In this business, you design and sell sewing patterns to fabric shops and quilting supply stores and to individual customers through the mail. Designs may be for stuffed toys, children's play items, dolls, clothes and accessories, jewelry and lingerie holders, or decorative items for the home. Check sewing magazines and sewing industry shows to see what kinds of patterns are available and note current trends and styles. You may uphold your struggles of getting a source of earnings by introducing your unique patterns of different categories in accordance with the demands of the clients successfully. If you try to design the stylish and modish patterns, you would be popular among the wide-ranging customers with the great amount of profitability.

Start-Up Costs And Financing Sources

* $400~$4,000 for supplies, printing, and advertising
* Personal savings, lines of credit on your credit cards, loans from family and friends.

Pricing Guidelines

$8 on up per pattern, depending on complexity of design

Marketing And Advertising Methods And Tips

* Place ads in sewing, doll, quilting, children's, and home decorating magazines.
* Attend trade shows.
* Have friends and family wear clothing made from your patterns.
* Show your finished products to shops.
* Sell patterns wholesale through sales representatives.
* Give courses and workshops on how to make an item using your pattern and sell additional patterns.

Essential Equipment

Sewing machine, notions, design and work table, computer with design capabilities, telephone, fax, answering machine, copier.

Recommended Training, Experience, Or Needed Skills

* Take design and pattern-making courses at local technical schools or colleges.
* Buy and study patterns to gauge their quality and to see what is offered.
* Know your product, how to design it, and how to write easy-to-follow instructions.

Income Potential

$6,000-$50,000, depending on your range of advertising and the number of stores that carry your patterns

Type Of Business

In-home, except for traveling to shows and shops to increase sales

Best Customers

People who sew as a hobby

Helpful Tips

* Teach courses using your patterns. This will help you better understand what people need to successfully put together your product.
* Develop a line of unique patterns that will appeal to loyal and repeat customers.
* Offer your customers the most for their money: an assortment of designs in one pattern package; clear, typeset instructions.
* Find out who your best customers are and then focus your advertising on them.

Types Of Patterns

Free crochet patterns are available in the market with a great variety of crochet patterns, used in the different places e.g. kitchen crochets, baby crotchets, miscellaneous crochets, religious crochets, bath crochets, beach crochets, etc. you may get idea to design the crochet patterns from different kinds of home décor magazines or online directories which help to promote the designs of crochets. You may also take idea of knitting patterns by observing the markets of different places where you also benefit of free knitting patterns. Free knitting patterns are offered by the different designers who prepare the different styles and designs for different commodities of life including mittens and gloves, shawls and stoles, rugs, scarves, socks, table runners, lacy and lacy items, winter women, etc. quilt patterns are also especially designed for the quilts in the winter seasons with the beautiful and comfortable stuff. You may designate the quilt patterns by taking a view of free quilt patterns which are provided by the volunteer designers and very feasible for those who want to get start the business of patterns making of different house hold commodities.

If you are expert in the field of sewing, you may get start your own business by preparing the different sewing patterns for the customers. You may introduce simplicity patterns as the modish tailoring master for the customers who want to have patterns of simple dressing but with trendy styles. Free costs stitch patterns are presented by the online directories of all kinds of patterns, offering a detailed view of different kinds of patterns of sewing of different items in the unique styles. Free stained glass patterns are also reachable for the designers who want to coin new styles and designs of glass patterns to attract the attention of the different customers. Free tattoos patterns are also designed and presented via tattoos galleries and directories on the cyberspace. If you want to offer your services for offering the patterns of a number of household items, you would have to take the idea of pattern making industries and markets before establishing your business in the field.