How To Sell Knitting Patterns Online
Knitting is an age-old hobby turned into a skill. This is a passion passed down from older generations to the newer ones and the best part about it is that there are no bounds to your creativity! You can create anything - from a tea cozy to a jumper - with just some imagination and a lot of creative skill.
Enterprising an existing skill into money making channel is a great way to earn some extra revenue on the side. Those who are deep into the knitting and crocheting world understand that doing this as a full-time job can be extremely tiring and not as fulfilling as creating one article of clothing is quite a time-consuming process and usually, the returns don’t pay off as well as you would expect them to. This is why people have come up with an interesting alternative to passively earn some cash - by selling knitting patterns online!
If you’re hearing about this concept for the first time it may confuse you. But the concept, in reality, is pretty simple - you type up a document explaining everything about a particular knitting pattern and publish it on websites for people to buy.
The best and most effective way to sell knitting patterns online is to jot down the pattern on a PDF file (in an extremely detailed manner - this ends up being around 5-10 pages on an average because you need to write down each and every detail about the knit and the stitch) along with a high resolution picture which showcases the knit well. Both these aspects on a whole count as one knitting pattern. People who buy this PDF will have full access to all the information they need to recreate your knitting pattern, while you get paid for sharing your knowledge! It’s a win-win situation for all!
How to make the knitting pattern document?
This is all the rage in the knitting and crocheting community. Sharing and selling knitting patterns is a fun and creative way to interact and connect with the knitting community all around the world while making an income on the side.
- For starters, if you want to sell a knitting pattern online, jot down some broad pointers which will help you have a basic outline for the document. The knitting pattern document has a detailed description of the type of knitting pattern you want to sell.
- Next, you need to write down the exact directions for the reader to be able to recreate that particular knit. This part is the most time and detail intensive. It will have to be broken down into multiple parts in a step-by-step manner. This may sound tricky, but it really isn’t! Since you already know how to knit, all you have to do is write the steps down in a manner that makes it easy for newbies to follow and carry out.
- Apart from these directions the document also must contain other specifications like the type of yarn to be used and the washing instructions.
- Make sure that you also add some high definition pictures of the garment and few close up shots of the knitting pattern so that the reader knows what the pattern should look like up close.
- This document with text and pictures should now be converted to a PDF format which you can easily do by using simple online PDF converters. All you would have to do is upload the file and click on convert and download the PDF file generated.
This PDF file is now ready for you to sell on knitting websites or your own online shop.
But why PDFs?
The reason why people choose to sell their knitting patterns in the PDF format is that this is a format which isn’t easy to modify or change. PDF files are also easy to view on desktops and mobile phones which makes it simple for the buyer to access the document.
For all independent creators who are publishing their work online, it is very important to copyright their work before it gets plagiarized. When you copyright your knitting pattern you will get credit where it is rightfully due and you will also protect your content from malicious attacks.
Advantages of selling knitting patterns online -
- You can claim ownership over a unique pattern you have created
- If you have a unique knit pattern and garment type that you want to share with the world then this is the most effective way to reach a wider audience while still maintaining ownership.
- You gain publicity in the knitting world
- This might be a slow process but you can be assured that followers of your work will definitely appreciate your work and support it. This support will convert to sales as well
- You make some extra cash on the side
- Making garments full-time can be labor intensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, when you create a knitting pattern PDF you can continue to capitalize on something you only had to create once. Also earning a little extra on the side never hurt anyone!
How to sell your ready knitting pattern PDF online?
Now that your document is ready, you can look at selling your knitting patterns on websites like Patternfish.com, Deramores.com and Loveknitting.com. These websites specialize in knitting patterns and you can find many knitting enthusiasts sharing their knitting patterns here. If you don’t want to get lost in a sea of different sellers you can also opt for another option - setting up your own online shop or landing page. Websites like E-Junkie and Gumroad give you the perfect solution. These sites let you create a no-fuss online shop where you can upload your knitting pattern PDFs and build a loyal customer base. If you don’t have many patterns to create an online shop but still want to sell a knitting pattern you can even create a landing page. The best way to get things going in your online selling venture is by sharing links of your shop with friends and family and wait for it to get some momentum. If you have many knitting pattern documents ready you can even publish an e-book and sell it on your online shop!
There are a few things you must keep in mind when you are writing the information down for the knitting pattern. Along with the detailed description of the knit used in the garment make sure you are also including -
- The type of yarn used
- Colour and thickness of the yarn used
- Washing instructions of the knitwear
- All the different knits which add up to the complete garment
How to market your knitting patterns?
While sharing links of the shop or the landing page seems to be the most convenient way of sharing your creations with the world knitters find it most effective to start a blog of their own or even an Instagram page where they can document all their work in one place. They also make it a point to be extremely consistent with their content creation as this helps them build a very loyal customer base and also rank high in the google search results. Finding websites and Facebook groups specifying in knitting and sharing your work there will also help you get more clicks and ultimately more sales.