you are a crocheter you enjoy making other people's patterns maybe you've even been a part of the testing process for other people but you feel like you have some ideas and you would like to get into pattern writing yourself but the issue is you don't know where to start because how do we even do that well luckily I'm here to tell you everything I know that you should know to write a pattern and I have a microphone so I obviously am super qualified for this hi my name's Anna and welcome to my complete guide on how to write a crochet pattern so like I said in my very dramatic intro I understand pattern writing can seem like the most daunting thing ever I definitely was super intimidated by the idea of it when I was starting but as you do it it definitely gets easier and there's a formula to doing it but I'm gonna help you even before you get to that stage this is everything I think you need to know about pattern writing at least to begin with remember these are my tips this is based on my experience and the patterns I have written I've written a couple but I'm definitely not an expert nor do I claim to be these are just some of the things I think you need when getting started in pattern writing I will answer any questions you guys have down below if there are a lot of questions especially a lot of the same questions I can make a part two to this video just let me know what you want to see also if you want all of this information written down in a beautifully succinct organized fashion I have all of my show notes available on my patreon which is linked down below but without further Ado let's get into everything you need to know to write a crochet pattern before we jump into today's video I just want to give a big thank you to our sponsor Aura if you guys are anything like me you probably get so many spam phone calls to the point that you're probably not even picking up your phone anymore because if it doesn't have a contact already saved it's probably a Spam call that is so beyond annoying like I am so sick of getting them I get multiple a day some days data Brokers can make so much money selling your information to robocolors and spammers and other people who want all your personal information like where you live which is so creepy and very scary luckily programs like Aura can identify these Brokers and opt you out on your behalf Brokers are legally required to take out your information if you opt out but they make it very hard to do so that's why you can just let Aura handle it however Aura does even more than just protect your Online safety for you and your family it's very easy to set up and there aren't a thousand different apps that you have to download to get their features they have things like parental control vpns antivirus password management and more plus you get all of this at one very affordable price all these features mean that aura will do the hard work in keeping you safe online to give you more time to do the fun stuff like sitting and crafting so if you want to take control and make sure you are safe online you can go to aura.com Anna collagen and get the first two weeks free once again if you want two weeks free of Aura and all of the amazing Services they have to keep you safe online go to aura.com animal agent I've also put in my description box down below thank you so much to Aura and let's get back to today's video so this video is going to be split up into segments I have them all written down here in front of me and they are all linked Down Below in the description box if you would like to jump around I'm going to take you from beginning to end my process it's just easiest for me to keep track of so we're going to start with designing this is the fun part and I genuinely want to emphasize the fun part of this this should not feel like a job you should be having fun doing this it shouldn't feel like you're forcing yourself to do something you shouldn't feel like it's an obligation if it feels like one of those things maybe it's time to take a step back pattern writing should be fun it should be because you have something that you really enjoy that you want to share with other people and you want other people to be able to make if you're not feeling like that maybe take a step back I'm just a firm believer and that this should be something enjoyable for you so obviously it starts with the idea but coming up with the idea can be a little bit challenging I find tools like Pinterest or Instagram to be very helpful in this process in terms of brainstorming what I want to make next but it's very very very important to remember that this is a tool not a place to replicate you don't want to look at something that someone else spent a lot of time making and might already have a pattern for out but even if they don't you still shouldn't be making it you don't want to take it and recreate their hard work it can be very challenging to navigate this I'm not going to get too much into it because I think that's a different conversation in and of itself but just be aware as you're looking at stuff not to blatantly copy people you want to be respectful of other artists common elements such as patterns like gingham stripes or stitches that is a little bit gray I'm not going to look at someone and say that they copied my Isabel cardigan design if they also made a green gingham sweater but if it's a very unique design you should probably yield on the side of caution trust your gut it really is that simple like I said this is a very gray area I'm not going to get too much into it but you really should just use this as a tool to get inspiration you shouldn't go to Instagram or Pinterest or any other platform to get an idea to run with my best designing tip is to look for inspiration outside of crochet culture let me explain a little bit about what I mean some of the best advice I ever got was to look for inspiration for what you're doing outside of that field for example I learned this in an advertising class don't look for inspiration for a car ad by looking at other car ads those have already been done you can't take those ideas that idea has been thought of and executed