Thanks for all the positive IG feedback ladybirds, am heartened and shall carry on!

No.2. How do you want it to look?  It's really worth taking the time to get this right.  You may find that you go through a few variations before you do, but don't worry, that's part of the process.  You can get a good idea of what aesthetic you like by checking out what other people do. Who's your favourite crochet designer? Experiment and find a style that works for you, then make sure you apply it to all your online platforms. Consistency and quality design create an air of professionalism, which people trust!

Which is the best online store for you?  Etsy is recognised as the place for handmade, but it’s so big you can get lost in it.  It also has a very definitive aesthetic, but it can be a great facility when you get it right.  Ravelry is for the fibre purists (I really struggle with it).  LoveCrochet is great because it’s specifically for crochet and has a really accessible selling facility.  There's also all the social media platforms, but bear in mind that the craft-seller sites are where people automatically go to look for that sort of thing.  Have a look and see where your audience is, it may be all of them!

I know I've done something similar to this before, but (hopefully) I've got better at writing over the last year, and have written a little list of pointers to anyone that's thinking about trying to make a living from crochet.

I'll be sharing it as an insta-feed over the next few days, but thought I'd add a little more detail over here.

No.1. What do you want to sell?  Sticking to a theme helps to build a brand identity, so creating a ‘collection’ is a good idea.  Having a body of work that relates to each other makes it easier for people to understand what you’re offering.

This is something that can develop over time, so don't be scared that you're committing to writing granny square patterns, or making hats for the rest of your life, but do be sure that it's something that will hold your interest at least for a while.

What is your time worth?  To be blunt, you will always struggle to make money by selling a finished product.  If you are going to, be realistic.  Research what similar things sell for, and at the very least make sure you cover your costs.  Ideally though, if you're really looking to do this to make money, you need to treat yourself as a business.  Work out what you would charge someone per hour for your time.  You have a skill that they don't and you should value that.

 A more profitable way to do it is by selling patterns and supplies.  For me this is much more fun than making the same thing over and over again!  It's also much less of an outlay as once you've written a pattern you can either keep relisting it in your store, or offer it to magazines.  They can pay between £40-80 per pattern, and you keep the rights to the design, so can sell it in your store again in a years time.

In my last post I talked about some of the more challenging aspects of being a freelance crochet designer, but now here's some of the ways to remedy that.

1. Those long hours?  Yes, it can sometimes feel like there's still a million rows to go, and your wrists are actually going to snap off, but, I'd probably be doing it anyway.  Even if this wasn't my job, crochet is such a brilliant, therapeutic tool, that when things are difficult, it's my go to stress relief.  I also love how instead of wasting a few hours watching trash on tv, you can actually be making something, with meaning, for someone you love.

2.  The pittance.  So no, I don't make as much as I used to but, I no longer have to pay for or endure the commute.  I don't have to find money for childcare, pay for after school clubs, and lose my mind trying to find enough relatives and clubs during the holidays.  I get to go to all those assemblies, nativities and football matches (I lie, they don't do football yet, but if they do, then I can) and take them home when they're feeling ill.  I'd take that pay cut any day.

3. Social isolation.  This one has taken a bit longer, and leaving my office full of pals was a real struggle, but over the last year, mediums like instagram have become an amazing place to meet people and make friends.  Once I got the guts up to start leaving posts for people it just got easier, and eventually I've met up with some amazing, like-minded people, that I stay in touch with every day through social media.  The other thing that's been great, has been going to my local cafe to work.  Taking along the wool and hook is a great conversation starter, and now it's like my mini-office.

And if you're still struggling?  Treat yourself kindly, this bunch of spring flowers has been keeping me going all week :) xxx

I have utterly neglected this space for the past month, due to book and commission deadlines, and finishing my teaching qualification.  But finally it's all done, hooray!   This seems to be a good time to talk about the dark-side of being a cro-pro (yep, crochet professional).

1. Loooooooong hours.  On average I do a 10 hour day, it's tucked around school, pick ups, making packed lunches, bath times etc, and as deadlines draw ever nearer it can be longer than that.

2. Low pay.  I make just enough to live off, but it's nothing like the salary I used to get, and the money I earn per hour is tiny, and this is for patterns we're talking here people - minimal output.  I'd never try and sell a finished piece, it would be financial suicide unles I was actually Alexander McQueen.

