 Hi makers, Jewell with the OML team here and I'm pretty excited for this week's guest blog post! Can you show me how to make that? It's something that as knitters and crocheters we're often asked - and it's pretty exciting when we can answer that question by writing up a pattern for a particular beanie, scarf, blanket, etc. that we're working on. As makers, many of us have created a sizable business in monetizing our crochet and knitwear through pattern selling. But for all of us makers that enjoy selling our patterns and looking for pattern testers, many more of us do not, often due to the technical process for creating the actual written pattern in Word, PowerPoint, InDesign, etc that can quickly and painstakingly become a knitter's nightmare. I confess, I am still somewhat *maker traumatized* after a week of patten writing and testing blues (complete with knitting photo demonstration woes, pattern abbreviations sighs, and please-God-don't-let-me-forget-to-include-that-step) cries while writing up my Purpose Scarf pattern. Even as a seasoned and passionate knitter, for me, the Purpose Scarf pattern was my first to share with the community, and by the time the process was over I was thrown for a loop and felt somewhat inadequate and downright stressed. Precisely why I haven't followed through with my idea of writing more patterns in the last year. But today is a new day. And the OML team and I want to share an antidote for that maker pattern writing kryptonite thanks to Teresa Carter of DeBrosseNYC Knitwear. Teresa is the founder and maker behind DeBrosseNYC (check out our podcast with Teresa where she tells her shop story) and I'm happy that Teresa is back on the blog to share her vision and story behind her amazing new pattern templates. After selling 2,000 patterns, she's now sharing her graphic design talent and craft in a cool way that since releasing in just the last week is renewing the energy and exuberance for makers, like myself, to write our knit and crochet patterns in the best way.  Hi makers, Teresa here and I'm so excited to be an OML guest blogger! As small business owners, I think we can all attest to feeling woefully under-qualified for many aspects of the job. Because it's not just knitting is it? It's accounting, procurement, inventory management, customer service, marketing, and the list goes on. We google, we ask around, we rely on our brother's friend's cousin for help, and we hustle hard to make up for our shortcomings. I came into the knitwear business with a background in brand strategy and design, and it only recently occurred to me that this might be a huge pain point for my fellow makers. What if I could step in and help wear that hat for them? Cue pattern templates.   I sheepishly asked on Instagram if anyone would be interested in a pre-formatted template, designed for publishing knit and crochet patterns. I was blown away by the stories I received. I heard everything from "I've always dreamed of releasing my patterns but end up in tears every time I try to design them" to "I've been selling my patterns for years, but have to wait until my brother's friend's cousin is free to design them, which really limits the number I can release." My heart swelled and ached with every story, and I channeled that into a collection of 6 unique PowerPoint templates. Each template features 11 pre-designed, fully customizable slides (including everything from a stitch abbreviation legend to a shop about page), allowing makers to effortlessly format their knit and crochet patterns in minutes.    After purchasing the Fresh template, Kimberly Raney (the maker behind KSKnits48) said that she can now "consistently deliver a brand pattern in a fun and stylish way" after feeling so much pressure to be a one-woman show and struggling with branding.
My hope is that these will allow the maker community to bring their patterns to market with ease and confidence, ultimately growing their businesses in areas that they once felt limited. I could not be more honored to partner with the community in this way! Have you tried the Debrosse pattern templates yet? Drop us a comment on which patterns you're writing up this season and if templates like these would help your maker life. Happy Making! Jewell, OML Dream Team @ourmakerlife Teresa - Founder + Maker @debrosse_nyc
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