look outside of that into Media or culture or anything else to get ideas of how you want to execute your car ad sometimes getting outside of the Fiber Arts sphere can help you better come up with ideas that other people haven't already come up with if that makes sense my other best design tip is and this is a me personal thing I bet other people work very differently but I've found that if I sit down to try to design something to write a pattern for it it's not going to come out well I need to just have fun making something and then choose later on to write a pattern from it I like I said don't think everyone works like this I just find that it helps me in making sure that I'm staying creatively sharp and not forcing myself to do something that I'm not enjoying but if you work better sitting down and just writing a pattern from an idea that's also fine I just think that coming up with an idea organically and then if it works out writing a pattern from it is a good way to go you're not putting too much pressure on yourself and I found that it works really well for me similarly to this though moving on to my next point take note of everything I'm not kidding you think you'll need a note for it take the note you don't think you'll need a note for it take the note it is so annoying to have to go back and try to figure out what you did initially after you've done it write down your hook size the yarn you're using your Stitch the gauge increases decreases write down everything even if you don't think it's gonna be helpful in the long run because I promise it will make your life so much easier if you do end up needing it and finally in the designing category work until you're happy with the finished piece I know I know I know it could be so tempting to want to rush to get a pattern out because people are interested in seeing it then and there but once again the demand that people have for patterns and Designs is a whole different conversation that we're not going to jump into right now but just remind yourself that people will wait for your pattern undo and redo until you have something you're really really proud of even if it's really annoying to have to undo it all the time because I get it it is don't rush yourself to be done with something just because you think it needs to be done faster take your time your pattern will have longevity it will sell more as it goes on you will be good I promise you just want to emphasize making something that you're proud of because at the end of the day it's a privilege that you're writing a pattern for it you don't have to be doing that it should be something you're really proud of first and foremost okay this next one I know a lot of you guys are here for we're going to talk about writing and science grading listen I get it this is the most daunting part of pattern writing in my opinion new and old pattern writers designers I think we all find this to be very intimidating and I get it we'll really try to break this down to make it a little easier to digest it's still going to take practice you're still gonna get mad I still get mad but we're gonna try to make this a little bit easier for you okay first of all my first tip I've set up for and I'll say it again make sure you write everything down guys I'm not kidding write everything down it will make your life so much easier there is nothing more frustrating thing more frustrating than trying to figure out how many stitches you used on that front panel and not writing it down and not being able to count because sometimes stitches are hard to count once they're already worked up and sewn together into a piece so even if it's annoying to have to stop and write down a million notes just do it your future self will thank you I promise second tip do a gauge Swatch I'm serious I know there are gauge Swatch haters I know I see you I was you I respect it gauge watches are arguably super annoying like why would you want to do that before just jumping into a pattern but first of all you need it so the people who are making your pattern can ensure that it's going to fit them you want to make sure that they're not going to spend hours and hours making something that you designed and ended up not fitting because you didn't include a cage Swatch second of all you need a gauge Swatch to be able to size grade you do I'm sorry I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you do need that it helps with the math we're going to break all that down but do a gauge Swatch save yourself the long run if you don't want to ever gauge Swatch when making someone else's pattern leave your truth that's totally fine writing your own pattern make the gauge Swatch thank you now that I've yelled at you is enough sorry about that sorry about that but it's needed and it comes with love I just want to help you because I wish someone was there to help me but now that I'm done with that we're going to talk about the meat of it which is size creating I did want to mention that there are two main ways to go about pattern writing in terms of sizes you can either size grade which means that the designer has predetermined sizes they have done all the math for you and they will tell you exactly how much to chain how many stitches are in a row how many rows to do yada yada and there's made to measure which means they will give you detailed instructions on how to make the Garment in your size this normally requires the person who has purchased the pattern to do a little bit more math and calculations on their end which can be at least I know for some people a little less desirable in a pattern however that shouldn't deter you in any way sometimes made to measure is just easier for people sometimes size grading is easier for people it really doesn't matter I have never made a made to measure pattern I am not going to be telling you how to do that because I don't want to give you guys information that ends up being not helpful because I haven't done it we're going to focus on size grading because that's what I know how to do and I've come up with a formula that works and I can break that down for you but no you can do either it's totally