3. Social isolation.  I find that when I'm actually working up designs, I need a quiet space to do it, and due to the long hours and short deadlines that working on something like a book takes there's often very little time to get out and actually see other people.  It can really leave you a little stir crazy.

Having said all that, there are remedies, which I'll share on another post, and ultimately I get to do something I  love, all day, every day and that is just priceless.  I mean it's totally flipping amazing.  So think of this as a warning rather than a moaning.

I can't share any pics of the finished book makes, but I can show you some sneaky little peekies of the makes in progress, so here you are...

Hideously organised and got all your presents already?  Trying to think of ways to add some finishing touches to you gifts/cards/tree?  Well, as a treat, over December, I thought I'd share some super-quick, 10 minute, Christmas crochet patterns with you.  These have all been written over the last couple of years, literally just for the purpose of adding those finishing touches.

The short hand is on the pic so you can download the image and keep it in your phone for when you're on the train, or waiting in the car at school pick up.

Ho-ho-holly

Using US terminology
Any DK yarn and a suitable hook

Berry: mr5, sl st and fasten off.  If you prefer, ch3, sl st ends togther and work 5/6sc's around ch

Leaf: ch10, sl into first st from hook, *sc and ch1 in 2nd ch, hdc and ch1 in 3rd, sc and ch1 in 4th, sl st in 5th* rpt and miss off last sl st.  Sc 3 in end ch and then rpt pattern in reverse up the other side.

Love
Emma
xxx

I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on the last week and talk about the importance of being able to reach out to people.

On Monday I met with an amazingly enthusiastic and dedicated lady called Louise.  She set up and runs South Downs Yarn; a locally made, locally sourced, naturally dyed yarn company based in West Sussex.  It came about because I'd emailed her, having followed the internet trail from her Instagram account, just to say I loved what she was doing and if she was ever near me that it would be lovely to meet.  She was, and we did.  There was no plan to this, but we came away having discussed our mutual love of beautiful wool, sustainability and with talks of how lovely it would be to collaborate in the new year.

On Friday I met with Jenni from LoveCrochet, and ran a crochet snowflake workshop for her and Stylist Magazine at the amazing Drink, Shop & Do in London.  Jenni and I have been working with each other for a few months now, since she approached me through my Instagram account, but this was our first opportunity to meet.  It was amazing!  The workshops were packed, Jenni was properly lovely, as  were the rest of the LoveCrochet team.  I also got to meet other talented makers, as well as all the people that came to the workshops.

A little later on Friday I took advantage of the London location, and arranged to meet with Claire Montgomerie and Kath Webber, again, found through Instagram; two other very talented, published, super pro crochet designers and journalists.  Although we only had an hour, it was beyond gorgeous to get to know other, like minded ladies, swap stories and leave with a promise to meet again soon.

All of these came about from being brave enough to reach out and just say hi.  I feel like I've made some real friends, as well as having started all sorts of creative sparks to do things together in the future.  So even if you're scared as hell, just say hi to someone, you never know wher eit may take you.

 

The last few weeks have all been about experimenting with materials and trying out new techniques.  Working on a new book is always a challenge, you have to come up with a whole bunch of designs in a relatively short space of time, and you have to make sure that your material choices are globally accessible.

My general design style is usually much more organic and sustainable than this - often I'll have an idea, and then I like to reuse things around me, take stuff apart to make the thing in my head.  For a publisher though, they want to know everything in advance; colour, material, size, style.

Which means planning and deciding it all in advance, which means my house is now FULL of wool.  Which is a joy and a curse all at once :)  The best part is, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and you really begin to get to grips with how different materials feel to work with, and what techniques suit what yarns best. 

Here are some samples of some of the yarns I'm working with, there are different jersey yarns, I tend to prefer Zpagetti, but these are some Boodles and Tek Tek too. There's also a new DMC Natura Cotton XL which I've never worked with before, but comes in some gorgeous shades and is an absolute treat to work with.  And then some Katia Big Ribbon, which uses a big ole hook, but crochets up into a light, durable fabric.

(I'm also getting obsessed with the idea of really trying to source and use locally spun and naturally dyed yarns, although that totally won't work from a transatlantic standpoint, it's something that I feel very strongly about,  let's see where that goes...)