You look at these super cute crochet patterns, or you have been making amigurumi for a while and think, “I want to give it a go and design patterns like this.” I wish I could say it was as easy as 1,2,3…. Design, Format, Publish but reality is, it’s not that easy! Not even for the simple designs. To help you get in to designing crochet patterns let’s go over a few things you will need to know when designing your first pattern.
Before we jump in, remember the following…
When you start designing and selling crochet patterns, I recommend that you get supercomfortable with crocheting amigurumi. It is crucial step in the designing world that you know what you are doing and that you can follow another designer’s amigurumi pattern and understand the steps it takes to get from beginning to end. If you can’t read a written pattern you will have a very hard time designing your own.
I have been crocheting and designing amigurumi for years, and I still learn SO MUCH from looking at other designers, doing research on the latest trends and updates on amigurumi. The learning process is ongoing and you’ll always be leveling up your skills and techniques, it is a never ending story.
If this is your first time designing a pattern,keep it simple!! Don’t try to design an detailed or realistic amigurumi with a tons of colour changing and weirdly shaped pieces. You could end up getting frustrated at your design and give up before you even started.
Also, when publishing your first design, you’ll not only need to design a unique pattern form scratch, but you’ll also need to write it clearly so others can understand it. Your pattern should be designed and written in such a way that anyone, from any where in the world can understand your pattern and follow the instructions.
BASIC STEPS
All designers have each their own way of designing an each do their designs differently. But all designers follow some basic ground rules and I’m going to share them with you today in the blog post.
Summary:
- What you will need to start your designs.
- What designs you can sell.
- Where to find ideas of your designs.
- Important information each pattern should have.
There’s a lot of option available when it comes to designing amigurumi patterns, you can design quick small, low-sewing designs or very detailed designs, all depending on your target market. All you need is an imagination and a lot of it! But putting the design together and all the admin work around it requires patience and it’s not for everyone.
What you will need to start your designs.
Apart from materials you need for making the amigurumi you will also need the following:
- Laptop/computer – for designing and formatting your pattern
- Designing program– Canva, google sheets, word or Excel to type your pattern up and format it in to a PDF file
- Smart phone– take proper photos
- light box – home made or bought for taking pictures of your design
- Note books– Write down pattern notes and ideas
- Scale– weighing yarn
- Internet– Best to have Wi-Fi because 90% of your pattern designing journey you will need internet access.
What designs you can sell
When it comes to selling amigurumi crochet patterns, there aren’t many limitations on what you can sell in terms of designs. However, it’s important to be mindful of copyright and trademark issues to avoid any legal complications, and you don’t want your business to get shut down before you even started:
Original Designs: Ensure that the amigurumi designs you’re selling are original creations. While you can take inspiration from existing characters or themes, your final design should be your own unique design that you made from scratch without using another designers pattern.
Avoid Copyrighted Characters: Steer clear of creating patterns for characters or designs that are copyrighted or trademarked by someone else. This includes popular cartoon characters, movie figures, and brand mascots. Creating and selling patterns based on these characters without permission could lead to legal issues.
Public Domain Characters: If a character or design is in the public domain or falls under fair use, you may be able to create patterns based on them. Public domain characters are those whose copyrights have expired or were never copyrighted. But do proper research on these characters to make sure they are fair game for designing.
Fan Art: While creating patterns based on fan art may seem harmless, it’s important to respect the original artist’s rights. If the fan art is based on copyrighted characters or designs, creating patterns based on it could still infringe on copyright. It’s best to seek permission from the original artist or create your own interpretation.
Licensing and Permission: If you wish to create patterns based on copyrighted characters or designs, consider seeking licensing or permission from the copyright holder. This allows you to legally use the characters or designs and sell patterns based on them. Keep in mind that licensing agreements may come with fees or royalties.
By being mindful of copyright and trademark issues and focusing on creating original designs or obtaining proper permissions, you can sell a wide variety of amigurumi crochet patterns without infringing on others’ intellectual property rights.
Where to find ideas of your designs.
Most of my designs come to me when I want to sleep at night. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have an idea, and I write it down in my notes.
If you don’t have a good imagination, you could seek inspiration from Google Images of illustrated art and wildlife.
Important information each pattern should have.
Every design needs to important information so that the one making the pattern knows what supplies they need and how to read your pattern.
Every pattern you have made you will see that the designer gives a page filled with information about that specific design.
This information would be:
- Yarn used
- Tools needed
- Abbreviations
- Special stitches
- Pattern instructions
- Colours needed
Without this information nobody would be able to make the pattern successfully.
Amigurumi pattern writing Crash Course Workbook
If you’re all about designing amigurumi patterns and you’re feeling like it can be your thing, then guess what? You have to check out my Crash Course Workbook! No more endless hours wasted scouring the internet or binge-watching YouTube videos just to find what you need.
So, what’s in this awesome workbook, you ask? Well, it’s a 9-page jam-packed guide that takes you through every step of pattern designing. Yup, every single bit of it! From brainstorming your first ideas to putting your pattern to the test, I’ve got you covered.
And I have bonuses! When you grab your copy, you’ll also get a free pattern template that you can use with Canva. Plus, there’s a handy checklist included to make sure you’ve checked every box in creating your very first pattern.
Grab you Crash Course Workbook following these links:
