While She Naps

How to Become an Expert

I’m in the car shuttling kids from one place to another when I’m suddenly struck with an idea for a brilliant design. I can see it so clearly in my mind’s eye and I become totally consumed with developing it and making it come to life.

Duck prototype on my desk today.

The rest of the daytime hours are spent thinking about my idea, mulling over how it’s all going to come together, just waiting for the hours after the kids are tucked into bed so that I can run up to the studio to get started.

When 8:00 pm rolls around and I’m a little tired, but still raring to go. The first stages go smoothly, fueled by my assuredness that this is going to be awesome. Then I start drawing pattern pieces, cutting fabric, sewing stuff together and when I finish what I’ve made is so misshapen I can hardly look at it. By now it’s 10:00 pm and I’ve got to go to bed.

The next day, I still believe in my idea and feel sure I can fix it. Massive edits ensue. Every pattern piece gets redrawn and I make a second prototype and stuff it. And it’s still terrible. Actually in some ways it’s worse than the first.

Monkey heads with various failed muzzles.

But now I can see, at least partially, what went wrong. Third time’s a charm, right? More edits, more redrawing. I sew and stuff the third prototype. Still terrible. Okay, more research, more sketching, and then another one. I’m getting closer, but not really. Sometimes there are nine cycles like this, or twelve.

And you know what? This is when most people give up. When questions pop up about whether this idea was so hot in the first place, whether it’s even possible, or possible for me, it’s easy to just say forget it. You hear yourself asking why you’re wasting your time and your materials on making crap. And who do you think you are anyway. Toss it out. Go watch TV.

This is when I come downstairs into the family room with a seriously grumpy look on my face and Charlie says,

“Oh no.” 

“I’m in hell,” I say.

“I can tell.”

He knows what I’m talking about because this happens every time.

In this moment we are presented with a crucial choice: give up or persevere.

Many terrible kangaroos. There were more.

Creative work involves constant problem solving, fixing, and refining. When you’ve developed a level of expertise in what you’re doing, it gets easier because you can more easily predict what will go wrong and you’ve acquired enough skills to correct errors mid-stream.

In order to develop that expertise, though, you have to continually choose to persevere.

Even naturally talented designers, and designers with formal education in their field, and designers with all the trappings of success, acquired their expertise through perseverance. If you probe just a little bit into their success stories you’ll see that more often than not they got where they are because they refused to stop trying.

This was an outtake from a photo shoot I did of my tall birds in October of 2007. I think they fell over a million times.

The more you make, the more you force yourself to forge through those moments when you are closest to giving up. And every time you come out the other side with a finished product, every time you persevere, your level of expertise deepens.

So you know what? Go get that prototype out the garbage and make another one. And one more after that. Eventually you’ll see why the problems exist. You’ll be able to anticipate them and correct for them before you even begin.

The problems you’re having with this design won’t be there for the next one. They’ll be new problems to solve, but you’ll have the expertise you need to forge through those, you just need to persevere.

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Have a tale of perseverance in creative work? Been ready to throw in the towel? Made a few prototypes, or a few dozen? Let's hear it.

Professional Development: Learning New Skills

I started off 2013 by checking Introduction to Making Cloth Dolls, by Jan Horrox, out of the library. I don't make many dolls. I've always been more interested in stuffed animals. I'm not totally sure why. I think I'm intimidated by the idea of making something that simulates a human.

Be that as it may, I think there's a tremendous amount to be learned from the art doll community just as there is from the artist teddy bear makers. I am continuously hungry for new construction techniques and find myself turning to experts from both of these groups when I want learn something new.

The dolls in this book don't appeal to me aesthetically, but that's not what I was interested in when I chose it from the library shelf. I was interested in the feet. And the knees. I made the Miranda doll pattern from the book, but without any clothing or features.

Here's my doll:

The feet are made in the most clever way. You sew down the front of the leg, and then flatten the foot and sew across the toes. I would never have arrived at this method on my own, but now that I see how it's done, it's part of my repertoire and will surely show up in a future stuffed animal.

