Tutorial For Creating Your Own Craft Patterns
By: Kelle Arvay

Let's say you've been creating your craft designs and selling them either online or off. Now your interested in creating patterns of your designs and becoming a WAHM to start your own pattern business. What is the first step you need to take to make that happen you ask? Well, first of all you need to understand the make up of a pattern.

The following are the basic components of creating a pattern:

Front Cover
Supply List
Instructions
Templates
Back Cover

Front Cover: This is where your banner, logo, website address, and picture of the design will go.
Supply List: Using MS Word or Works, you'll need to type a list of all the required supplies for making your design. Be sure and include brand names if you used them. Also the supply list can go on the back cover and this makes it easy for the customer to see what is required without taking the pattern out of the bag.

Instructions: The best way to create instructions is to take notes while your making the item. Type them out using MS Word or Works. Be as detailed as possible without writing War and Peace. Also remember to write your instructions as if your instructing a beginner. When your finished it's very important to proof read and use spell check.

Templates: When you make your creation you should make sure you trace out templates on cardstock. So this way you can have them to trace onto paper again for the pattern. If you have shapes like circles or need straight lines, use a small glass, plate and a ruler. Trace your templates out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Make sure your drawings are accurate in size and don't resemble being drawn by a 3 year old. There's nothing worse than for a customer to get what they think is going to be a great pattern only to find the templates distorted or drawn poorly.

Back Cover: The back cover is the best place for the supply list and any additional information like size of the finished item you think the customer needs to know. As well as your contact information and website address.

Some of the other supplies you'll need to send patterns through the mail is 6 x 9 pattern bags and 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 manila envelopes.

Once you've finished all these steps your ready to scan your templates and save them on your computer or you can take the original templates to a copier and make copies. If your wanting to offer your patterns as e-patterns you'll need to learn how to put all the elements of your patterns into a PDF. There are many tutorials that can be found online for this process or you can hire someone to do them for you. PDF's are opened and read by Acrobat Adobe. E-patterns are a wonderful way to offer your online customers a fast and easy way for your customers to purchase your patterns and get them via e-mail.

Good luck in all your pattern endeavors and keep on crafting and designing.