fine to do whatever you want I'm just not going to touch on made to measure in this video because I've never done it and I don't want to set you guys up for failure that would be really rude okay determining measurements for other sizes to this point you've written down all the steps you need to make whatever garment it is in your size so for me I write down all of my information I normally wear a medium I base the medium off the sample I make for myself but there are a plethora of other sizes that I should be making my pattern for not just my size right so I want to make sure I have measurements for all of them you can find a set of Standards on the craft yarn Council website I will link it below it has standards for men women children babies yada yada it's a really great resource to find the standards for sizes from like double extra small to 5x I believe I could be wrong but it's a very good resource to have and it's a great resource when size grading however you do need to remember that these are standards they may not be entirely accurate that's where our lovely testers come in we will touch on that later but this is a really good place to start now we're going to get into the we're going to get into it let's talk about how you actually size grade okay this is very confusing like I said it's confusing for me it's confusing for you we're all confused but I have come up with a pretty good way to work through this okay we're going to do a little mock example together okay and I'm going to go through this as slowly and as succinctly as I possibly can okay let's pretend I just designed a new tank top and I want to write a pattern to share with the world because everyone's demanding this tank top pattern for me like I said I normally wear a size medium so I base the size medium for the Garment on myself on the sample I made however I need to cover all the other sizes I make a gauge Swatch because I know that's important and my gauge is eight stitches times 10 rows equals two inches this means to achieve a two inch measurement there are eight stitches and going this way there are ten rows based on the standards I need to increase each size by four inches in width in two inches in length so if the front panel of my personal medium sized garment is 20 inches across the front panel for the size large needs to be 24 inches across so for the medium that means my 20 inch front panel is 80 stitches because of my gauge the math to get this is the final measurement in inches divided by the gauge size in inches times the gauge size in stitches so if we know that my medium size front panel is 20 stitches across the large size front panel needs to have 96 stitches across to be 24 inches wide the math for this is 24 inches which is the total desired width divided by 2 inches which is our gauge in inches times 8 which is the gauge in stitches which brings us to a grand total of 96 stitches across you repeat this process for the other sizes for all other elements of your garment so the back panel the sleeves Etc I tried to break this down as simply as possible it can still be very confusing and please please please please please please note that all of these numbers are entirely made up the formulas should work okay but the numbers will not look at the craft yarn Council standards to get actual measurements and make your own gauge Swatch to determine your actual number of stitches and rows and such um I also wanted to jump in as I'm editing and say that this is going to help in being able to increase a lot of what you're going to do in a garment pattern but it's going to be more challenging the more complex Your Design is so if you're making a basic sweater that's just essentially four rectangles sewn together that's going to be easier to do the math than something that's more complicated if you're doing more shaping if there's color work if there are patterns the more complicated you get the harder it gets this is the bare minimum of understanding size grading long story short this is like the the Baseline understanding of size grading the more complicated pattern you're designing the more complicated the size grading is going to be but I hope that this little mock scenario was helpful for you I hope that it better broke down what you need to do when size grading you can repeat a similar process when determining length and like I said I know this part is so confusing it's still very confusing for me I've written a couple patterns but practice makes perfect the more you do the easier it'll get and testing is going to help a lot with this as well your testers will be able to give you feedback on how it fits them because they're actually the ones who wear the sizes all right next up we have testing your pattern is written you're ready to have other people look at it testing to me is what turns a pattern from some words that Anna understands into well-laid out instructions that anyone can look at and understand how to make what I'm teaching how to make the testing process can be super intimidating having a lot of people look at your work and pick it apart but this is what makes instructions much more clear and it's actually pretty easy Once you navigate your first test it kind of runs the same so here's the formula that I've kind of developed for myself when running a test first of all write the pattern duh hello we've done that so now that we've done that make sure to take some high quality pictures of whatever you are testing to share you want the pictures to be good so that people can really see what they're signing up for people don't want to just blindly sign up for a make nine times out of ten so make sure the pictures are very good so they know exactly what the finished garment looks like when they're playing make a Google Form application with questions that are important for you for an applicant here are some of mine what level level of crochet or would you consider yourself to be such as a beginner Advanced beginner intermediate Etc have you tested a pattern before can you meet my requirements for the test such as obtaining the materials that the pattern calls for completing the test by the