And the knee joints. They are so simple, but again not a method that I would have thought to invent. I love them. I'm storing these knee joints away and, like the feet, they'll resurface at some point in a pattern of my own.

Discovering new construction methods like these is such a thrill for me. It's very easy to continue to make what you already know, but I think it's really important to stretch.

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Pattern Design Week: Topic #4 The "Whys" and "What Ifs" of Selling Patterns

This week I'm talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits of income that can flow in while you are in your studio being creative.  

In this series I’m focusing on creating patterns to distribute digitally as PDFs. On Monday we talked about how to choose a good project to turn into a pattern. Tuesday we explored breaking the project instructions down into manageable steps. And yesterday was all about layout and beauty shots.

Today I'm really excited to bring you a video workshop on the whys and what ifs of selling patterns. In this 26 minute workshop I chat with fellow plush maker and Etsy shop owner, Claire Chambers, about:

• Why crafters might want to consider branching out into selling PDF patterns.
• Whether selling patterns will diminish demand for your finished items.
• The timeline of creating a pattern and the basic steps involved.
• How to list your patterns clearly so that customers know exactly what they're getting.
• What your expectations should be for providing customer support.
• And whether you should allow customers to sell items they make from your patterns.

Claire had some great questions and my hope is that hearing us chat will help you in your own thinking about these issues. A big thank you to Claire for being an awesome guest! Here's the video. I hope you enjoy it!

Pattern Design Week: Topic #3 Creating the Document

This week I'm talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits of income that can flow in while you are in your studio being creative.

I’m using my soon to be released Cute Critters pattern as an example of my pattern making process this week. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be hosting a video workshop on  creating patterns. There are two spaces left so if you’d like to join me, send me an email today (abbyglassenberg at comcast dot net)! My new Cute Critters pattern will launch on Friday!

In this series I’m focusing on creating patterns to distribute digitally as PDFs. On Monday we talked about how to choose a good project to turn into a pattern and yesterday we explored breaking the project instructions down into manageable steps. Today I’ll discuss layout and taking beauty shots.

Creating the Document: Getting Everything on the Page 

When I first decided to begin selling patterns I felt intimidated because I’m not super tech savvy. I don’t own Photoshop or any of the Adobe suite programs and I am not a graphic designer by any means. My business is small and I don’t have a ton of capital to invest in software and my time is very tight so fitting in time to learn new software can be tricky.

But here’s the thing: I’m a make-it-work-with-what-you-have type of person. I knew I could figure out a way to produce high-quality patterns anyway. My pattern layout may not be fancy, but to me the sophistication of the toy’s design and the quality of the pattern instructions is what’s truly important in a sewing pattern. I strive to make the content of the highest quality even if the page layouts of the patterns I self-publish are very simple.

Make it Fancy or Make it Simple

If you are comfortable with page layout programs and graphic design software you are going to be able to make really pretty pattern pages and I think that’s awesome!  But if you’re not, don’t let that stop you from creating patterns for your projects. You don’t actually need anything fancy.

I write all my PDFs in Microsoft Word. I really do! It’s easy to insert images, edit the text, and then save the document as a PDF. You can reduce the file size right in Word to optimize it for sending via email.

I do all my photo editing and create all my pattern covers with Picmonkey, a free online photo editor. I love Picmonkey!

I draw my pattern templates with a Micron pen, scan them and save them as PDFs. Then I use a PDF Merge, another free online program, to merge it all together into one PDF document.

Sample page from my new Cute Critters pattern.

Viola! Is it fancy? Nope. But you know what? It works great.

There are other low-cost ways of producing a digital pattern. To digitize your pattern templates you can use PowerPoint or Inkscape.  Lots of people recommend Gimp as a free page layout program and I know there are others, too. I’d love to hear your recommendations for free or low-cost software that can be used to make pattern PDFs.

