10 Reasons To Design Crochet Patterns

With so many crochet patterns circulating for free on the internet and so many crochet books and magazines available today, one would think that we don't need anymore new crochet patterns. But quite the contrary; everybody is different and has a different style; we all want something new, or something unique, so there is always room for more crochet patterns.

When you start designing your own patterns you'll soon realize it can be very time consuming. It takes a lot of time and patience to design patterns, especially if you have to unravel it about 10 times to get the pattern to look or fit the way you want it to.

Writing it down can be time consuming as well. You have to make sure that it is clear so others will understand it with ease and finish the project and look forward to more of your designs. Then when you think you're done you have to go back and recreate the design by following your pattern to make sure that you wrote it down correctly. You can either do this yourself, or get someone else to do this for you.

By this time you might start wondering if it's really worth your time. But believe it or not designing your own crochet patterns can be very rewarding and there are many advantages to designing your own patterns.

1) First, you can design things to fit you in such a way that other patterns do. I find a lot of times the patterns are not shaped to fit my body, either they are too small or too big on me, or there is just something that I end up doing differently.

2) Second, it is rewarding simply to know that you created something from scratch. Every time you wear your design the compliments you get are yours and only yours. There is no designer or fellow crocheter to whom you need to attribute any credit to.

3) Make money with your designs by submitting them to crochet magazines or crochet websites. Not all magazines or websites will pay, but it is a great oportunity to get your work recognized, which eventually could help to land you a job as a designer.

4) Submit your patterns to yarn companies such as Bernat or Paton's. When working for these companies any pattern which you design becomes the property of that company and you won't be recognized publically for the design. But the main thing to keep in mind is that you enjoy what you're doing and at the end of the day you get paid to do what you love.

Once you have established a relationship with these companies they will begin to contact you asking for specific designs.

5) Sell your patterns individually online, on your blog, website, auction site, or any other online venue.

6) Compile them into an e-book to sell online. There are many ways to sell your book online, on your blog or website, auction sites or register with ClickBank and have other people sell it for you. When you register with ClickBank to sell your book, you will have to pay a one-time fee of about $49.95.

7) Publish your patterns with a publishing company. This may require an investment on your behalf but it may pay off very well depending on the demand for your patterns. Depending on the publisher, your book could end up in craft stores all across the country.

8) Sell your finished items online or at craft shows. If you want to sell at craft shows you will need to pay for a booth rental, plus you will need an inventory, because the last thing you want is to sell out.

Starting online is easiest, because you don't need an inventory and it doesn't cost much to get listed. A couple of sites allow you to list for free, so you have nothing to lose. Click here for a list of sites and more information on how to get started.

9) Design and submit your patterns to charity organizations.

10) Last but not least, just do it for fun! I would still design my own patterns even if there was no sight of any money coming at me in return.

Click here to view my other hub which contains more information on how to begin designing your own crochet patterns and a short video tutorial on how to create your own e-book.