I am currently working on designing a sweater. I have been obsessed with sweater design ideas. I may have started to snap pics of people on the sly with my phone when I'm out and I see a sweater or a stitch pattern that I want to remember and making a stalker collection of sweater photos for future inspiration.
WEBS is having a 40th Anniversary Sale this month and next. I placed an order for a sweater quantity (and probably then some just in case) for the first sweater I plan on designing a pattern for this summer. At WEBS some yarns are discountable when a certain amount is ordered. I'm not sure if this yarn was on sale the other day or not, but I did get the quantity discount, so this Cascade Superwash 220 sport went from $6.25/skein to $5.00/skein.
I do of course have some sweater quantities in my stash, but they are all worsted or bulky weight. Figures the first sweater that I want to design is a summer/warmer weather sweater and that's what time of year it is.
I would love to be able to supplement my current income / feed my hobbies with pattern and hand dyed yarn sales. Looking at this from a business standpoint though, for example, I would have to sell $75 worth of patterns to break even with the purchase of the yarn for this sweater before any of the pattern sales started to be profit. Most publications pay $50-$100 for a pattern submission that is used, then you are unable to sell it on your own for X amount of time - so that's not any more profitable and its a lot easier to self publish.
Regardless of the $$$ factor - I'll still be designing lots of things to come in the future!
4 comments:
Good luck with your project. Sounds like fun (if a little intimidating LOL) --- I'm sure it will be a pretty one.
Good luck with the designing! I hope you let us know how it goes. I like your enthusiasm, you sound super excited! You know, we're a supportive lot to all fun creative endeavors.
I had my own business as a pattern designer in the '90s. I just want to give you a heads up. It takes a tremendous amount of work, effort, time, and even money to be a successful designer. It's not just a matter of designing a garment, knitting it up, and writing up the pattern for publishing. There is the marketing aspect too. You will need to put money and your time toward that. Sending samples and copies of your patterns to various yarn shops, knitting catalogs, etc asking them to carry them. Also advertisements. Not just ads in Ravelry, but ads in magazines, other knitting web sites, having booths at knitting seminars and conventions (most of which also require you teach at said conventions/seminars as well as having a paid for booth). You also will need to get your name out there in other ways, such as knitting articles, submit patterns for publication where ever you can, and a host of other ways. Build your reputation in any way you can. Especially these days. We didn't have Ravelry when I was in the business. It has changed the whole industry. For instance, there wasn't nearly as much competition in the pattern designing as there is now.
I wish you all the luck and success there is to have in your endeavor. Most of all, have fun doing it.
Good luck with your design. I'm excited to see it!
Post a Comment