moving to my own domain

I have finally launched my own website - I am so excited!  I will continue to blog there - please come visit me at dmcogger.com !!

What a Project!

I had an idea for a booklet with about 10 patterns in it.  I pitched it to a publisher, who 5 weeks later sent the dreaded "thanks but no thanks" letter.  I then sent it to my CGOA mentor, who encouraged me to self publish it.

What a wonderful idea! I thought.  I was clueless about the amount of work I was putting on myself for this.  I didn't know the first thing about self publishing.  This began a great deal of research, which I am still doing.

It turns out that you can sell crochet patterns on Ravelry, Amazon, and Kindle.  Apparently there is a market out there for various ebooks.  You can also sell on Etsy and your own website.  This has opened up an entirely  new world for me to explore!

As I have written and sold patterns before, I think I have that part of the process down.  It takes time - a LOT of time.  I have to jot down pattern notes while I crochet what's in my head.  Then, once the item is complete, I have to translate those notes into a readable pattern.  Then comes the dreaded photo session.  If a good picture is worth a thousand words, then my photos are worth about 3.  Usually someone in  my family will take pity on me and get a few good shots of the item for me.

Formatting is taking me a little bit of time to learn.  As is setting up my own website and Etsy store.  The process is slow, but once done, I won't have to do it again.  This is keeping me motivated, even when frustrated!

Each of the 10 patterns needs to be completed, not just a sketch.  Each pattern needs to be written, each item photographed, introduction text needs to be written, table of contents and cover pages need to be decided upon, online shops need to be set up, formatting needs to be done, and then, once the booklet is finished, it needs to be marketed.  Sheesh!

My goal is to have it all done by March 2012.  I still have to make time to work on Christmas presents!

The Sting Of Rejection

The Yates Farm Yarn Sale Aftermath - Find The Cats If You Can!

Crochet design definitely has it's ups and downs.  One of the major downs in the rejection letter.  I received 5 of these last month, which naturally caused me to question myself.  What was I doing wrong?

Enter one very helpful mentor.  Anyone interested in becoming a crochet designer should join the CGOA and apply for a mentor.  Without her, I probably would have given up completely.  Instead, I am now looking forward to the next batch of submissions.  

I emailed my mentor, then, at her suggestion, I mailed the rejections to her.  She went through them and identified my weak points.  Then she emailed me a sample of what her submissions look like.  They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this particular case that is very true.  One glance at her attachment and everything she had told me over the phone clicked.  I got it.  

I learned that submissions are a lot like resumes - whoever looks at it should find what they are looking for at a glance.  This is something that I have to work on.  Due to the encouragement of my mentor, I am now re-energized and have direction.

Competition among crochet designers is fierce due to the limited number of publishers.  Thus, there are far more rejections than acceptance letters.  I am not alone, and the rejection no way indicates my designs are crap.  I simply need to convey my ideas better. 

A Wake Up Call

Becoming familiar with all of the crochet publications is necessary for a designer.  Therefore, I picked up the July/August 2011 Crochet Today when I saw it at the supermarket.

Going through the magazine when I got home, I had to stop dead at page 13.  Maya Mackowiak Elson had designed a "Drink Bottle Tote".  This struck me because for years I had been making and selling what I called "Water Bottle Slings" of my own design.  It's not as fancy as Maya's version, but otherwise the same, as it has the long shoulder strap attached to a bottle cozy.  I made mine exclusively out of Peaches 'n Cream worsted weight cotton as it absorbed condensation and did a great job of keeping water cold. 

I looked up the pattern in my personal pattern notebook.  I don't know why, perhaps for just this type of occurrence, but I date every pattern I put in there.  The date on the "Water Bottle Sling" was 5/2007.  I made it for one of my kids who had to go on a hiking field trip where a water bottle was required, and she was notorious for losing things.  She loved it so much it went to camp with her!  From there it found it's way to the barn, so she had water while trail riding. 

My reasons for making it were very practical.  You can refill the water bottle without removing the sling.  You can push it around to your back to keep it out of the way.  The circumference of various water bottles does not vary much, so an 8 oz bottle fit as well as a 20 oz one.

I had been toying with the idea of sending this pattern in to the Pattern-A-Day calendar people, or perhaps posting it as a free pattern.  It wasn't a very big seller at craft fairs in Vermont - I think I sold maybe a dozen of them in 3 years.    Yet I don't want to start a reputation as a copycat designer, either.

It did serve as a wake up call.  If you have a good idea that serves a practical purpose, get it out there!

Crochet Designers and Artists

The more I explore the world of crochet design, the more similarities I find with other arts.  Although perhaps it may become big business, at the beginning it's anything but.

