How to Make Knitting Patterns & Sell them online [Ultimate guide] -

Jan 19, 2023

 The last update was January 18, 2023

Are you a knitter seeking to earn an extra income? Another option is to market the knitting pattern you have created. With the right platform and some knowledge of the best ways to market your job, you could transform your hobby into a lucrative business. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to make knitting patterns available for sale to make money.

This is a short list of things we'll cover:

 What's a knit pattern?

An knitting pattern is written instructions for knitting the specific item. It explains everything you have to know in order to knit the item: what type of yarn you will need and the gauge, as well as any extra materials or other equipment required as well as what size(s) of the final item, and of course the stitches to use.

 How to Create Knitting Patterns: Step-by-step Guide

The process of creating your first design can be a daunting task, but here are the step-by-step instructions to assist you in making your writing easier.

 1. Recognizing Your Ideal Audience

Before you start making the patterns and then selling them it is important to determine the target market. Consider who might be attracted to your patterns. What type of knitter do you want to target novice knitters or skilled knitters? Understanding who you're is going to help you design patterns that will appeal to your target audience.

Additionally, you can conduct market research to help you identify your target audience. Take a look at which other knitting patterns are popular and who is buying these patterns. This could give you an idea of who your target audience is and what kind of patterns they're searching for.

 2. Decide on Your Product Type

Once you have a better understanding of who you are targeting determine what kind of items you'd want to design knit patterns to. A few great patterns for beginners include things such as scarves, dishcloths, baby booties and socks, as well as smaller blankets. If you're creating knitting patterns for advanced knitters, you might be able to create patterns for dresses, sweaters, or other more complicated items and accessories.

 3. Design Your Own Design

In this point, it's recommended to start creating a sketch sketch of what your desired design will appear in. Consider what kinds of yarn you'd like to use for your project along with what methods and stitches will be required to make your idea. If you're not confident with the art of sketching do not worry about it, you just need to develop a basic concept and sketch an approximate silhouette. You can then sketch out some details of the patterns you intend to stitch as well as yarn weight and more.

Be sure to keep your viewers in mind while thinking about the stitching patterns you choose to use. Do you intend for them to create complex knitting products or do you want your knitting pattern to be doable for an easy knit-while-you-Netflix type of knitting?

When you're making wearable clothes, be mindful of the designs and methods that may influence the function. For example, cable knits might result in thicker knitted clothes and are ideal for winter clothing. Here is a great guide to get ideas on various designs for knitting to get your imagination going.

 4. Make an Sample Swatch

The creation of a swatch can be the most important thing to do. Simply, you need to create an swatch of knit in your desired yard as well as needle size and stitch pattern. It allows you to view your work on a tiny scale. You can then check that your garment looks and performs manner you'd like it to. Also, it ensures that you have the right gauge, which is essential for grade.

It is also possible to measure your knitting gauge to make sure your own design is precise. For this, you need to knit the largest test (at minimum 6" square, although you don't need to be square!) on the needles that you've picked for your pattern, remembering to swatch in the round , if you'll work in the round, and take a count of the number of rows and stitches you've knit for each inch. See this article for a further details for how to accurately determine the knit gauge.

 5. Make your Knitting Pattern Instructions

There are many free software editors to design knitting patterns. Some of them include Google Docs and Sheets. There is also a free online graphic design program such as Canva that offers more tools to make your document appear professional and polished. Once you've established yourself as an expert in knitting You may wish to look into purchasing additional software, such as Adobe InDesign, as you're capable of creating professional layouts for your documents.

When deciding the layout of the pattern, you'll want to consider how it will be utilized. Consider how you've used knitting patterns previously: do you read them on a computer screen or print them out? Do you take notes about the patterns? Then, these things can affect the layout you choose to design.

You may also want to take into consideration accessibility issues in this regard. There is actually a thriving community of low and blind vision knitters. So think about (for example) the way your work will work using a screen reader. There are guidelines for visually accessible knitting patterns which you can learn about on this page.