due date Etc why do you want to test this pattern so on and so forth once you have all of that set up and it's ready to go you post the tester call yay everyone gets to see it and sign up now and everyone's so excited once your tester call has closed I normally keep mine open for a couple of days depending on how many applicants I get you sort through all of your tester applications and find the people you think would best fit this pattern test sometimes this can be very overwhelming to look through but just taking little chunks take your time you're okay I aim to have two people test each size but sometimes it doesn't work out like that in that case I try to get at least one I really want people who will be wearing that size and making that size to test it size inclusivity is more than just having a large range of sizes accessible in your pattern it should mean that the instruction will result in a finished garment that is something that will fit that body type comfortably okay that's why pattern testing to me is so important you don't need to have a pattern tested to have it be a good pattern but because I am predominantly talking about garments here I think it's very important to have other people of other sizes look at your pattern to make sure that it will actually fit them comfortably once you sort through all of them you're going to contact your testers I normally go with email first and then let them know what you expect from them during this test like sending a pictures of the end filling out a feedback form Etc as well as when the due date is my best testing tip is to be kind okay people want to test for you because they genuinely like you and the design you have come up with they want to help that's what testing is it is people in the community helping you make sure that your work is the best that it can be okay but understand that be understanding and don't be unrealistic in the expectations that you set out for them it is totally fine to have expectations you're testing a pattern I get it you should have expectations but don't make them unrealistic nine times out of ten testers are unpaid they're doing this out of the goodness of their heart don't expect them to work like this is a nine to five you can ensure requirements for the test are met and also lead with compassion just don't be a dick is my main point be a good person and people will give you good work back keep in touch I was a Communications major okay I'm a big calm girly I like open communication I think that's the best way to get stuff done normally things like Instagram groups work email also works just a way that you can keep open communication with your testers as the test goes on you can check in you can see how people are doing remind them of the timeline so it doesn't sneak up on them testers can ask for more time or ask any questions they have in a space like an Instagram group that's why I find them to be really helpful and Instagram groups specifically are a great way for other Crafters to meet one another it's just cute you could do intros it's super fun it's a great time make a feedback form for testers to fill out once they complete the test ask things such as are there any typos if so where what is the final size of your garment are you happy with the final fit of your Garmin how much yarn did you use etc etc this just gives you the opportunity to go through your patterns the eyes of your testers and fix any mistakes that you may have made math wise type of wise if you want to adjust any of the sizing because it didn't end up working on real people Etc make all those edits that you got back from your testers and finalize the pattern I normally write mine first in Google Docs just because it's easier to lay it all out that way and once I've made all of my edits I put it into canva to make it look prettier I like to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing it's not required you can totally just write it in Google Docs that's also totally fine but I just like having something a little cute after the release so this is jumping a little bit but it's still within the tester sphere but after the release make sure to send your testers the final version of the pattern they helped you make sure this pattern was stunning and amazing the least you can do is send them the finalized version after you fixed all the typo with errors Etc I personally let my testers choose an additional pattern of mine if they want it totally not required don't need to do that especially if this is your first test you know I just think it's a nice way to say thank you like I said you don't have to do that people don't necessarily expect that I just like to do it because I think it's another nice way to say things my second best testing tip is to test for other people first okay you can learn the side of being a tester before you were the one running the test it helps you understand the process the timeline how quick or slow things go when you're in a test because time runs differently I swear and it'll help you understand what you do and don't like during a test it's very helpful I think it's very good to be on the other side before being the one running the test all right platforms there are a lot of different platforms to sell your finished powder on but which is the right one we're gonna break them down we're gonna go through the pros and cons of the main ones right now so number one comes to mind is probably Etsy Pros very large reach very very very large reach a lot of people know Etsy a lot of people go and look on Etsy for a lot of different things especially patterns um many people will probably go there first okay so there's a large Marketplace audience already existing there on Etsy it's very popular very well known platform and the platform can also Aid in marketing okay that's so helpful if you're a beginner you can put your stuff on there and they'll help you push it that's really nice if you don't have a huge audience yourself however there are a lot of Cons with Etsy I'm not going to lie to you they have much higher fees than any other platform I have personally seen it has been a large area of