Writers submit proposals and writing samples to prospective publishers.  Crochet designers submit proposals, swatches, and sketches. 

Visual artists, such as painters and photographers, show their work in galleries and sometimes craft fairs to gain sales.  Crocheters use craft fairs and consignment craft shops.  These require finished product as inventory and usually booth fees.  Depending on attendance, there may or may not be a return on the investment.

The whole 'starving artist' scenario may apply as well.  A designer that's just starting out pays out of pocket for yarn and postage, and then waits for months sometimes to find out if they will get paid for it or not.  A musician will work on new music between gigs.  A crochet designer must also continue forward on new designs for the next submission.

The old adage of "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" must be part of the crochet designer's mantra.  Without it, discouragement will set in.  If you look to the other arts as inspiration, you will note that persistence does pay off.

Designing vs. Modifying

Attempting to morph an idea in your head into a finished crochet item is design.  The sheer amount of details can be overwhelming!  What type of yarn would work best?  What color?  What weight?  What fiber content?  What hook size?  What stitch pattern?  Then, of course, comes the writing of the pattern.

I like to jot down notes that will eventually be turned into a pattern as I work.  This is always done in pencil so I can change it easily when I rip out that last row because it just doesn't look right.  I've read how some people will make the item first, then rip it out row by row, writing the pattern in reverse, counting stitches, and measuring how many yards they've used.  This method allows you to follow your own pattern to re-make the item, editing as you go. 

Modifying a pattern is much easier and generally less time consuming.  Someone else has already designed the item, and you are simply making a few changes here and there.  This can be anything from adding a lace border to adding sleeves to a vest pattern to make the perfect sweater.  Or doing the math to make it a size or two larger than the designer wrote.  Changing the hook size and yarn can turn a fitted sweater into an over sized one. 

It's important to know the difference between designing and modifying when you want to sell your work.  If I designed it, I do not hesitate to put my label on it.  If I modified it, I will put "based on the pattern by so-and-so in such-and-such publication".  Always give credit to the original designer - it's the right thing to do.

Connecting With A Mentor

This week I have had a few discussions with my new mentor from the CGOA.  I think it's fabulous that I was assigned someone who is so different from me - there's so much I can learn!

I wasn't really sure when I signed up exactly what it would be like having a mentor in the field of crochet design, especially considering to qualify for one you need to know so much already.  As with anything, however, there is always more to learn! 

We have discussed goals, swatching, and submissions.  She suggested I visit several web sites I hadn't heard of before to learn more information.  I learned more about proposals and what editors are looking for.  We discussed size charts, fit, and drape of garments and matching them to the customer base of each publication.  She even told me what to expect for compensation!

We made a loose plan of action.  It's important for a new designer to get their name out there on line and in publications.  We discussed how to self-publish and the importance of great pictures.  Now it's up to me to use this information, learn, and act upon it. 

I am so happy that I decided to request a mentor!  Even though it took a couple of weeks, it was well worth the wait!

The Crochet Portfolio

This is one of those things that I can't believe I didn't think of sooner.  Although I have always wanted to put together a photo album of my work, it's been on my to-do list for years now.  I read a post yesterday about a crochet portfolio that was a tremendous wake up call.

It makes sense that any aspiring crochet designer would have a portfolio to showcase their talents and provide a professional presentation of their skills to those who would purchase their designs.  A portfolio is as important to an artist as a resume is to a business person.  Even freelance writers have a portfolio of writing samples. 

What is a portfolio in this sense?  It is a collection of the artist's recent work that showcases their talents and vision.  Therefore, a crochet portfolio should have copies of recently published items as well as design proposals ready for sale.  Art portfolios are in specialty cases due to their size.  A crochet design portfolio can be in a 3-ring binder or a computer tablet. 

I think I will create mine using the 3-ring binder.  Swatches are part of the proposal, and you can't feel and stretch the fabric represented by a computer tablet or laptop.  As I am new to this, I have many more design proposals than published works.  The portfolio is going on my to-do list so it will be ready when I need it.  Maybe I'll actually get that photo album done as well...

Mentoring

Over the weekend, I received an email requesting more information so I can be matched with a CGOA mentor, as I requested.  I believe in mentor programs, as there are many positive outcomes from such relationships.

Think of having a one on one professional relationship with someone in your desired field.  Asking questions provides a wealth of information, and direction.  You find out about things you didn't even realize you didn't know, thus leading to more questions.  This perpetual motion allows growth of both the mentee and mentor. 

A mentor is not there to do any work for you - hire a pattern editor or pattern tester to help fix your designs.  You are expected to have already done significant research on where you can obtain the tools for your chosen career.  For example, many of the crochet magazines have the designer guidelines and editorial calendars on their websites.  If you want to be a designer, you are expected to have already found and downloaded this information.  You should already have a list of websites you reference for stitch directories and the like. 