Proofread

Okay, now that you’ve got a your pattern on the page, you want to proofread and double check everything like crazy! I like to print out the pattern and templates (this allows me to see how the pattern will look if customers print it, too) and then I mark it up with a red pen (I used to be a teacher, you know!). You can also send your pattern out to a friend to test it at this point and then incorporate their feedback.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are all the photos in the right places?
• Did you describe every single step?
• Could certain steps benefit from a few more illustrations?
• Has your terminology been consistent throughout?
• Do you refer in the instructions to every tool and material listed?
• Could you break the instructions up with subheadings to increase readability?

Make a list of what needs to be fixed. Creating a good pattern often requires repeated sessions in the studio making more samples, replicating steps to get just the right photo, proofreading and more proofreading.

If your instructions are long, adding page numbers is helpful. Look carefully at your templates, too, checking that you have marked grain direction, how many to cut, where any openings or darts should be located, and any other pertinent information.

Take the Beauty Shot

Beauty shot for my new Cute Critters pattern. I had fun making this collage!

Now it’s time for a photo shoot! When you are selling goods online the quality of the main image is what’s sells the product. It’s worth your time to get a great shot! You may want to find someone to model for you, go to a particularly scenic location, or style the photo with a carefully selected set of props. Once you’re home again, crop and edit the photo and add text. Make it gorgeous. You’ll use this beauty shot as the cover image for the pattern and as the main listing image in your online shop.

I have over 20 patterns for sale right now and I really do love them all, but here is my favorite cover image:

Cover image for my Hobby Horse pattern.

To get this image I dropped my hobby horses off at my friend Carolyn's house for the weekend. She is a professional photographer and she has adorable sons. They ran around the backyard for an hour with the horses and she snapped these photos for me! Hooray for awesome, generous friends!

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Alright, on Friday we'll talk about two more important components: listing your patterns online and customer support.

I’d love to hear your tips or questions about creating patterns. What programs do you love? What do you think makes a particularly good beauty shot? Let’s learn from one another!

Pattern Design Week: Topic #2 Breaking it Down

This week I'm talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits of income that can flow in while you are in your studio being creative.

I’m using my soon to be released Cute Critters pattern as an example of my pattern making process this week. On Thursday afternoon I'll be hosting a video workshop with plush makers from the Etsy Plush Team who are interested in launching their first sewing patterns and my Cute Critters pattern will launch on Friday! It’s going to be a great week.

Creating the Project: Breaking Things Down

Yesterday we thought through exactly which projects are most suited to become patterns. Today we’ll make the project, breaking down and streamlining the steps so that we can describe and illustrate them for someone who has never made it before.

The best way to record every single step of a project is to write detailed notes while you make samples. On the first page of your notebook make two lists:

• Tools (these include all reusable items such as pins, fabric markers, and embroidery needles)

• Materials (these are items you use up such as 1/4 yard of felt, coordinating thread, and embroidery floss)

As you make the samples you’ll probably remember particular tools and materials you need along the way. Add them to your lists. If special tools or materials are required, you’ll want to add a link in your pattern to the best online source for them.

I sell 4-packs of keychain hooks in my shop specifically for the Cute Critters patterns.

In my Cute Critters pattern I have a link to my favorite source of wool-blend felt and where to buy keychain hooks if you want to turn your Critter into a keychain.

I measure the finished sample and jot down its length, width, and height so that customers can know the exact dimensions of the finished item before they purchase the pattern. And I weigh my toys to find out approximately how much stuffing to recommend using. Customers appreciate knowing exactly what they’ll need. Instead of “embroidery floss” try “a 12-inch strand of 6-ply embroidery floss in light pink”.

Illustrate the Steps

In addition to a place to jot down notes, I have an area in my studio set up for taking step-by-step photos.

I illustrate all of my patterns with photos. You may choose to draw illustrations instead, or to just use text, but for me photo illustrations get the job done remarkably well. I recommend using a piece of white poster paper as a backdrop (as opposed to a green cutting mat, for example) and you definitely need good lighting for these shots. Check out this series on taking tutorial photos for more tips on taking great step-by-step photos.

