Making Money Crocheting?
So, you have this talent, or should I say a fun hobby that you’ve been doing for a while now. Crocheting baby blankets, potholders, dishcloths, you name it and you’ve made it. You may enjoy creating and gifting or maybe you just enjoy creating; but have you thought about turning your hobby into income. Well, let me tell you about a few ways you can make money crocheting.
1) Create a Crochet Blog:
If you can push past the technical component of starting a blog, you may find that creating a blog is not only visually rewarding but it can be financially rewarding too. It’s a neat way to catalog your work while creating an income stream.
This is a lot easier than you may think and once you monetize your website you can begin making your talent work for you.
I’ve created a 5 steps guide to establishing a crochet blog. It’s designed to help you get started and ready to post your first entry.
I don’t want to dive too deep here, but I heard this saying once, ‘There are two times you should start a blog. The first time is about 5 years ago and the other is NOW ’. So, give it some thought and then let me help you get started.
Steps to Starting a Crochet Blog!!!
2) Sell Your Crochet Items
This can be one of the quickest ways to start making money. I know, this may seem like a no brainer, but selling your creation can bring about some additional questions like, ‘Where Can I Sell My Items?’ or ‘How Much Can I Sell My Items For?’
Understanding and developing a price point for your items is an important part of the selling process. Let’s start by looking at places and ways you can sell your finished products.
Here are a few ways you can begin:
• Local craft fairs– Check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see what craft fairs are in your area.
• Word of Mouth– This can be one of the easiest ways to get some green. Take, for instance, make a blanket, show it off to your friends; you will quickly see that friends of friends are now interested in your product.
• Etsy– (Etsy is a great way to sell both physical and patterned products. This is an online market place designed to help the crafter sale their products)
• Instagram– This is a social media outlet that is a perfect place to showcase your items and get them sold.
• Facebook Market Place– This is like an online garage sale. Post your items, name your price, and see what sells.
• Partner with local shops- to possibly carry your crochet items. Make crochet book covers or coffee cozies and see if a local business will carry and sell your items.
• Amazon Market Place- This is an online market that allows sellers to resell new and used items.
How Do I Price My Items?
So listen, this can be a taboo subject, and it’s usually based on a few things. For starters, you always want to take into consideration the cost to create the product and you want to consider your time. In addition, you want to consider the cost involved with selling the product. For example, Etsy charges a fee to post and sell your designs, same with local craft fairs. They may charge for a table or booth rental. These types of fees should also be considered when pricing your crocheted items.
I’ve heard people say you should charge 3 times the cost of your supplies BUT this can be misleading. For instance, say you purchased the yarn at a discount of $3 a skein and you used 3 skeins of yarn to complete the project ($3 x 3 skeins=) $9. It cost $9 for the yarn, 3 times this would be $27 ($9x3). Selling a handmade crochet cardigan for $27 may not be worth your time, especially if it takes you a couple of days to complete it.
If I were to sell my items, I would take the cost of supplies, plus my set wage, then I would multiply this number by 2. i.e. Yarn cost $5+$10 hourly wages (assuming it takes 1 hour to create) = $15 x 2= $30 for the item.
The main thing here is to make something and then offer it up for sale; see what happens. You never know, creating and selling may provide you with another stream of income.
3) Sell Crochet Patterns
Selling your crochet patterns is another way you can make money with your crocheting talent. You can sell your patterns in various ways, through various channels.
– Etsy– I use Esty and while there are some drawbacks to this, it still provides a stream of income created through crocheting.
– Ravelry– Online store designed to share and sell crochet/knitting patterns. While I’ve never used this channel a lot of crocheters do and they have seen a lot of success.
– Your own blog/website– If you decide to set up a blog then you can use your own blog to set up a retail space for you to sell your patterns.
– Lovecrafts.com- An online website designed for creators to share and sell their products and patterns.
– Crochet magazine
– Crochet subscription boxes. Subscription boxes are relatively new but they have really taken off over the past few years. The neat thing about this is it creates another potential income stream for the crocheter.
You can partner with a company by creating a pattern that is easy to follow. I work with Knitcrate, but there are other subscription box programs out there. A simple google search and you could be on your way to making some additional money.
4) Teaching Others to Crochet-
Teaching is a gift and having patience is the key, especially if you are going to teach to a live audience. However, if patience isn’t your virtue, you can still teach in other ways.
Here are a few online options to teaching crocheting:
YouTube– Start your own YouTube Channel, through consistent posting and a little creativity.
SkillShare- Create a tutorial, develop a following, and then you get paid.
Udemy– This is another online platform that can increase your earning potential.
Your Website– (Another reason to get started with a blog/website). You can offer classes through your website. Gaining an audience through social media platforms and FaceBook crocheting groups.
NOW, if you have the gift of patience, you can look into teaching at local craft stores, community centers, churches, senior centers, or even afterschool programs. By charging a nominal fee, per student or per class, you can start earning money immediately using your talents.
Okay here’s one more way to make money crocheting and while there are tons more ideas out there, the ones listed above and this last one, can surely get you started. I may expand on this list as I start tapping into more ways for myself.
5) CROCHET TECH WRITER
So this one was new to me because I never thought this was an actual thing. Say, for instance, you enjoy writing patterns. You really love creating something new and writing all the steps down, in a way that others can easily follow. Now say you meet a crocheter that may be great with creating but not so great at writing the steps down in a consistent, easy to follow way. This is where a crochet tech pattern editor would come in to play. This is how YOU could make some additional money. You would edit the pattern, checking for typos and inconsistencies, and then charge a fee for your time.
I’ve found that although I enjoy writing patterns, it may be time for me to invest in a pattern editor, just to make sure all my t’s are crossed and I’s are dotted. While I love to run my designs and creations by my husband, he definitely doesn’t understand crochet lingo enough to help me fine-tune the details.
Again these are just a few ways to make money crocheting.
Before I go I want to mention that I came across this awesome crocheter named Pam Grice, from crochetpreneur.com She is so knowledgeable about so many crochet related topics. Once you finish up here, you should definitely check out her website. While she does more of a crochet deep dive, I would definitely bookmark her blog so you check back from time to time.
The sky is the limit, don’t continue to wait. Just get started.
