Before we get into this article, I wanted to share a quick apology/explanation for the lack of the weekly blogs and the inconsistency of posting. Life has been so, so busy for me. Despite not having a job at the moment, there's still so much that I want to do and I've been trying my best to accomplish some of those goals, and honestly, playing a bit too many video games. Trying to get my life back into the place I want it to be at has been incredibly difficult, and it's not easy at times.
My promise to you is to try and stick to the 1 blog per week, with a new blog every Sunday. I have pattern ideas in my head that I'd love to be able to provide to you for FREE, I just need to do it and make it a habit. And I think that the weekly blog would be a great time for me to share those patterns with you.
Now, let's get into it!
The Actual Blog
At some point in your crochet (or knitting!) journey, there will be a moment when you're following a pattern that someone else has created and it just feels a bit restrictive. You wish the neckline of a pattern were different, or the cuffs of a sleeve, or that the body of that amigurumi were a bit shorter. You want to start to customize patterns, change things around to fit you and your wants best. Or maybe you have an idea that nobody else has done before and you want to be the person to make that item come to life.
When you design your own patterns, you shift from being a technician to being an architect. You are no longer just executing someone else's vision with step by step instructions, you are solving the puzzle of how to turn a ball of yarn into a three-dimensional object of your own imagining. Below is a deep dive into the practical mindset, tools, and strategies needed to successfully draft, test, and write your own original crochet designs.
This blog technically covers two parts of creation, adjusting someone else's pattern and making your own from scratch. We'll mostly go into making your own from scratch, but keep in mind that a lot of these same concepts also apply to adjusting someone else's pattern.
The Foundation: Shifting Your Mindset
Before you even pick up a hook, the most important tool you need is a shift in perspective. When you follow a pattern, mistakes mean you did something wrong. When you design a pattern, a misshapen object is not a mistake, it's a learning process of gathering data and rewriting it to make it perfect.
Frogging, which is the act of ripping out your stitches, is not a sign of failure in design. It is a mandatory and regular part of the process. Even professional designers regularly rip out hours of work because the drape of the fabric is not right or the math missed by two stitches. Accept before you even start that your first attempt will rarely be your final piece. Documenting what did not work is just as valuable as documenting what did work, as it keeps you from repeating the same structural mistakes later on in the design.
Redoing stitches and rows is an essential part of the design process, it is not a sign of failure!
Essential Tools for the Design Process
While you can technically draft a pattern with just yarn and a hook, having a few specific tools on hand will make the process infinitely smoother and save you from major technical headaches later.
A Dedicated Notebook: Do not rely on loose sheets of paper or your digital notes app unless you are highly disciplined. A physical notebook allows you to sketch shapes, jot down row counts, and make quick adjustments on the fly while sitting with your work.
A Reliable Tape Measure: Measurements are the absolute truth in pattern design. Stitch counts can vary wildly based on individual tension, but inches and centimeters do not lie. You will need this to measure your swatches, your progress, or your body for clothing. This is mostly for clothing articles, but it is helpful for amigurumi to let users know of the finished size of the product.
Stitch Markers: You may need dozens of these. They are vital for marking the beginnings of rounds, tracking repeat sections, indicating where increases happen, and holding pieces together before seaming. I find it can be helpful to have stitch markers in several different colours and writing down what each colour means (for example, an orange stitch marker means the end of a round).
A Calculator: Crochet design is secretly just math wrapped in yarn. A calculator can be helpful to figure out stitch scaling, grading for different sizes, and yarn yardage estimates.
The Magic of Swatching
Many crocheters notoriously skip the gauge swatch when working from a pre-made pattern, viewing it as a tedious chore. When you are the designer, skipping the swatch is a recipe for disaster. The swatch is the literal foundation of your pattern math.
Start by making a generous square, at least five inches by five inches, using your chosen yarn and hook. Work in the exact stitch pattern you plan to use for the actual project. Once the swatch is finished, wash it and lay it flat to dry exactly as you would treat the finished item. This process, known as blocking, is critical because yarn relaxes and either grows or shrinks when wet and then dries.
Once your swatch is dry, count how many stitches and how many rows fit into a standard four inch by four inch square. Write these numbers down. These numbers give you your stitch to measurement ratio, which is the magic key to all pattern drafting.
For example, if your swatch shows that 16 stitches equal 4 inches, then you know you have 4 stitches per inch. If you want to design a scarf that is 8 inches wide, you simply multiply 8 inches by 4 stitches per inch to know you need to chain or foundation row 32 stitches. This basic formula applies to almost all pieces of clothing that you will build.
With amigurumi, if your finished product is too big, personally I prefer to scale down yarn and hook sizes, but doing calculations for a pattern isn't as simplified as clothing. If you start with 6 stitches in a magic ring, and you want to decrease the final size, you may want to lower it down to 5 stitches, or even 4 to start with, then adjust the rest of your piece as needed.