You might wonder, if I have all that information, what do I need a mentor for?  Well, are magazines the only place you can sell your designs?  Someone created the free patterns that hang off the shelf by the yarn at the store.  Someone had to publish the latest pattern book.  Someone wrote that adorable pattern in the binder at the yarn store.  A mentor can provide the information you seek to create your own road map to a successful career.  They are industry insiders who created their own careers. 

Why should anyone want to mentor?  Crochet is an art form, and each individual has their own style.  This uniqueness benefits the entire industry.  Having mentored a teen for a high school course, I can say with certainty that a mentor feels good about what they do and applauds the successes of their mentee.

Mentoring is a wonderful program that challenges both individuals involved in it.  A mentee may ask a question the mentor doesn't know the answer for, but knows who to contact to find out.  This means that both of them learn something new. 

I'm looking forward to being matched with a mentor!

Finding the Right Words

Yesterday I finally had the time to sit down and fill out the CGOA application for Crochet Associate Professional.  It took me about 3 hours from start to finish.  Most of that time was spent in trying to find the right words to express what I wanted to say without writing a book about it.

In my real world experience, when asked questions like "what do you feel..." or "what do you think about.."  short, concise answers work best.  Not a couple of words short, but short as in a paragraph or bulleted list several items long.  I got hung up on the first response to "describe your efforts to work professional so far."

I learned to crochet when I was 7, but didn't really get into it until my late teens.  By my early twenties I had mastered most of the stitches.  I was modifying patterns to fit my taste and needs throughout my late twenties.  In my thirties I was writing my own patterns for me.

I dabbled with submitting to magazines.  That is, I would mail off an entry every few months or so.  I only had a few hours a week to crochet, and that was spent primarily making gifts for family and friends.  I hadn't a clue as to how to make crochet into a career, so it remained a hobby.

How does one describe a series of events in life that act as a wake up call?  Karma?  Coincidence?  I'm not sure, but I find myself now with both the time and the desire to pursue crochet more seriously. 

Time and Thought Management

I find this is a very difficult time of year for crochet.  The weather is getting nicer, and sometimes altogether too hot and sticky.  These are not the conditions in which you really want to be working with wool, or any large heavy crochet project. Add to that all the other things you could be doing outside and even with the longer days, there just isn't enough time.  No wonder that small, portable crochet projects have become synonymous with summer.

Yet spring/summer is exactly the time a crochet designer needs to be thinking of warm, winter things.  Magazines have to have time to collect content before publication.  This equates to their editorial calendar submission deadlines being several months in advance.  Therefore, if you design, plan on making that wool coat in the heat of summer. 

As a child, I would often wake up at 6am in the summer to find my grandmother in the kitchen just finishing all of the baking.  She chose the early morning hours to do this because it was "when it was coolest."  Now I find myself crocheting the warmest things in the early hours of the morning.  Planning, sketching, and all the other things that have to be done on paper or the computer are done during the warmest hours of the day. 

As far as thought management, here's a trick I learned in the corporate world:  Have ONLY ONE calendar.  Penciling everything in a day planner or calendar helps avoid scheduling conflicts.  What about the crochet calendar I talked about a few posts ago?  I use that for the details.  Whereas my personal calendar will have an entry like "start birthday gift", the crochet calendar will have the pattern, materials, etc. needed to complete it.

Just as it is difficult to go to a 9 to 5 job when it is so nice outside, it is every bit as difficult to keep yourself motivated to complete crochet projects.  Think about how you will feel when your project has been completed, add a little self-discipline, and you will manage to get it done.

Successful Crochet Designers

A long time ago a close friend once told me that it appeared that the secret to success in the crochet design world was having a blog.  The formula, as she saw it, was that others in the industry saw the blog and referred more people to it.  Somewhere along the line it would be seen by someone in the television industry, and once an interview was secured, so was your future as a crochet designer.  Interesting theory.

It turns out that there may be quite a bit of truth in it.  Most "make money online by blogging" sites delve into the necessity of back links, or links from other well known sites that rank high in Google's list.  These back links should be from sites with similar subject matter.  The more of these links, or referrals, the higher your blog will rank on Google's search list.

Once your blog shows up in the first couple of pages from a Google or Yahoo search, more people check it out.  The odds of someone clicking on an ad on your blog increase exponentially.  Every ad click is counted and credited by AdSense and the owner of the blog then gets paid.  Every referring ad to Amazon to a product you discuss on your blog also generates income.

