominated me for a crochet challenge. Ten days, ten pictures, no descriptions except for the challenge copy and the nomination of another artist. I’m only on day three now, but it’s helped take the pressure off immensely! Here’s my post for day one:

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A post shared by Little Seal Designs | Unique Amigurumi Crochet Patterns (@littlesealdesigns)

Patterns & Makes

My Bluey-inspired Chilli pattern launched this month! Check out the pattern here! I’m so happy with this design, it excites me so much and really feels like I’m growing as a designer. That being said, it highlighted some faults with my Bluey-inspired Bandit pattern that had launched earlier…so after much thought I pulled the Bandit pattern from my shops and have redesigned it to match perfectly with Chilli. The main issue was that I had designed the Bandit pattern using random yarn from my stash thinking it would work…but it threw off the height and shape! It wasn’t so obvious when the Bandit pattern was on its own, but when my testers compared the two patterns Chilli ended up taller! I’m super happy with the new Bandit redesign too, and can’t wait to share that as well.

You can read more about the design process for my Bluey-inspired Chilli Crochet Pattern here →

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I also finished Critteriffic Crochet’s Tilly the Turtle pattern and love it so much! I used a dense rough wool for the head and legs which add a lovely weight. The shape of it is fantastic, it feels like I’m holding an actual turtle (or as close as yarn can get!) when I pick it up. As tempting as it is to only work on my own patterns, I love being inspired by the work of others as well, and very much enjoyed this make.

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✨ 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! ✨

Business Insider Info

Just like May, June has been a slow month! Talking to some other designers, it seems this isn’t an uncommon thing as the world North of the equator heads into the summer holidays. You can read a fantastic post about this by the Fairythorn here!

Sales (in $AUD)

Etsy: $7

Expenses

Fees (Taxes, Listing Fees): $2.10

Total Business Income for June: $4.9

And I thought May was quiet 🤪 We can only go up from here!

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

Things Learned

1. If I need to redo a pattern for the benefit of it going forward, then that’s okay! It shows I’m growing as a designer.
2. I need to implement a system of scheduling my social media posts so the accounts don’t go completely silent when something comes up.
3. Asana has been a lifesaver when it comes to getting my business back in order. Having some sort of organization, as well as templates set up for the jobs done on repeat is key!

Wrap Up

Illness can get in the way, but it doesn’t need to stop things completely — it’s actually a great time to test how passive the business is and highlight key points to work on when feeling better. 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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