Writing your own knitting patterns can be a fun and rewarding way to take your craft to the next level and a great way to start earning money from your knitting skills. However, if you plan to sell or share your patterns with other knitters on websites like Ravelry.com or elsewhere, you should know that in order to successfully share or sell a pattern, it must be very creative. Many people under-estimate the level of creative knitting needed to design and sell your own knitting patterns.
Making Money With Knitting Patterns…
With crafts such as knitting and crocheting, there really is so much competition that it is hard to remain original. If you want to succeed in pattern writing, you must strive to be truly unique! As a general rule, people will pay more for unique and interesting knitted items.
Knitting patterns that get passed around the most (and sell for the most money) are those with the most interesting designs. While it’s nice to have a basic beanie or scarf pattern to fall back on, there are so many available online that yours may not be the one that’s chosen.
So How do you make your patterns stand out from the crowd?
If you take your basic beanie pattern and add some original thought, some interesting stitch combinations, or fun colors, you may just find your pattern booming in popularity and a top selling Beanie on your hands!
Some fun creative knitting pattern ideas could be things like fun character accessories or designs with elements from nature. Many of the popular designs you see online today, such as the owl hats and polka dot purses originated as someone else’s creative pattern and have been copied so many times that it’s impossible to stand out. That means that in order to remain ahead of the crowd, you must constantly be changing your ideas and keeping your ideas original.
How to Make Your Designs Unique
In order to create truly unique and creative knitting designs, you must have more than just basic knowledge of knitting techniques. Basic knitting has been done so many times that it’s hard to stand out without changing things up a bit. For example, a ribbed beanie has been done a million times before. If you want a truly unique design than you can sell for top dollars, you must be able to combine different techniques and really use your artistic talent to make something new.
It’s so hard to stand out in the knitting community, which is why most knitters are unable to be successful at designing their own patterns for sale. Once you learn to take your designs to a new level, it is easier to stand out and get good sales of your patterns.
Yarn Bombs Take Creativity to a New Level
Another way to truly be creative with your knitting is to create yarn bombs. There are almost no rules when it comes to yarn bombing, which is what makes it so fun. If you find yourself in a design slump, creating something just for fun is a great way to get yourself in the mood to create. With yarn bombs, you can make just about anything you want, whether that be a cozy for a telephone pole or an intricate landscape of knitting that tells a story.
Some popular forms of yarn bombing include:
• Pole cozies
• Tree sweaters
• Giant stuffed animals
• Landscapes that tell a story
Creating yarn bombs is a fun way to discover new inspiration and get as creative as possible. You can try and depict something you’ve seen in nature, tell a story from your favorite book, or depict a scene from a movie. Anything goes with yarn bombing, which is why so many knitters turn to this medium when the urge to get truly creative strikes.
If you’ve found yourself bored with the patterns available to buy online, you may be ready to create your own. However, be sure that you are advanced enough in your skills to be able to create your own stitch combinations, correct sizing, and color changes before you take on such a large task. The beauty of using patterns that have already been published is that they help you learn more about knitting until you are confident enough to put your knowledge of knitting concepts to work on an original design.
If you’re ready to make your knitting more creative, designing your own patterns is not only personally very satisfying but can also be a great way to earn money from knitting. (This is one of the strategies I discuss in great detail in my book “Knitting For Profit”.) Why not try your hand at designing some creative knitting patterns of your own, and see what you can accomplish – if you come up with that “winning” design, you could be earning the BIG money from your knitting much sooner than you think!