Yet there is more to becoming a successful crochet designer than being web savvy.  The great ones not only make every gift they give to anyone for any occasion, they also publish their designs frequently.  From what I have learned about these designers, they churn out at least 15-20 designs per year for various publications.  This means that for every magazine, book, and web site they checked the editorial calendar, had an idea, sketched it out, made a gauge swatch and submitted it and waited for an acceptance letter and contract.

Things turn around a bit once a designer is known to editors and yarn companies.  The designer may start receiving requests from them.  Although I have found no information on the web about this, I suspect that higher prices are paid per design at this point.  As the amount of publications increase, the more well known the designer becomes.  They may be asked to appear on a craft show on television.

Another friend once said "if you like what you do, stick with it and the money will come."  Great advice for any field, but especially crochet design as there is a lot of non-compensated work involved before any financial achievement is gained.

The Challenge of Crochet Design

Sometimes I wonder if crochet design is like writing.  When the muse hits, I have dozens of ideas I put into a notebook.  Sometimes they just sit there.  Sometimes I look them over and wonder what on earth I had been thinking.  Sometimes there is a true gem among them.

The overall design for my Herrschnerr's entry is now on paper.  I know it will get tweaked several times before the final version is complete, but at least I now have a guide to go by.  I've found that if I type the instructions as I go, it makes putting together the final printed pattern easier.

Basically, my formula works like this:

Sketch

I am horrible at drawing, but I know what I'm trying to put on the paper.  I might use symbols or write notes in different areas of the sheet.  Usually there are arrows pointing at various things.  To anyone else, it would look worse than a doodled on piece of paper, but to me it acts like a table of contents.

Plan

What yarn would work best?  What hook should I use that will provide the proper drape of the yarn?  What is my gauge when combining the two?  How large do I want the finished product to be?  How many stitches will I need?  This period takes a lot of trial and error, and therefore a lot of time.  I will usually make several different gauge swatches, trying to find the exact feel for the piece I want to create.  Counting stitches, taking measurements of swatches, and doing the math is an absolute requirement.  One of the toughest parts is making sure the stitch pattern I want to use divides evenly into the number of stitches I need to make the size I want.

Start Crocheting

Now that I have the pattern I will be using in my head, I need to start making it to verify that it will work the way I want it to.  Every row gets a notation, such as "color A, 140 sts" or "hdc, (sc,dc) across.  When I put the yarn and crochet hook down, I'll bring my notes to the computer and type in what I did in standard notation; i.e. "Using color A, sc in each stitch across (140 sc)". 

Finishing

Finish off the crochet work by weaving in all ends and blocking if necessary.  Finish off the pattern by reviewing it to make sure it would make sense to someone else.  I have a friend who like to pattern test for me, and she will email me any questions she has.  I know that if she has a question, others would as well, therefore I modify the pattern to make it clearer.

All in all, I find designing crochet items a fun thing to do.  I know I have a lot left to learn about it, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

A Crochet Contest True Story

Sometimes life takes strange twists and turn.  On my honeymoon many years ago I came across a crochet magazine that featured a contest winning afghan entitled "Stained Glass Window".  It was absolutely beautiful!  At that time, I was still a novice as far as crochet goes.  Yet I showed that magazine to my husband and said "I am going to win a contest like that someday!"  It didn't matter that he pointed out my skill level wasn't anywhere near what was required to make that afghan, let alone enter and win a contest.

Fast forward several years.  Crochet was my constant companion by this time.  Browsing the web, I came across the annual Herrschner's Afghan Contest.  I took a tremendous leap of faith, as the afghan had to be completed in 6 weeks.  Feeling creative that day, I decided to take the plunge and send in an entry form.  While that was waiting in the mailbox for the postman, I made a sketch on graph paper and browsed my numerous stitch directories until something jumped out at me.  I chose offset clusters as they reminded me of bubbles.  Due to the time constraints, this afghan went EVERYWHERE with me.  I'd complete a stitch or two at stop lights while driving, a row or two on breaks at work, etc.  Somehow I managed to finish it.  By this time I had received the entry instructions, which I must have read a dozen times to make sure everything was done right.  I sent it priority mail and tracked its progress with bated breathe, hoping it would arrive in time.  It did.

The next several weeks seemed to last an eternity, wondering what the judges thought.  Finally, I received a congratulations letter in the mail, notifying me that my afghan "Seahorse Social" was awarded honorable mention.

I think that naming my entry was the most difficult part.  I asked for input from my entire family before finally deciding on something.

This experience opened up a whole new world for me.  I realized I had to learn a thing or two about the world of crochet design.  I did not receive a lot of money but I did gain some notoriety.  I would meet people who would tell me that they had either seen or ordered my design from Herrschner's.  Unfortunately, at the time I could not devote myself to full time crochet designing, as much as I would have liked to. 

Perhaps this year I will enter again - afghans are due July 15th.