Explain the Basics First

For most craft and sewing projects there are a few techniques that are so fundamental they are worth describing up front. I think it’s best not to assume that your pattern customer knows these fundamental techniques. Some pattern makers shoot how-to videos and link to them from the pattern. I think that’s a terrific idea!

In my pattern for Cute Critters it’s vital that you know how to cut detailed shapes from felt. After the materials and tools list I explain my method for cutting felt. I took a few photos to illustrate this technique, too.

Write Down Notes and Take Photos as You Make Samples

And now make the project. After every significant step, take a photo and jot down notes. Be as specific as possible. You may find you need to add additional markings to some of the pattern templates to show where exactly the stitching should begin and end or that you need to measure the exact length of a particular piece. Write it all down and photograph everything.

Sample photo illustrating how to attach the base to my new Cute Critters.

I always err on the side of too much information because if you breeze through and forget to take a photo of a particular step, for example, you’re going to have to go back and make another sample in order to get the shot you need. Take your time and record everything!

Shoot a few photos of the finished sample from various angles. These are helpful reference illustrations for customers as they are trying to figure out how to put the project together. I call these my "Zappos" photos!

Now upload and edit your photos. Crop them and brighten them and clean them up so that each photo is clearly conveying a piece of information. 

Use your notes to write up the pattern instructions. This post about how to write clear and concise instructions has all my best tips on this part of the process.  

Tomorrow we’ll talk about pattern and template layout and taking beauty shots. My new Cute Critters pattern will launch on Friday!

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Did I miss anything or do you have a particular question about creating patterns? Leave a comment here and we can talk about it! Thanks everyone!

 

Welcome to Pattern Design Week: Topic #1 Choosing the Right Project to Turn Into a Pattern

This week I'm going to be talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits of income that can flow in while you are in your studio being creative. It can be a great addition to what you’re already doing now.

I'll share with you my process in creating patterns and I hope you'll ask questions and explore your pattern own ideas, too. On Thursday afternoon I'll be hosting a video workshop with plush makers from the Etsy Plush Team who are interested in launching their first sewing patterns! It’s going to be a great week.

Getting Started: Choosing the Right Project to Turn Into a Pattern

Creating a pattern is a multi-step process that will take you a few weeks to complete so you want to put some time upfront into choosing exactly the right project. Here are three criteria that I think a project must meet in order for it to get chosen: I love it, it’s entirely mine, and I feel it will be successful in the marketplace.

This week I’m creating a new pattern for a set of Cute Critters. I’ll use my own process in choosing and making this pattern as an example all week as we look at each step of the pattern-making process so that you can see how my thinking applies to a real world example.

Some Questions to Ask Yourself

To begin choosing a project, look over your current line of handmade goods. Do you want to create a pattern for something you already are making? How will you feel when you see other people making that item? Some crafters feel thrilled to see others creating items made from their patterns, while other crafters would prefer to keep the how-to for their most unique items private.

If you choose to create a pattern for something you’ve already made many times, you’ll give yourself a head start. You’ll be able to skip the prototype stage and head right to creating the pattern. If you would prefer to create an entirely new project  to make a pattern from, you’ll have to first spend time developing and fine-tuning the project. Either way is fine, though.

I get a real thrill when other people make toys based on my patterns and I’m always coming up with new project ideas. The Cute Critters I’m working on this week are actually an add-on to the first set of Cute Critters I released a few months ago.

Sneak peek of the new Cute Critters in progress.

Make Sure You Love It

Whether you’re using something from your repertoire, or creating something new, choose an item you really love. You’ll need that excitement to propel you forward through some of the less glamorous parts of pattern writing, and to help you market and support the pattern later. I am totally excited about these little felt animals and I have a million ideas for more variations to make in the future!

It's Gotta Be Yours

Be sure that the project you select is entirely yours. I’d advise against making a pattern for a project that uses a copyrighted image, for example. And we all learn from pattern books and form looking at projects online, but double check that the project you are selecting is truly yours alone. I got the idea for Cute Critters from looking at all the trendy plush keychains hanging on the kids’ backpacks at my daughters’ elementary school. I did a lot of research on the commercially produced plush keychains currently on the market, and lots of critter sketching, but in the end drew my own version of each animal and created my own body shape.

