By Michele Thymmons and Brie Kvalvik of Fiber and Fern Boutique

Note - This post contains affiliate links, which means I will make a commission at no extra cost to you, should you click through and make a purchase. Please note that I do not make recommendations for places I have not personally used and continue to use. I have bought many crochet patterns off of Etsy to include some of Brie’s patterns and will continue to do so. :)

Resources for Writing a Crochet Pattern with FiberandFern

As long as I can remember, I have been crocheting.  I remember being taught by both my Grandma and my Mom - but I actually didn’t really develop my skill until recently! About 2 years ago I became pregnant with my second son and was basically confined to the couch because of horrible “morning sickness” (I don’t know why they call it that - mine lasted all day!).  I was miserable, depressed, and could barely do anything.  That was when I picked up my hook again and crochet became my therapy!  I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had some yarn to play with - it really helped me get through!

My craft quickly turned into designing patterns when I realized I didn’t really find a therapeutic outlet in following patterns and I was more comfortable in the creative process that came from designing. It was a very natural progression.

If you find yourself identifying with the creative design process, I highly encourage you to go for it! It is so rewarding.  To make that transition easier for you, here are some of my favorite resources.

StitchFiddle - It is a great FREE tool for designing charts for color charts and stitch charts for crochet patterns! If anyone loves designing, I feel like this is one of the most helpful tools I have used!

Other Bloggers :) Ashleigh from Sewrella has been the biggest inspiration to me! Her blog posts have given me direction on how to get started (and why I should!) I love looking at other bloggers that are successful - and analyzing what has made them successful, how I can implement it, but also still have my own crochet style that differentiates me from them!

The book “350 Crochet Techniques, Tips, and Trade Secrets” by Jan Eaton.  This book is a GOLD mine of information! It has information on everything from designing garments, to blocking.  I have learned so much from this book - and it has really helped me study the language of crochet.

Pattern testers! Designers should always have pattern testers - especially when they are first starting out! I have learned so much about technical writing and how different people may look at certain directions and come up with something completely different.  Also - be sure to invest in PICKY pattern testers - those are the ones that will give you good critiques and take your work to the next level!

Sierra from Knitting Wonders  has a PDF worksheet in her Etsy shop that has a basic outline for designing a pattern.  It is so nice and intuitive, because you can just fill it in as you are crocheting and it has everything you need (unless you are designing something very complicated).

Note - This post contains affiliate links, which means I will make a commission at no extra cost to you, should you click through and make a purchase. I never recommend something that I have not used and continue to use.

Everyone creates, designs, and learns things differently.  With this in mind, I’ve tried to include a variety of articles/resources below and will continue to add more even after the article is published. Most of these resources are free but others include classes or resources that are paid.

Crochet: 

Ambassador Crochet-Designing Crochet Pattern Series is the first of a series of blog posts regarding the creative process behind a developing a crochet pattern as well as publishing your patten and even basic copyright for crocheters. 

The Spruce - Crochet Apps lists out 9 types of apps that can help you with your crochet as well as recommended ones in each category.  These types include stitch counter apps, crochet reference apps, project tracking apps, crochet pattern apps, and more.

Wikihow - 12 Steps for Inventing a Crochet Pattern is a list of 12 steps recommended to start you on your way to creating your own pattern.

The Crochetcrowd-Using Graphghans includes resources on how to use graphghans to create your own pattern as well as some of the resources available both free and paid, to create graphghans.  This resource is for someone looking to either translate written patterns into a graphghan or use graphgans, may not be for those just starting to learn how to create patterns.

Knitting:

The Complete Guide to Creating Knitting Patterns is a tutorial over 16 days on how to create, test, fine tune, photograph, publish, and more a knitting pattern.  

Sistermountain - Designing Knitting Patterns a multi part series in how to start designing knitting patterns. One interesting fact - there are very few male knitting (and I’m sure crochet as well) patterns out there! Sounds like a niche that needs filling :)

Chart Minder is a free resource for designing, scanning or customizing your own knitting charts.  

Other articles on VAMICreations you may like also about Pattern Creation:

• Ultimate List of Pattern Creation Resources

• Ultimate List of Crochet Pattern Creation Tutorials and Tips

• Ultimate List of Knitting Pattern Creation Tutorials and Tips (upcoming)

Thank you for joining us for this first Maker Feature!  You can find other maker features here about sculpting, pattern writing, blog creating, and wood carving. I’d also love to hear from you about what types of resources you want more information on as well as Makers you would like to nominate for a Maker Feature! Comment below or email me, I’d love to hear from you! Have a great day!