How did you get into writing patterns?

Dear authors,
would you like to share how you discovered writing patterns for yourselves?

Dear users, is there anyone among you who would also like to write and sell patterns?

The main reason was actually that I didn’t want to go to work anymore. Too much stress, too much wasted time, not enough life. So I thought about what I could do, and then, a little over two years ago, I published my first pattern. It took a while for everything to fall into place—at times it was even more stressful than just having a full-time job—but now I can say it’s paid off. Goal achieved. My last day at work was at the end of April. On the side, I’ve also found some freelance work in a completely different field, but my main source of income is definitely the patterns. Of course, I’m not making a fortune, but it’s enough to live on. I’m extremely satisfied and, above all, very relieved.
If anyone is thinking about taking this step—don’t expect miracles, but believe in yourself and don’t let anyone talk you into thinking it’s nonsense!

For me, it was actually a coincidence.
I had signed up for another community, and there was a KAL (knit-a-long) there on the topic of literature.
I was knitting a lace shawl I’d designed myself at the time, so I decided on the spot to join the KAL with that shawl.
I posted photos, and everyone was totally thrilled and asked if I’d like to write a pattern for it.

Well… I did, and that was the beginning.
Today, I can’t even imagine ever having done anything else. ;-)

I’d actually been recreating patterns from here for a long time, and at some point, my little ladybug or the giraffe came about without a pattern. I posted it in the gallery and suddenly started getting requests asking if there was a pattern and where to find it ;-)

So I wrote one, and that’s how I took the plunge.

I couldn’t imagine that anyone would actually want to recreate my projects, but my husband said, “It doesn’t cost you anything, and you enjoy doing it anyway.”
So I dug out all the notes I’d taken, crocheted the projects again so I’d have pictures, and wrote up the patterns.

I haven’t gotten rich from it yet, but it’s definitely a little extra income—it lets me fulfill a few of the kids’ wishes that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. I get to let my creativity run wild, I have a very good reason to buy yarn, and—as a big plus—I’ve met lots of really nice people.
I work from home, which means I can take full care of the kids, I’m always available, and I manage my own time (that’s what I tell myself, anyway ^^^)

And as Iglinz wrote: if you think you’re capable of it and can do it—go for it, and don’t let others tell you it can’t be done. 

For me, it all started when I had trouble following patterns from newspapers and had to improvise pretty quickly. So, of course, the finished project ended up looking completely different from what was in the newspaper. If something was too small and I wanted to make it bigger, or if my daughter loved it and asked me to make one for her too, I naturally had no idea how I’d made it in the first place.

So I started jotting things down—sometimes on a scrap of paper, sometimes in this notebook. But later on, I couldn’t make sense of it all anymore.

So, while on vacation, I started writing everything down in detail on the computer. Then I added pictures, and my first pattern was complete (along with seven pairs of baby shoes in different colors). Then came the next idea, and a new pattern.

I write patterns for myself, and if others like them too, I’m naturally very happy about that—and it makes me feel good.

For me, it all started when I was browsing through other people’s craft books and came across a call for submissions from a publisher that said if you had craft ideas, you should get in touch. So that’s what I did: I made a few greeting cards, took photos of them, and sent the photos to several publishers right away. One publisher was willing to publish a craft booklet featuring my cards, so I wrote patterns for them and realized that I really enjoy this aspect of my hobby as well. That’s how I became a pattern author :-)

For me, it was more of a coincidence. A few years ago, I’d knitted a few animals for my friend’s daughter and jotted down some notes along the way. At the time, I was writing a novel and knitting to relax. When the novel went to the editor, I had a few weeks to spare, which I used to take photos and write up the patterns (I just wanted to see if I could do it; it’s quite different from fiction, after all). I then sent the collected patterns to my editor—who, admittedly, had nothing to do with knitting, but Knaur was still publishing craft books at the time. And then everything happened very quickly. My editor forwarded my work to the right department at the publishing house, and two weeks later, my agent had negotiated a contract. I then had to pull off quite a feat, because *Dog, Cat, Mouse* was supposed to include 36 patterns—phew. But it was worth it; the book is still selling well, as is its sequel, *Steffi’s Wonderful Animal World*.

Of course, I had even more ideas, but the market for knitted animal books was (and is) saturated—so selling individual patterns was a great alternative. My plan was to build a solid little sideline for myself in the medium term, and I’ve achieved that. That sideline is actually twice as substantial as I’d initially hoped ;-)

I’d had this in the back of my mind for quite some time.

It became a serious consideration when my daughter started her own business as an author in February—though she writes stories.

I have more than enough ideas for crocheted and knitted clothing and home decor.
At some point, I got frustrated that I hadn’t written down my idea.

