Author: Mati

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Free Crochet Pattern How to Crochet a Unique Granny rectangle Jute Bag

JUTE BAG

Hook: 4 mm
Yarn: 420 grams. 2 strands of jute – these two strands counts as 1 strand of yarn.
You need 8 squares for this bag.
Stitches (US TERMS):
Slip stitch, chain, single crochet, double crochet, decreased double crochet.

3 decreases double crochet:
Yarn over, insert hook, pull yarn through, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull yarn through, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, insert hook, pull yarn through, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through all loops.

GRANNY SQUARE


Round 1: Chain 4, connect to a ring with 1 slip stitch in the 1st chain, chain 2. Make 12 double crochet in the ring, finish with 1 slip stitch in the first double crochet.

Round 2: Chain 3, make 1 slip stitch in the next double crochet. Repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch in the first double crochet = 12 arches

Round 3: Make 1 slip stitch around the first arch. Chain 2. Make 3 decreased double crochet around the arch, chain 3. Make 3 decreased double crochet around the next arch.
Repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch in the first decreased double crochet.

Round 4: Chain 3. Make 1 slip stitch around the next arch, chain 3, make 1 slip stitch into the decreased double crochet. Repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch into the first decreased double crochet = 24 arches.

Round 5: Make 1 slip stitch around the first arch. Chain 2. Make 3 double crochet around the same arch, chain 3.
Skip 1 arch and make 3 double crochet around the next, chain 3, skip one and make 3 double crochet around the next. Repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch in the 1st double crochet in the beginning of the round.

Round 6: Make 1 slip stitch into the next double crochet. Chain 3, make 1 slip stitch around the next arch, chain 3, make 1 slip stitch in the 2nd double crochet, chain 3, make 1 slip stitch around the next arch.
Repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch in the first slip stitch in the beginning of the round.

Round 7: Chain 3. Make 3 single crochet around each of the next 6 arches. Chain 3. Make 3 single crochet into each of the next 6 arches, chain 3 – repeat and finish with 1 slip stitch around the first arch.

Chain 1 and break off the yarn. Leave about 25-30 cm yarn end to join the squares.

JOIN THE SQUARES

Start by making 1 side of the bag – by connecting four of the squares. Do the same with the other side. Then connect the front and back on 3 of the sides.
Sew them together by sewing through the stitches – back and forth – use only one strand of your yarn end, this way you can sew in both directions with the yarn end. Make sure to match up the corners (where you chained 3) and sew through the corners a few times.

STRAPS

Insert your hook in the 7th single crochet counted from the middle – make 1 slip stitch, chain 2. Make 1 double crochet in the same stitch, make 1 double crochet in the next 5 stitches, chain 2 and turn over. Make 1 double crochet in each stitch, chain 2 and turn over. Crochet back and forth until you have 20 rows or however long you want the strap to be. Break off the yarn and sew the other side to the bag. Do the same on the other side.

More crochet accessories here:

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Free Crochet pattern How to Crochet a Top with Round Bra Cups

MOLLY TOP

If you want to learn how to crochet these shell stitch mesh pants with elastic waist, then you can find the crochet pattern here.

You can also try a crochet pattern for a mermaid top with round bra cups and mesh lace body.


Remember to use the video below to help you with this crochet pattern:


You can download the free pdf file here.


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How Much to Pay Yourself

What kind of work are you doing?

ACTIVE WORK
You are selling physical items or actively participating in every sale that you make.

Example: custom made or ready-made products, coaching/mentoring, sponsored posts

PASSIVE WORK
You make the work once and then the item can be sold again and again automatically without you actively doing anything.

Example: patterns, e-books, videos, courses, affiliate links

Is this your part time or full time job ?

There is a big difference in what you need and what you want to earn.

If this is your full time job you might both have the time and energy to focus on your job and therefore be able to make more money. But if it’s just a part time job and you don’t depend on it, you can work less (and work when you want to) and therefore you don’t need to earn that much.

If you are in-between and you want to make this your living, my advice is to keep your other job so you know that you can pay your bills – if you are able to go down in hours so you just earn what you need, then you can spend the free time you have on your own business but still be able to take it slow and do it your way.

How much to pay yourself

Penge, Card, Forretning, Kreditkort, Betale, Shopping

Example:
Money: You need/are satisfied with 175 euro per week – 700 euro per month.
Time: You want/are able to work 40 hours a week – 160 hours a month.
Your hourly rate: 175/40 = 4,3 euro

HOW MUCH THE PRODUCT HAS TO COST
Let’s say you can make 10 active products a month.

700/10 = 70

That means that your product has to cost 70 euro.

HOW MANY PRODUCTS YOU HAVE TO SELL
Let’s say a passive product costs 5 euro.

700/5 = 140

That means you have to sell 140 passive items a month to earn 700 euro.

How to price your products

Option 1.
You can look at all the individual factors regarding the product and then calculate how much that is.

TIME
– How much time did you spend making the item (and how much do you want to pay yourself an hour)?
MONEY
– How much money did you spend on materials?

You spent 15 hours. You pay yourself 4,3 euro per hour. The materials cost 10 euro.
15×4,3
+ 10 = 74,5

75,55 euro is what the product should cost.

Option 2.
Forget about the time and money spent and instead find a fixed price for that item.

TIME/MONEY/ENERGY
– How much time, money and energy did you spend on this product? Is this a product you made as a “test design” where you were just playing around?
QUALITY
– How is the quality of the product and materials? Is the work kind of slobby or is it done with a lot of effort and precision?
OBJECTIVELY
– If you saw this in a shop, how much would you pay for it?

What amount do you think is fair when keeping these factors in mind?

Custom made or ready-made products

In my opinion custom made and ready-made items should be priced differently as there is much more work going into custom made products.