It's now time to write the knitting directions down. A good knitting pattern typically includes the following components:

  • Written instructions, row by row or round by round for creating the item
  • An abbreviation list used and explanation of what each abbreviation means.
  • Charts for every stitch pattern or colorwork, including an important
  • Weight of the yarn as well as the amount of yarn required
  • Needle size
  • A list of any other concepts or tools that may be required
  • Dimensions and dimensions of the finished product which includes a sketch for any item that is complex, or is a part of a body
  • Photos of the finished piece, both in and out of a body where appropriate
  • Information about you as the designer
  • Terms of Use

In writing your first pattern and you'll be faced with a huge number of decisions about your writing style. Make a Style Guide document and write the details of every decision you make, from font name and size to whether you make a capitalization of the first instruction in an arc or round, or not. The Style Guide is a great source for you as well as your tech editor (see further below) to ensure that the patterns you create are consistent and customers are aware of what to expect when they purchase from you.

Make sure to keep your knitting draft with you in an editable format so that you can make additional adjustments as you design an example of your final item.

 6. Make a sample of your final product

Once you've written some complete knitting patterns adhere to your own directions to begin working on a example of your final product. You will need to follow your instructions line by line to ensure that you are able to spot any mistakes or missing information.

Do not forget to take plenty of photographs while you knit as you can incorporate those images into your knitting pattern instructions. Also, they make excellent social media content for building anticipation before the knitting pattern is released! You should also take lots of high-quality pictures of your completed product including close-ups of the design and special techniques, as your target audience would want to look at the product in order to decide the quality of it and whether they'd want to purchase the knitting patterns.

 7. You can grade your pattern

Though some kinds of product are available in one size, many will need to be graded in sizes, specifically items that go onto the body.

You'll need to refer to a reputable, inclusive size chartlike this one of the Craft Yarn Council that we would recommend to read further. It will assist you to determine what the size of each piece of the final product should be.

There are many online courses that will help you grade your work, in case you're not sure what to do. Alternatively, some tech editors (see below) also provide grading service.

 8. Make Your Knitting Pattern Perfect for Sale

In this point at this point, you must have composed all the necessary instructions for the creation of your final item. Now it's time to have your patterns tech reviewed and checked! The tech editor functions like the copywriting editor but specifically designed for knitting patterns. The tech editor will usually check to see whether your count of stitches are accurate and correspond with your instructions the charts. They will also ensure that they say exactly the same things as your written instructions, that your grades are consistent and that your instructions are clearly written. It is essential be sure that your instructions make sense.

Simply put, they will ensure that the instructions you provide are accurate and understandable. Tech editing is a vital element of the process, as it's nearly impossible to edit your own work in a precise manner! You should of course review your document prior to sending it to your editor; there is an excellent pre-tech-edit checklist that you can download here.

The next step is to have your knitting pattern tested. It is the time to make the initial PDF version of your pattern available at no cost to knitters who will then knit the pattern and give feedback. Test knitting is a wonderful opportunity to obtain feedback from knitters who have actually done the knitting on all aspects of the pattern, from clarity to the accuracy of your instructions, as well as the usefulness of your photos.

When you've established the knitting pattern suitable for sale, design the final PDF file of the pattern since this is the digital file that you will deliver to your clients.

 Selling Knitting Patterns Online for Free

There's an array of choices available from marketplaces online and social media platforms, to the creation of your own site. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to consider the best one for your company. Also, you might want to think about listing your designs across various platforms. That said, the easiest and most budget-friendly way to sell your own patterns on the internet is to establish an online store that is free to use .

 1. Make a website or store online for free.

Platforms like these let you develop a gorgeous website on which you are able to sell your own knitting patterns from. You won't have to worry about the cost of other third-party platform or fees as provides a free all-in-one tool which lets you launch your online store for patterns in moments!

Some benefits of using include:

  • A free and forever-green platform. It only requires the 5% charge for each sale you make, so if you're just starting out with a small number of customers but, you'll not have to pay anything.
  • The instant delivery of digital files to your customers. Your customers can make payments on your website and get your knitting pattern PDF instantly with no involvement from you. This gives you the time to concentrate on other aspects of your business . Yay!
  • If your knitting pattern needs to be changed in the future, use 's Email Updates feature to email an update download link your customers
  • A fully hosted domain for free. You'll get a free website/online store with the following customizable store name .com/[yourcustomstorenamehere]. But you can also connect a custom domain e.g. janesmithknitting.com if you'd like to
  • A simple drag-and-drop website creator that can be completely customized to match your branding aesthetics. No coding skills or design skills required
  • Instant payments through Paypal and Stripe.
  • Automatic collection and remittance of UK & EU VAT
  • Advanced marketing features such as referral system, affiliate program cross-selling, upselling, coupons, email marketing as well as more are available on the free plan

The company is recognized for its beginner-friendly and intuitive user interface. Also, it offers many instructional videos to guarantee you're successful in setting up your online business.