What Does the Market Say?

And finally, select a project that you think will be in high demand. Although it’s impossible to predict exactly how potential customers will behave, you can use some information gathered from what you’re already doing to inform your decision in selecting a project.

• Have people emailed you asking for a pattern for something you currently make?

• Is one of your items much more popular than the rest?

The Cute Critters I designed are really quick to make and they aren’t complicated. I’ve found that my customers are more likely to buy patterns that don’t require advanced sewing skills. And because plush keychains are so popular among tweens, my hope is that people will buy the pattern to make either with or for their kids. In fact, tweens could easily make these critters all on their own.

I’ve also found that customers like to collect patterns from the same series. By releasing several sets of Cute Critters I’m hoping that some customers will buy and make all of the animals in all of the sets.

Adding Value

Can you make several variations on a theme? I’ve found that customers feel like they are getting a better value if they are purchasing one pattern that includes several variations. My Lovey Dovey patterns remain best-sellers because each pattern includes four different animals. Making the variations wasn’t very much added work on my part and it significantly increases the value of the pattern in the customer’s eyes.

Generating Excitement

To get some customer feedback and buy-in I created one Cute Critter and put an in-progress shot on my Facebook page, asking people for suggestions for other animals to add to the series. I got lots of awesome suggestions (people sure do love hedgehogs!) and generated excitement about the pattern while it was still in development.

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Okay, now that we’ve chosen a project to make into a pattern, it’s time to get into the studio and get to work! Tomorrow we’ll explore the steps you take while you’re making the project so that you’ll have everything you need to write it up and create a pattern!

If you have any questions or ideas about pattern development, please leave them in the comments. Thank you, everyone!

 

 

5 Simple Tips for Writing Sewing Patterns Your Customers Will Love

This is a post I wrote for the November 2012 Craftsy Designer Newsletter.
Sewing a project from a poorly written pattern is such a frustrating experience. Instructions that are error ridden and hard to follow can make you throw your hands up in frustration, leaving you with a pile of wasted materials and hours of wasted time. As a designer building a business by selling sewing patterns you want to earn a reputation for writing clear, accurate and complete pattern instructions that help your customers create great projects. Use these five tips when you write your next pattern and make a name for yourself as a source of sure-bet patterns that are easy to use and work every time.

1. Start each sentence with a verb. Verbs make us feel active and enthusiastic. Some good sentence starting verbs include: stitch, pinch, zip, thread, cut, secure, pin, press, and turn. Sometimes it’s as simple as reordering the parts of a sentence to put the action word first or simplifying a sentence by eliminating extraneous words.

When you could say, “Now you will attach the eyes to the teddy bear’s face using a whipstitch.” Instead say, “Whipstitch the eyes to the teddy bear’s face.” You get the same point across using fewer words and you start with an action.

 
2. Write with a warm and friendly tone. Just because these are sewing pattern instructions doesn’t mean they need to be dry. Use contractions (like “don’t” and “can’t”) when appropriate to make your sentences sound more conversational. Include articles (like “the” and “a”) so that you don’t sound like a robot.

Instead of saying, “Cut fabric in strips”, say, “Cut the fabric into strips.”

  3. Be consistent. Choose one font and one font size for the main text and stick to it throughout. If you use inch marks (“) in one step, don’t use the word “inch” in another.

4. Break the process down into logical sections, then into steps. Give each section a heading such as “Arms and Legs” so that by scanning the headings readers can easily see how all the parts will come together. 

 
5. Check the pattern for accuracy, completeness, and specificity. Be sure you’ve included every step, put the steps in the correct order, and referred correctly to the markings on the templates. Check for spelling errors.  Then find an experienced sewing friend and a beginner who are willing to try out your pattern. Incorporate their feedback to refine your pattern to make it perfect.

Writing sewing patterns is a kind of technical writing that can take some getting used to. It's good to get into the habit of clearly explaining how you've made something. You can take those instructions and teach with them or sell them or just remind yourself how exactly you made something. I hope these suggestions make it a bit more straightforward for you!