Reverse Engineering Using Shapes
Everything in the physical world can be broken down into basic geometric shapes. A sweater is usually just a collection of rectangles and trapezoids. A hat is a cylinder with a flat or slightly curved circle on top. A bag is one big rectangle folded up. An amigurumi toy is a combination of spheres, cones, and tubes. You get the idea.
When you want to design a new item, start by sketching it out as a series of flat shapes. If you are designing a cardigan, sketch the back panel as a rectangle, the two front panels as narrower rectangles, and the sleeves as tapered trapezoids. Write down the ideal measurements for each of these shapes based on a garment that already fits you well. Once you have the measurements, use your swatch ratio to convert those inches into stitch and row counts, and then follow that rough pattern to start with.
Amigurumi can be more complicated than clothing, but it doesn't need to be. If you've already disassembled your piece into individual shapes, learn how to make those shapes if you don't, and then start crocheting, doing your best to keep to the size you want so the proportions end up looking like how you imagined. If your arms are too thin compared to the body, redo the arms to make them thicker. Too short? Add more rows. I find that the process of creating amigurumi is a lot more of crocheting and frogging to redo it than mathing it all out beforehand. A lot of this also comes from regular practice. If you know how big a magic ring that starts out with 6 sc is compared to 8 sc, then you're golden. Also, compare as you go!
Writing as You Crochet
The biggest trap a new designer can fall into is thinking they will remember what they did. You tell yourself that you will remember how many rows you worked before starting the armhole decreases, but even a few hours later, that information can be gone. Anyone forgotten what row they were working on when they stepped away to make a coffee? I know I have.
Write down every single row or round as you complete it. Do not wait until the end of the project to write the pattern from memory. Keep your notebook right next to you. Write down the instruction for the row, execute the row, verify the stitch count, and adjust your notes if you had to change anything mid row.
Use standard terminology right from the beginning. If you plan to publish for a US audience, use US terms consistently. If you are targeting a UK audience, use UK terms. Mixing them up or using personal shorthand that only you understand will make translating your notes into a readable pattern incredibly difficult later on.
The Second-Side Test
If your project has symmetrical elements, such as sleeves, pockets, socks, or ears, the absolute best test of your notes is making the second piece using only what you wrote down. Do not look at the first piece for reference; look only at your written steps. If you find yourself guessing or looking at the first sleeve to count rows, your written pattern is missing crucial information. Refine the text immediately until you can replicate the piece perfectly using only the written words.
Tips for Clean and Professional Pattern Writing
A good design can be ruined by a poorly written pattern. To make your pattern accessible and enjoyable for others to read, keep these formatting principles in mind:
Clearly State the Prerequisites: At the very beginning of your pattern, list the exact yarn used, including brand, fiber content, and weight category, the hook size, the final measurements, and the gauge. List every stitch abbreviation you use, even the standard ones like single crochet or double crochet. Any and all information is good here, even if it seems extra, or too much. Write it down anyways.
Include Stitch Counts at the End of Every Row: This is the single most helpful thing you can do for a maker. At the end of every instruction line, include the total stitch count in parentheses, for example, (42 sts). It allows the crafter to verify their work instantly before moving on, saving them from finding mistakes three rows later.
Break Up Complex Sections: If a row has a complicated sequence of stitches, do not write it as one massive paragraph. Use asterisks or brackets to show repeat sequences clearly, such as: *Sc 3, 2 sc in next st; repeat from * across.
Use a Basic Font and Colour: This is pretty standard, but don't use crazy fonts or colours. Use either sans-serif or serif, and black for most of the pattern. You can use colour for another easy-to-read font for section headers or to colour the background a very light colour if you wish, but the rows should be easy to read.
Testing and Refinement
Once you have a complete draft of your pattern, the final step is getting it into the hands of other crafters. Pattern testing is a vital phase of development. You know exactly how the project is supposed to look, which means your brain will automatically fill in any gaps or typos in your writing. A stranger reading your pattern will not have that luxury.
Find a few volunteers with varying skill levels to test your draft. Ask them to look specifically for clarity, mathematical errors in stitch counts, and phrasing that feels confusing. Be open to their feedback. If multiple testers stumble on the same row, it is a clear sign that the section needs to be reworded for better flow.
Embrace the Freedom of Creation
Designing your own crochet patterns changes the way you look at yarn. You stop seeing a ball of wool as potential for a predetermined project and start seeing it as raw material for whatever your mind can conjure. It requires patience, a bit of basic math, and a willingness to undo your work when things go sideways, but the feeling of holding a finished item that came entirely out of your own imagination is unmatched. Grab your notebook, make a swatch, and see where your ideas can take you.