When you’re a new knitting or crochet designer, figuring out how to price your work can seem be a difficult task. You know how much work you’ve put into your design, but you worry if it will translate to buyers. Just how should you, or should you, price your newest knitting pattern? Consider these six factors when making your decision.
Previous Experience/Training
Are you a self-taught knitter and designer, or have you studied design and knitwear extensively? While you don’t have to be trained as a designer in order to publish patterns for sale, you may feel more confident (and potentially successful) in charging for your early patterns if this is the case.
Publishing History
Is this your first pattern or your tenth? Many designers choose to build a fan base with their early patterns. Then, once they are more established, they start charging for patterns. Or, you may choose to start publishing for-sale patterns after the success of a previous pattern. However, even well-established designers occasionally publish the free pattern.
Exposure
Are you and your knitting designs a household name? The exposure you get in the knitting community, either as a knitter or a designer, is important in determining whether or not to charge for your patterns. The promotion that you put into your work, too, should factor into your pattern pricing.
Investment
The investment of your time and money can (and should) help you determine whether or not to offer a pattern for free or for sale. My first two patterns were cowls that didn’t require test knitting or a lot of time on pattern writing. The decision to offer them for free was simple. My later patterns required tech editing and extensive understanding of sizing and pattern writing. It was similarly easy to decide to charge for those.
Interest Level
Has there been a lot of interest in a pattern you are working on, among friends or fellow knitters? Use that to help you gauge the interest of potential buyers down the road.
Comparable Pattern Pricing
Make sure to research what comparable patterns are priced at before deciding whether or not to charge for your own work. The dishcloth you designed might look awesome and it might have taken you quite a bit of time to chart it out, but you won’t have much success charging $6 for it if comparable patterns are priced at $0.99.
Good luck, and happy publishing!