For me, it’s connected to my little yarn shop. Of course, you need display items for the storefront. Then came the questions: “How do you do that?” So I always wrote down the steps and, when asked, gave the patterns to my customers. Then I discovered CP online and thought to myself, since I’m writing them down anyway, I might as well take photos and describe the steps in a bit more detail for those who usually have trouble following patterns. And so, in March 2015, I just gave it a try here and kept going :-)

After I became unable to work and couldn’t find a job despite retraining, I had to come up with something, because I’m very unhappy without something to do.
That’s how I rediscovered my creative side and started crocheting. It became my new hobby, but many patterns annoyed me because I couldn’t make head or tail of them, so I mostly just crocheted off the top of my head.
At some point, I discovered CP and enjoyed buying patterns here because I could actually follow them.
Then I read that you can also become an author here yourself. After a lot of back-and-forth, I finally worked up the courage to just give it a try.
My first pattern was a total nightmare—notes on scraps of paper where I couldn’t even remember afterward what I’d written down, then I forgot to take photos, and on top of that, I had to figure out how to write it so that people would actually understand it. (My utmost respect goes out to everyone who writes patterns.)
Now I do it right on the computer and take photos of everything I think will be needed for the pattern; I’ve got a solid foundation now, and some things come more easily.
Now I just need my ideas to be better received (there have been times when I’ve wanted to give up), and I’d be happy with my new hobby.

It’s really interesting to read what you’re writing.

My experience was similar to Traudelina’s.
Actually, I’d always knitted and crocheted by feel. I do like to buy magazines, but I never worked from the patterns. I just let myself be inspired—using a stitch pattern here, a color combination there, and so on.
Then, years ago, I started spinning and dyeing yarn for my own use. At a market, I brought my yarn along, as well as a scarf, various wrist warmers, and a hat made from my own yarn—all displayed on a mannequin to show what could be made from it. The items weren’t complicated at all.
I was amazed by how many people asked for the patterns. Many of the women were very experienced knitters, and I realized that they still really liked knitting from patterns and didn’t want to experiment blindly.

That’s how my first pattern came about—revised countless times, with my mom and friends knitting it first to test it out, since I had no idea whether everything was clear enough. I then sold the pattern together with the yarn as a knitting kit, and it went really well. Yes, that’s how it started. I’d gotten a taste for it... lol

Best regards, Caro
Well, I thought to myself, I’ll just write up a pattern for it. And since I couldn’t make head or tail of my own notes anymore (shout-out to Stjerne... lol), I started over and wrote it all out properly and took photos. 

Oops, I seem to have mixed up the paragraphs somehow...

I got into this because, at 1.50 m, I don’t fit standard sizes.
I’ve had to modify patterns so many times to ensure the final result fit me.

That’s one reason why I knit and crochet garments in a way that allows them to be customized to individual sizes.

Hi!

That’s an interesting topic :)

Here’s how it happened for me:
I started my own small craft business and initially offered sewing services.
Then I got the idea to finally pick up a crochet hook again and make play shop accessories, which sold well (I stopped selling those because it’s a lot of work for very little money, and I’d have to comply with CE standards and carry out the necessary testing, etc.). Of course, I came up with my own crochet patterns for them, which I wrote down in a notebook so I could crochet identical pieces again and again, even if I hadn’t made a certain item for a few months.
And that’s how I got the idea to offer the occasional small crochet pattern for free on my blog (which, unfortunately, was hacked and then infected with viruses... I haven’t had a blog since then... maybe I should get back to that). (These patterns are now only available for free here on cp in my shop... they’re still very amateurish compared to my current patterns, but they were a start and are too good to just “throw away”).
And that led to the idea of offering my play shop items as patterns as well, because some people asked whether there were patterns for them.
But by then I’d reached a point where I no longer felt like continuing to make my work available for free to the general (and mostly ungrateful) public, so I started putting a lot of effort into my patterns, explaining every step in meticulous detail and taking tons of photos.
And then, almost out of frustration, I nearly gave up writing patterns because it was very unsatisfying on that well-known craft sales platform where I had my shop.
But then I came across Crazypatterns, and since then I’ve been writing patterns regularly and with growing success (on my own modest little scale).

LG

Dear authors

These are once again very exciting stories, and I admire you all! The vast majority of your patterns are written in a very clear and understandable way and feature beautiful, illustrative images, and if something isn’t quite clear, you’re always quick to help—thank you!
roticanai, you’re incredibly versatile. Is your novel available for purchase? I’d love to read it!
I’m afraid I’m slowly becoming addicted to CP!

Dear ChristinaE,
sure there is... I’ll send you a message right away here on CP :-)
Best wishes from
Steffi

PS: CP addiction is the best. We all have it here ;-) There’s only one cure: buy yarn. I actually think they should start prescribing it, hehe.

Hi everyone,
well, my story was pretty similar to Ina’s… I read in a paper craft book that a publisher is always looking for new authors with fresh ideas… so I made some crafts based on my own designs and sent in photos… and that’s how my first book, “Children’s Lanterns,” came about… Several books followed, as well as many, many patterns in craft magazines…

Always on the lookout for a new challenge, I then stumbled upon a platform featuring patterns for crocheted animals—and that’s when I was hooked ;-)
The first animal, my Gustav the Gorilla, was created while on vacation in the Bavarian Forest in 2014… then many more animals and figures followed… and, of course, not to forget my sewn cuddly monster.

And sometimes, even today, I’m lucky enough to be able to write the occasional pattern for a publisher ;-)