If you sew from patterns and have particular elements you love (or don't love) about them please share any further tips in the comments.

How Getting Rid of Perfection Can Make You a Better Designer

Everything I know about soft toy design I learned in one of two ways: sewing toys designed by other people and experimenting with my own patterns. These are the two tickets to my growth as a designer.

The more patterns I study, and the more times I try to incorporate a new technique into my own designs, the larger my repertoire of construction methods grows. This process of studying and applying and making my own is infinite. Every time I see an incredible new-to-me plush it  makes my brain work, flexing that design muscle. How was that piece constructed? How did she get the mouth to open like that? Why do those tentacles curve downward? Are there darts in those horns?

I've sewn through many, many softie books over the years. One of my favorites is Soft Toys A to Z by Carolyn Vosburg Hall. I have all of Ms. Hall's books and I admire her so much. She is truly an expert designer and her books give me so much to think about. (On a side note, I know she lives in Michigan and I'd really like to get in touch with her and bring her on the blog for some reflections on a life of soft toy design, but I can't find her contact information. Carolyn Hall, if you're out there, I'm waving to you! Let's chat!).

This particular book has a softie pattern for every letter of the alphabet and in 2009 I sat down and sewed the toy for the letter P - a pig. Here's my post about it from that day.

This pig is really well designed. It's got just the right curve under the chin, the ears are attached in a most clever way, and the underbody gusset? Oh my. I really love a good underbody gusset and this guy's got one to die for. So I sewed this pig and I dissected the pattern and I learned a ton.

The pig sat on my studio shelf for three years. I picked it up and examined it many times, thinking about the shape of the pattern pieces and how they fit together, remembering the cool ears and the curved chin, admiring the legs, so upright due to that lovely gusset.

And then one day a few months ago I looked at the pig and I realized something important. The presence of this beautifully designed pig was inhibiting my growth. I would never design my own pattern for a pig while this one was still here in my studio. It's design perfection was a trap of intimidation.

My neice's birthday happened to be approaching so I created a pig themed gift. I bought one of our favorite book series, Mercy Watson, which stars a charmingly self-centered pig who loves to eat hot buttered toast, (we also love Freddie the Pig, by the way, and of course Charlotte's Web, while we're on the subject of pig literature).

I wrapped up the books and I gave her the beautiful pig.

And it set me free.

I don't have a new pig to show you yet, but I will. Without this perfect pig hanging over my head, I know I could go into the studio right now, pull out a big sheet of freezer paper, and design my own pig. And it will be beautiful in it's own right, maybe not in the same ways as Ms. Hall's pig, but in new ways, in my ways.

Making this pig, studying it's construction, looking at it again and again as my own skills developed, was invaluable to my growth as a designer. And so was giving it away.

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Do you ever feel held back by other people's designs? Have you made something from a pattern by a designer that you really admire, maybe a toy or a quilt or a handbag, and it was just lovely - cleverly designed, perfect proportions, and really great results.

Does that pattern, or the finished piece, inhibit your own design work or intimidate you in any way? I can't be alone in this, right?

Disclosure: The book links in this post are affiliate links.

5 Simple Ways to End Procrastination and Jumpstart Creativity

Do you ever find yourself procrastinating from doing the thing you love most?

Let's say you've been really busy recently with a big project for work and now it's finally finished. All the time you were working on the project you were longing for free time to sit at in your studio space and just be creative. You kept thinking, "If only I had time to make the stuff I want to make I'd be so happy right now," but you couldn't because you had to buckle down and finish it up.

And now it's done and that creative free time you've been yearning for has arrived! You've cleared off the desk in your studio (the top of it anyway!) and sharpened your pencils. So why are you checking Facebook again and calling your sister again and painting your nails. Why all of a sudden are you procrastinating from doing what you love?

People with creative passions, whether they be writing or painting or sewing toys, can feel a sense of panic right before they begin something new. The craft drawer is bursting with supplies, the paint brushes are sitting in their jar...now how to begin?