critique for Etsy their fees just keep going up and it makes it hard to make money on the platform the marketing fees are very Hefty so while it is very nice that they can help you market and push your product the marketing fees are very expensive okay I've had to increase all of my prices on Etsy in order to still make money so that's not as ideal the people who are looking to buy my patterns are paying more on Etsy than they would on my website Etsy also does tend to favor physical products over digital downloads I have not personally had a lot of experience with this but I've heard a lot of other people talk about it so I thought it was important to mention as well as Etsy is a very saturated Market it just is there are a lot of people on there selling their patterns as well as selling a lot of other stuff so it can be hard to get your name out there if you don't really have a bit of a following or people anticipating the pattern launch I will say that I do believe Etsy is a it's a really good platform for beginners because of how much they help push people on their end so I don't want to come across as it's over saturated to the point of you not using the platform because I know for a lot of people who are starting out that is their best option because if you do get a push and you use SEO and other keywords properly you can get good reach I know that's a little contradictory to what I just said but I would go and find a specific video deep diving into Etsy to see if it's gonna be the best fit for you this was just like a brief overview but I wanted to just add that in there next up is Ravelry this is another very well-known platform for pattern buying specifically Pros it's a database literally for all things Fiber Arts a lot of people go looking for their patterns here because there are so many it is literally like the hub for fiber artists for patterns Etc um and their fees are much more reasonable they aren't charging you an arm and a leg to put your pattern and sell it up there there is a fee but it's not as crazy as etsy's however the cons are that it is a very saturated Market because it is a platform for fiber artists and a lot of people sell their patterns on there and in my opinion the interface isn't the best I think that there's a lot of updating it needs to be done I find putting my pattern onto Ravelry to be a little bit challenging that could be a little bit annoying to deal with I don't think that's necessarily a reason you shouldn't put your pattern up on that platform it's just something to keep in mind and the final big platform at least that I thought of was rippler um Pros they have really great community over there I really enjoy rippler I really do I've worked with them before but this is not me being sponsored by them or anything like that I just think they have a really great Community I think they do a very good job pushing smaller creators more than other platforms they do a really great job of Distributing the wealth as you might call it and you have the ability to get rid of your sales fee the more you sell the lower your sale fee goes so you could hypothetically have no fee when selling a pattern if you sell over five dollars you could get the full five dollars however some cons is that it is still an up and coming platform and it's not been around as long as Ravelry or Etsy so less people are on there I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing I just thought I would mention it um you have less of a wide reach but the market is also a little bit less saturated in my opinion as well as rippler has a specific style a specific platform that you put your pattern in it is not like you download a PDF once you purchase the pattern the pattern gets put in your regular Library which requires you as a pattern designer to put your pattern into their system differently how many times can I say the word pattern in one sentence that's also known and I'll be all I find it to be pretty simple you can drop the PDF in there but I personally don't find that to be the end of the world but I know some people don't necessarily love that I don't know just thought I'd mention it you also do have other options like like building your own website Kofi Etc but these are the main platforms that I thought of the three main places that people normally go for patterns my best pattern platform tip is just to put them on everything like genuinely it takes a while to put it all on all these different platforms especially with rippler being a different format and Ravelry being just in my opinion a longer process but the more platforms you put it on the better reach you're gonna get more people are gonna have the opportunity to have eyes on it and certain people prefer to buy their patterns one place over another so it gives them the option to purchase your pattern where it's easiest for them you know what I mean nothing is worse than finding a pattern you love and it's not available in a platform you like so I think it's just helpful to take the time and put it on all the platforms but that is completely up to you there is no wrong answer do whatever you feel is best for you another thing I'm gonna say is um I personally think that building your own website for all of this stuff is like your last step especially as you're beginning it's going to be much much harder to send people to your website um if you don't already have people following you that will go to your website like if you have a tick tock that goes crazy and a bunch of people follow you and they'll go to your specific website to buy something perfect like that's what has happened to me but in the beginning if you have a smaller audience or you're just beginning with pattern writing I would put it on other platforms that will show your pattern to the audience that they've already curated if that makes sense okay friends we have reached the final segment marketing okay you could have the best pattern in the world and knowing who you probably do you probably do but if you don't tell anyone about it no one's gonna buy it they won't know it exists okay so marketing is one of the most important steps you could