 2. Make a list of your knitting patterns for Sale

Once you've created your own free online store or website  the right information, you can submit your knitting patterns as product listings.

Wherever you choose to sell your patterns, it is essential to provide plenty of information to your customer in order that they can decide whether or not your pattern will be suitable for their needs. Needles and ideas, sizes, and plenty of photos are essential!

One of the most important choices is the price you charge your design. If you set it too low, you'll be undervaluing not only your design but that of other designers in the industry; too expensive and your customers are put off. You must ensure that the cost is accurate and accurately represents the quantity of details included in your pattern (as the amount of information varies between designers!). You'll probably already have an idea of what other designers charge for similar patterns, but take the time to do some research.

After your pattern file as well as its listing of products are complete, you're now ready to sell!

  1. The process of uploading your knitting pattern's PDF on the product listing
  2. Making your knitting patterns the title, description of your product, and price
  3. Sending a couple of photos to your pictures for the listing of your products
  4. Your product's listing can be published

The entire process of uploading a product will take less than 2 minutes.

 3. Increase traffic and promote Your Knitting Pattern Store

It's now time to begin advertising your store's patterns. It could be done through platforms like social media, participating in trade shows and other events as well as advertising on other knitting related websites.

It's also a good idea to start a blog so that you can publish blog post related to knitting. The blog posts will receive organic search traffic through Google Search Results, resulting in more visitors to your site.

Consider offering special discounts and promotions that are short-term for people to purchase the patterns. This is particularly beneficial during the release of new patterns.

You might want to reach out to knitting bloggers or influencers to read the patterns you have created and to share them with their followers. You can also create a mailing list to keep your customers informed of updates to your patterns and special offers. You can also set up a referral program that will reward customers who refer their acquaintances to your designs.

Make sure you take advantage of 's free marketing tools like coupon codes, referral program as well as affiliate programs including mailing lists as well as cross-sell, upgrade discount as well as other. It allows you to create efficient marketing campaigns via your social networks and other platforms.

SELL KNITTING PATTERNS ONLINE

Join more than 130,000 sellers who have started their online businesses with

 Troubleshooting the Common Problems While Selling Knitting Patterns

If you are selling knitting patterns there are some common issues you may encounter along the way. This includes copyright infringement as well as receiving bad feedback from customers as well as bad sales. Here are some suggestions to deal with these issues:

  • Make a comprehensive set of terms and conditions for usewithin your knitting pattern PDF. It should also include guidelines about the ways your customers interact with your knitting patterns e.g. are your patterns free just for personal use? Are you also granting commercial rights to your clients? You'll also be able to define your rights as property in the terms of use section.
  • Response to feedback from customers. One of the benefits selling knitting patterns on your own website (as compared to selling on marketplaces such as Etsy) is the fact that you can enable an approval-only customer review feature to make sure you do not be a victim of unfair one review ratings. If you receive any negative feedback, you may decide to not publish those reviews on your website, nevertheless, make sure you communicate with those customers in order to find a solution.
  • Provide your knitting pattern for gratis to receive comments. Asking test knitters to test out your pattern is an excellent option to be sure your pattern is optimized to appeal to a variety of audiences. Test knitters are likely to be able to give valuable pattern notes and feedback that can make your knitting pattern better. On , you can easily modify your knitting pattern list to zero or the pay-what you-want price.

 FAQ: Creating Your own patterns and selling Them Online

 Do you have the ability to design your own knitting pattern?

Making your own knitting pattern could be a fun and creative experience. The only thing you need to write a pattern for is choose the type of knitted item that you'd like to create and then write down your instructions on how to make the item, then publish your knitting pattern on the internet for other fans.

 Are you able to earn profit selling patterns for knitting?

 What is the best place to sell knitting patterns online?

 Final Ideas

If you have the proper platform, pricing strategy, and marketing plan, you can turn your passion into money. We hope that following this step-by-step guide will help you begin in the right direction in designing your own knit.