Here at Cult Amigurumi, I've been writing and designing amigurumi patterns for blog and digital download format for 5 years. I have read, followed and experimented with my fair share of others' work before comparing and improving my own pattern designing process.
For further references, please check out Cult Amigurumi's Free Patterns.
Every amigurumi pattern in existence contains at least 8 parts of the following:
Title The title of your amigurumi pattern should be short and sweet (for example: Cypress Dino Amigurumi Pattern) I chose to name my dinosaur, "Cypress," because it was the color name of the yarn brand I used: Stylecraft Special DK. And from my perspective, the term "dino" shows a cuteness or kawaii factor that is shown in my design. I felt that if I used "dinosaur," it would imply some close-to-accurate silhouette, which I was not going for.
In the end, it does not have to be that super thought out like mine, but I hope I explained my thought process behind it well.
Image In many of my earlier patterns I used an obnoxiously and unnecessarily large photo image in my patterns. To me, my patterns had an amateur feel to them, so I shrank it.
Your image should not take up the whole page of a document. I used my amigurumi pattern title to gauge the width of my photo. I highly recommend a JPEG file for those just beginning and/ or starting to design. Higher quality images require a bigger storage on your website host, and your file upload/ downloads.
Disclaimers A disclaimer is a list of rules you put on your patterns. You tell the customer/ crocheter what they can and cannot do with your patterns. Here is an example...
"You may make as many as you wish to give away or sell. You must be the sole creator of the work you sell from this pattern. You may not claim this pattern or its images as your own in part or in whole. You may not resell or give away this pattern or its images in part or in whole to any third party distributor or manufacturer for mass production. When selling your finished creations, please cite (your name/ company) as the original designer of this pattern by word of mouth or listing descriptions. Thank you."
Disclaimers do not need to be so long that it takes up the page, but it needs to have enough detail that gets the job done. For my designs on this website, cultamigurumi.com, I have a Pattern Use Policy Page that I cite in every pattern blog and link to in every digital pattern I sell. I just insure I maintain the bullet points of what is allowed for my designs, just in case.
Materials A simple bulleted list of supplies you used to make your amigurumi is all that is needed. Your basic supplies like: scissors, yarn needle and stuffing, do not need to be brand specific. However, the yarn brand and its colors used, along with the crochet hook size require a brand to named just for consistency's sake.
Terms to Know Please refer to this post for the basic terms. This also can be a bulleted list.
Pattern The way I format my patterns is by size and in the order with which I crocheted them. You may preface with an asterisk (*) by saying to crochet all pieces before assembly. With each piece/ body part of the amigurumi there should be:
- a subtitle of the body part [with the yarn color name],
- an image of what it looks like isolated from the rest of the whole
- and the pattern of how to make it
A sample of how it looks:
Assembly and/ or Details This section should be laid out in order of how the amigurumi should be put together. With "Notes," and asterisks (*) you may add tips or suggestions of what you think would be easier for the reader. Details could be embroidery of the face, accents or designs sewn into the piece(s).
Call to Action This does not need to be labeled, "Call to Action." It is essentially what you would like the audience/ customer to do after reading and crocheting your pattern.
- Do you have a Youtube channel you would like for them to check out? Say it here.
- Do you have links to all your social media platforms connected to your brand? Kindly ask them to follow you.
- Do you have any upcoming products you think they'd be interested in? Request they see it in a link.
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THE END!