11 Ways to Make Money with Crochet

You too can make money with crochet and earn a full-time living!

Crochet is not only a fun and relaxing hobby, but it is also a good way to earn some extra money. And if you stick with it, you might even be able to make a living with it one day. For me, I’m a very slow learner, but I’m happy to say that I’m finally earning enough money with crochet to support myself. Mind you, I lead a very plain and simple life at the moment, but I do have big dreams for the future. And crochet can make those dreams come true.

The good news is that starting a crochet business doesn’t have to cost you anything to get started. Depending on how you want to make the money, you might already have everything you need to get started.

Here are 11 ways that you can make money with crochet. Hope you find one that works for you.

Sell Patterns – If being creative and designing new patterns interests you, then selling your patterns is one of the quickest ways to earn money with crochet. The internet has made it very easy to publish crochet patterns in downloadable pdf files. These files can be attached to automatic emails or placed at a special url to give buyers immediate access once payment has been made.

The beauty of selling crochet patterns is that you do the work once and get paid over and over again. At the same time, it’s much easier said than done. You still need to market the pattern in order for it to continue to sell. The minute you stop marketing, is the minute your earnings will begin to decrease.

Free Patterns and Sell Advertisements – Another great way to make money with your crochet patterns is to offer them up for free and then make your money by selling advertising space. And it’s not hard to get advertisers. Google Adsense, Chitika, Info Links and many other advertising companies have advertisers willing to buy your space. It takes a long time to get enough traffic though to make this type of advertising worth your while.

Crafts Shows – Craft shows are another option. If this is what you’re planning on doing, then you will need to crochet up a nice inventory as you don’t want to run out of items. That means you will have a small start-up cost. Here is an article on how to succeed at craft shows. Standout Worthy: 7 Tips for Making a Profit at Craft Shows 

Design for Magazines – You could always try your hand at designing for crochet magazines. I’m not sure what they pay, but it’s got to be somewhat better than when you first start your own blog. If you worked at it simultaneously, then you could submit to magazines until you make enough with your own blog. At the same time, magazines are a great way to get your name out there as most them usually have a wide circulation.

Be a Pattern Tester – Many designers will pay to have their patterns tested. This is awesome if you love to just sit back and crochet and not have to worry about the design or anything. All you do is keep your eyes open for problem areas and report them back to the designer. The pay can actually be quite lucrative if you can get in with someone who pays well.

Sell Finished Items Online – Another great way to make money with crochet is to sell finished items online. There are many sites like Ebay and Etsy that will allow you to list your finished crocheted items for a small fee. When the item sells, you simply ship it and wait for the customer to give you a good review. The only downfall of this is that you have to crochet fast in order to make decent money. I tried going down this road and found that I was losing money on the shipping and wasn’t making much profit at all. At the same time, I see many crocheters who are doing quite well with their shops.

Brick and Mortar Store – You will need to have start-up funds if you’re planning on going down this path. This is also very risky as you could end up losing it all if your business doesn’t pick up. Establishing an online presence, doing craft shows and then opening up a brick and mortar shop might be the best way to go. That way you can use the other two to kind of hold you up when things don’t do so well in your shop.

Things to sell in your shop include yarn, pattern books, crochet hooks and other crochet supplies. You can also sell your finished items as well as allow other crocheters to bring in their items and you would then keep a small percentage of the profit.

The good thing about owning your own brick and mortar shop is that you can purchase your yarn at wholesale prices. Gosh who wouldn’t love that? 🙂

Teach Crochet Classes – Another great way to earn money with crochet is to teach a crochet class. You can teach from your own home, or at a craft store like Michaels. You can do individual lessons or group lessons to make an even greater return for your time.

My friend Patrice from Yarn Over Pull Through teaches both online and offline courses. She teaches how to do photo patterns, and can take any portrait and bring it to life with yarn.

If teaching crochet is something that you’d enjoy you might benefit from the new book “Make Money Teaching Crochet” by Marie Segares of Underground Crafter. It’s an excellent resource that will get you off on the right track.

Create Youtube Videos – If you enjoy teaching how to crochet, but don’t like the classroom setting, why not try making some videos. Youtube is a great place to post as well as on your own blog or website.

Write Crochet Books – Another awesome way to teach crochet is to write crochet books. You could do photo tutorials that show step-by-step how a stitch or technique is crocheted. Your best publishing options are online in digital form. But if you have the funds to go with hard copy you might do good with that as well.

Crochet Pattern Directory – Last, but not least, is a crochet pattern directory. In this case all you do is collect crochet links and link up with them from your directory. You then make your money by selling advertisements and driving traffic.

So there you have 11 ways to make money with crochet. Although it is very easy to make your first buck with crochet, it nevertheless takes a long time to build enough traffic in order to make a living with it. As with anything it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. But if you stick with it, the hard work will pay off.

Here is an article – Crochet Busines As It Is.