How To Sell Amigurumi Patterns Online
Amigurumi is a Japanese art form of making adorable stuffed animals by crocheting yarn. While knitting and crocheting are mainly used for making garments amigurumi is unique because you can make three-dimensional stuffed animals. It was in the early 2000s when amigurumi gained immense popularity thanks to the internet. These cute and vibrant stuffed animals found their way out of Japan and became an internet sensation and everybody wanted some for their child’s bedroom. Ever since then there has been a crazy boom in the number of crocheters making and selling amigurumi toys. These toys sure are hard work but are definitely worth all the effort.
But why sell amigurumi patterns online?
Amigurumi is a beautiful art form but we can’t deny the fact that making one stuffed animal can be extremely time-consuming. Just relying on selling amigurumi dolls can be a tiring and slow process. Which is why amigurumi makers and crocheters came up with the concept of selling amigurumi patterns online. By spending time and creating one detailed document teaching the reader to make amigurumi dolls from start to finish and uploading it to amigurumi-specific websites or online stores for people to buy and use, amigurumi artists are able to come up with an alternative revenue stream.
The document you create once lets you make money infinitely! All you have to do is create a document which showcases all aspects of the pattern and lets the reader replicate it efficiently.
How to make the amigurumi pattern document
- Once you have decided what amigurumi pattern you want to share with the world the next step is to create a comprehensive document explaining everything about the pattern. From the type of yarn to be used, crocheting needles required, washing instructions for the doll and the pattern in itself.
- Amigurumi is nothing but crocheting to form a three-dimensional animal figure. Unlike knitting, crocheting involves looping complete loops to create a pattern. It can be a complex process but once you get a hang of it, it becomes muscle memory.
- For a person who is trying out a new amigurumi pattern, clear instructions are what they depend on. So when you are creating the amigurumi pattern document, make sure that you are writing down all the steps as clearly as possible so that the reader can follow them to the T and get the desired results.
- The written part of the document should include all the directions, materials required, wash and care instructions.
- Apart from this, it should also include some high definition pictures of the end result (the amigurumi doll) and some close-up shots which show the crochet pattern.
- All this information should be on a single PDF file which can be uploaded on different websites.
Why PDF?
PDF files are very compatible with different devices. PDF files are also trickier to edit, so it secures your work against malicious attacks. PDF files are also easy to upload on different e-commerce websites or your own shop. You can even copyright your PDF file to furthermore protect it and claim your ownership on it.
Things to keep in mind
- Get your pattern instructions tested by an amigurumi artist
- Your PDF document essentially is a tutorial for newbies to recreate your amigurumi pattern so your goal should be to make it as foolproof as possible. To make a good quality instructional document, having few people test it for errors is a great idea. Based on their results you can make edits to perfect your document.
- Include the smallest details
- And we mean everything - from the type of yarn, quantity of yarn needed, color of yarn used, wash and care instructions of the yarn. Make sure that you list out all the materials required for the pattern Amigurumi usually uses cute buttons and add little details for the final touches. Make sure you tell the reader about this so that they can be prepared.
- Include professional pictures of the pattern and the amigurumi doll
- If you aren’t that experienced in photography, then having a professional photographer take pictures of your amigurumi pattern and the doll is a better bet. People love good pictures, so you must give them what they want! Also, if it doesn’t look good in a picture, chances are that people would not be interested in buying the pattern at all.
- Find websites which focus only on amigurumi patterns and dolls
- Websites like Amigurumi Today and Shiny Happy World allows fellow amigurumi enthusiasts to share their patterns for others to buy. How this works is pretty simple - you upload your PDF file on the website and set a price at which you want to sell the pattern for and voila! You can now make money by selling your amigurumi patterns online.
Advantages of selling amigurumi patterns online
- You establish your presence in the online amigurumi community
- You get to showcase your creativity
- You can claim ownership over your unique pattern
- You can make money on the side
How to sell your amigurumi pattern online
Once you have your document ready, there are usually two ways you can go about selling your amigurumi pattern:
The first one is uploading your pattern on amigurumi-specific websites. These websites allow amigurumi enthusiasts all around the world to showcase and sell their patterns. This is an easy way to get familiar with the amigurumi and crochet community and also discover other interesting patterns as well. People can also find your work and this can also result in sales.
The other way to go about selling your patterns online is by setting up an online shop of your own. Websites like E-Junkie and Gumroad allow the user to set up an online shop in just a few clicks. If you have multiple amigurumi patterns that you want to sell then you can upload all of them at one place and people can browse through all your works. If you only have one pattern that you want to sell you can even create a landing page for your pattern with the help of these websites.
How to market your patterns online
Social media plays a huge role in marketing anything these days. Since it is a tool widely available, independent creators should make use of this and push their work as much as they can! For something as visual as amigurumi Instagram is a great way to promote and sell your patterns. An eye-catching picture with a caption that explains the details of the pattern with a link to your online shop is one way seasoned crocheters share their work with the world. If you want to start small, sharing links on your social media platforms is the way to go so that your family and friends can share it with their contacts. Word of mouth is slow, but it sure is effective!