have a large following you would have no following and you still need to Market your pattern there are a couple of easy ways to do it though it doesn't need to be super rigorous we're gonna go through it first of all post high quality photos those do better those catch people's eye people engage with them or you have a better chance of getting on the Explorer page if you're getting good traction Etc people just tend to click on pictures that are more high quality so make sure you're taking really good high quality pictures of your make and sharing those I wanted to clarify because I didn't elaborate on what high quality pictures meant um well lit displays what you've made very clearly shows different angles that's basically what I mean well lit especially you don't need the best camera in the world you really really don't I use my iPhone camera and that's perfectly fine just make sure like people can see it's not like dark it's not grainy stuff like that that's what I mean by high quality use relevant hashtags sometimes hashtags work sometimes they don't I have friends who never use them and are totally fine I prefer to use them because they help me a lot I think using relevant hashtags are a great way to push your posts into the feeds of other people who are following those hashtags and they might like your work and they might follow you might check out your design pattern Etc make sure all of your pattern links are clear so people know where to find them for example I have a link tree I have a bunch of different links in there when I have a pattern come out I make sure that specific pattern link not just the link to the patterns on my website but that specific pattern link is front center right at the top of my links and very clearly stated that the XYZ top is this is the link for it so people can click on it and immediately know where they're going for Better or For Worse people don't like to search they don't they don't like to take a second and look and I don't mean that to be rude it is just the truth okay make it easy for them make it so they don't need to search it all make short form content like tick tocks or reels I think this is a really great way to get better reach Instagram very much favors reels currently Tick Tock is obviously a short form video platform if you have a YouTube you can post them on there on YouTube shorts as well but some ideas for short form videos you can show off your finished make it could be a process video you could style it you could do a trend Etc there are countless things you could do doesn't take very long especially if you're not great with videos new to it whatever but this is just a really great way to hopefully push your message out a little bit further use platforms such as Pinterest to share photos and Link it back to your pattern there's a way that you could just tap on an image and it'll just send you straight to someone's pattern super helpful people are perusing they can click on it and check it out encourage your testers to post about the release once it comes out also make sure to post their stunning and amazing tester photos under your own feed show off their amazing hard work shows off how it looks on a bunch of different beautiful people all that good stuff and then finally this is probably the most important marketing tip in my opinion is to continue marketing well after the pattern has been released this is not a one and done deal friend I'm sorry it's not you have to make sure you're marketing your pattern year round okay your marketing will be the heaviest when this pattern specifically first comes out but it shouldn't be the only time that you're sharing pictures videos Etc of this pattern you don't want people to forget about it you're going to have overtime new followers new people in your audience that weren't there when you first released the pattern so keep sharing stuff about it so they're also aware that they can purchase and support you my oopsie Daisy bag got the most sales months and months after I first put out the pattern because of a tick tock that did really really well so if I hadn't posted that Tick Tock still talking about the oopsie Daisy purse pattern I wouldn't have gotten the sales like I did you know what I mean does that make sense it could be a little bit frustrating entire some to have to Market a lot you don't have to Market a ton you're going to do most of your marketing right as the pattern comes out but just make sure you're still sharing even after the pattern has been out for a while because you can get tons of sales you really really can okay friends we have talked so much this video is probably so long oh my God the lighting has changed tremendously I am just a white face on a dark background this is gonna be really fun to try to fix but anyways beyond that I hope you enjoyed today's video and I really really really genuinely hope this was helpful I had a very good time putting all this together think that this would have been so helpful for someone like me as I was starting pattern writing I know it could be super intimidating but I believe in you I really really do you got this keep practicing take everything I said with grain of salt okay navigate your own process if you do something that I wouldn't do awesome it just means that you're figuring out your way as a crochet designer and I'm really proud of you like I said if you want these show notes it is literally six pages of notes with bonus information that I didn't talk about in today's video you can find it down below Linked In My patreon and if you have any questions feel free to leave them below I will answer as many as I can and if there are a ton of questions I will make a part two let me know if you want to see a part two you guys are baddies I love you and I believe in you you got this make sure to subscribe to my YouTube if you want more amazing stunning and beautiful content such as this make sure to follow my social media linked down below um but yeah thank you for hanging out with me today I hope this was helpful I love you all so very dearly and I will see you next week with a brand new video bye everybody thank you