Inspiration and Sketching Your Design
I remember the first time I wrote down a crochet pattern. It was a little squirrel with googly eyes and pipe cleaner arms. I was so proud.
When I look back at that pattern I get a little lost as the instructions were a bit confusing. What made sense to me at the time does not now.
I enjoy listening to Stacey Trock’s “Crochet Chat” podcast (no longer active) because I always learn something new about crochet, yarn, or business.
In episode 3 California Adventures and the Crocodile Stitch she talks a little about the difference between a free pattern and a paid pattern.
I love free patterns, as they are what I used to learn from in my early days as a crocheter. Honestly though, some patterns just don’t make sense – like my original squirrel pattern – except to the one who wrote it.
Mistakes happen. Patterns in magazines, books, and yarn company sites have errors too. This is why making every effort to create a clean and readable pattern is important. This means you follow guidelines, invest in a tech editor and have your pattern tested.
Inspiration for Crochet Patterns
Nature
Inspiration can come from anywhere. My little squirrel was inspired by my son Jonah. When he was just a little guy we would go on morning walks. He loved watching the squirrels. He would chase them just to watch them scoot up the tree out of reach. He thought it was the best thing in the world so I crocheted him his very own squirrel.
Cartoons and Video Games
Link of Legend of Zelda Amigurumi @momwithahook CrochetBusiness.com
Cartoons and video games can be inspiring. My son likes Link from the game Zelda. At his request I gave crocheting Link a try. After looking at photos of Link online and on his video packaging this is what I came up with.
He loved it so much and spent hours playing with it. Now he’s 14 years old so he doesn’t ‘play with dolls’ anymore. He’s still a Zelda fan so Link just hangs out in a corner in his bedroom.
Customer Requests
When I was an Etsy seller a customer ordered a custom design based on a bearded hat by Scandinavian Grace. It was featured on DoodyBrain blog so that is what I based my Mustache Hat on back in 2008.
Basically it’s a knitted hat with a beard and mustache to keep your face warm in the winter. The customer wanted one for less than $135 which is what they were selling for back then. I crocheted one in wool for $60 and he loved it.
The whole world around you can inspire your designs.
What will inspire your next design?
Read part 2 of this weeks lesson – Sketching Your Design