This happens to me, too. My precious free time finally rolls around and I suddenly feel frozen and stiff and start engaging in avoidance behavior, even though I love my creative work.

I know from experience that once I've jumped in and made some marks on the page, cut some paper, dropped some fabric scraps on the floor, things take off. Once I'm engaged I don't procrastinate any more. Once my hands are busy, my thoughts start swirling with new ideas and I'm in my element again. It's getting there that can be tricky.

I've developed five strategies to get past this procrastination point. All of these strategies are based on the same piece of advice: don't start at the beginning.

Here are my top five ways to get past procrastination and get started creating:

Make a variation on one of your themes. Go back through your sketchbook until you find something you've worked on in the past that was successful. Begin your new project by creating a variation on that piece. Could you turn one of your paintings into a series? Or make a second set of those popular baby lovies?

Improve upon something that already exists. Look at the trendy merchandise available from the mainstream big brands or look back to the classics, like the hobby horse, and think about how particular items could be made into new projects. Take what you see and figure out how you could create something better, more innovative, more modern if you did it yourself.

Act on your customers' suggestions. Do people email you from time to time asking if you make something in particular? Do customers always seem to ask the same questions? Maybe now is the time to try to meet that demand. Could you create what they are asking for or use their ideas as a jumping off point?

Expand on something you've already got. Add to one of your existing items or expand your line around that item? If you make dolls, could you add a variety of doll clothes to sell with them? Or doll quilts to pair with them?

Take something that is and make something that never can be. One of the most magical things about art is the element of surprise. You look at something for moment, and then find yourself looking again when you realize the ingenuity of the designer to come up with such a clever idea. Try to capture that "wow" moment in your own work by beginning with something familiar and making it into something unheard of, like a plush rubber duck.

All of these starting points share the same underlying element: you are beginning with something you already have. Knowing that you don't have start from scratch can ease your fear of beginnings.

Don't worry! You aren't starting something new, you're just picking up in the middle. And that feels so much easier. 

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Would one or more of these strategies work for you? What strategy do you use to kickstart your creativity? Please share.

Squeaky Snakes: A Softie Pattern In the Making

I'm fascinated by how ideas evolve. I little while ago I described how my turtle pattern changed over the course of five years, eventually resulting in Scooter the Turtle and today I have another example to share.

Right after I finished the manuscript for The Artful Bird I began to experiment with designing new animals. I knew I was ready to move on from birds, but I wasn't sure where I was heading. I remember feeling really at odds, and I even wrote about it at the time. I like to know where I'm going!

 In those at-loose-ends exploratory months I made a coiled snake that I was pretty happy with. I'd just found a big box of vintage wool scraps at a church rummage sale and one of them made ideal snakeskin.

A few months ago, when I finished the manuscript for my second book, I was at loose ends again, not sure what to do next. There was a ruthless studio cleanout right then as I was trying to organize my thoughts and choose the next direction. Many, many toys I'd made over the years and hung onto for no particular reason went into a garbage bag, but I hung onto the snake because I liked him.

He was the start of an idea, like a placeholder.

And now is his time to shine! I took him off the shelf a few weeks ago, pulled out his pattern envelope, and started again. One coiled snake became three snakes: a coiled one, a curvy one, and a basic one.

I knew I wanted a snake with an open mouth because open mouths seem tricky to make, but they're really not hard once you see how the pattern pieces are designed.

A big head with silly eyes makes these snakes look more like friendly babies than scary, venomous predators. Perfect.

A few years ago my mom gave us two plush snakes with squeakers in their heads and they have proven to be very entertaining toys for all three of my girls. The snakes have squeaky conversations, sneak up on us and then squeak in our ears, and generally are a lot of squeaky fun. So the new snakes have squeakers in their heads and I now stock 3-packs of squeakers in the shop.

They're Squeaky Snakes! and they're perfect for Halloween fun.

P.S. Please note that my pattern prices will be set at $9 each beginning on Monday, September 17. If you'd like to get a pattern or two at the old $6.50 price you've got just a little time to grab one!