CUSTOM MADE
– communicating back and forth with customer
– working with their specific measurements
– making the item in the color, material and style that the customer want
– pricing can be difficult as the item may take longer for some customers than others
– the customer doesn’t exactly know what they get before they receive the item – this can cause uncertainty and stress for both creator and customer

READY-MADE
– the product is already made in the color, material and size
– in the listing you can state all the details about the product – this way the customers knows what they get
– easy to price as you can just determine from the time, material or quality how much you think it’s worth

Setting a goal

It’s a good idea to have a goal in mind – what is your goal – how much do you want to earn and how much do you want to work? Even though it might seem unrealistic right now it’s good to have an idea about where you want to be so you can move towards that.

Final thoughts

Only you can decide what your time and effort is worth. Only you can decide what your hourly rate looks like and how many hours to work.

If you don’t want to work that much then that’s just perfect, there will always be people out there willing to pay a good price for your work. Remember to pick the customers that value you and your work.

There is no recipe on how to do it right. If you want to sell your items cheaply, then do that!

We are all different and the most important thing we can do is stay true to ourselves and what is important to us.












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What to Do if Someone Copies Your Work

We can’t help but be inspired by each other (even unconsiously). We can’t help but sometimes coincidentally getting the same idea as someone else, or seeing another creator make a design that we ourselves had in mind.

Mirabel top and necklace by FlurJewellery

There is a big difference in finding inspiration and copying, I think copying is okay when:

1) Asking permission from the designer
If you have been in contact with the designer and asked if you can recreate their work and they said yes!

2) Mentioning and tagging the designer
If you are not are to ask permission then at least mention or tag the designer or write in the caption: “Design by…” or “Inspired by…”. This way people seeing the design will know who made it.

Mirabel top

THE PROBLEM WITH COPYING (AND NOT GIVING CREDIT)

Imagine there is a creator that has made a unique design. One of their followers recreate this design and post photos of the creation on their social media (without any credit).

The people following this person see this and have no idea where the design originated from. These people might then either repost the photo or recreate the design for themselves, and suddenly the designer is forgotten all because 1 person didn’t credit.

The same goes if you recreate another’s design and sell the design to a customer. If the creator doesn’t give credit to the designer, the customer of the creator will only give credit to the creator, this way when we are at the 3rd or 4th or 5th link people will have forgotten all about the person who actually designed the item.

The person who is recreating or copying the design is responsible for mentioning the desginer (and also giving this information to their followers/customers so they can give credit too). This is so important to protect the work of the designer, this way people will be able to find their way to the source of the copied design and the desginer gets the credit they deserve.
Yes, you made their design and you did it beautifully – but someone else got the idea, made the drawing, pattern writing, measuring, trial and error and they deserve the credit.

This is also important when you make another creators design from pattern – mention or tag the pattern designer so people will know who the designer is!

Think about big brands like H&M – the only time you really hear about the designer is when celebrities design a collection. The designers working behind the facade you never hear about. Neither do you hear about the factory workers creating the clothes. It’s so important that we all get the credit we deserve.

It makes me so happy when I see someone post a creator’s work and also mention the designer! This is only possible if the creator mentions the designer too, let us make sure that at least the 3rd link from the designer knows who the designer is!

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE STEALS YOUR WORK


I’m not gonna say “see it as a compliment! your work is so good, that people are recreating it!”. I hate that, I’m not gonna appreciate someone crossing my boundary. I’ll take is as appreciation when they credit me. Let me just say this: it’s not embarassing to mention that you copied/recreated/were inspired by someone else – we all are! better to say it too much than not enough. We won’t be mad for you tagging us all the time, on the contrary! it’s a win-win – it’s nice to be appreciated and to appreciate others.

1) Leave it
If you don’t care about it, just leave it and focus your energy elsewhere. We can’t avoid copy cats completely.

2) Reach out
You don’t have to be rude or get mad at them (maybe they didn’t intend to copy your work or maybe it’s a coincidence), but a simple: “Were you inspired by my design?” or “I just want to let you know that if you we inspired by my design it would be great if you would mention/tag me”.

3) Create more
See it as a motivation to just create more designs – maybe create something SO unique and special that whenever someone copies your work most will know that you’re the designer.

4) Get design protection
It’s expensive in Denmark and needs to be done with every design, but if you want the extra protection it can be a good idea. This way no one can make or sell your designs and you can take legal action if they do so.

5) Ask for support
Reach out to your followers or family/friends or post a story or photo in your feed about your experiences. Many people will relate and want to support you!

6) Copy cats won’t have success
Relying on others work for success, relying on other’s creativity and hard work and not coming up with idea or being creative yourself? So sad!
The worst is the people who try to get appreciated for making someone else’s work, I find it so selfish and mean, that some people won’t even admit they have copied another’s work, because they’re so desperate to be liked themselves. If you are getting likes and compliments for copying another persons hard work, then that must mean that the designer did a great job – so why not compliment them by giving them credit?

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How to Start a Crochet Business from Scratch

Do you have a dream of becoming a self-employed crocheter? Are you unsure of how and where to start?
Then continue reading!

You can also get my e-book that focuses on earning money from your craft and create your own job. Buy my e-book here.


I’ve been self-employed for almost 16 months. I spent years before going full time just spending time practising my skills, posting to Instagram and sketching. But it took me 8-9 months from when I decided to go self-employed to being able to live off my income.


1. Crochet every day or as often as you can

Spend your free time crocheting, experimenting, practising and honing your skills, read books and magazines, go online, take photos of your process and finished products.

2. Have a savings account or a part time job on the side.

This way you can focus most of your time on your business but still make sure you get money to pay your bills.

3. Research the crochet market


What are other crocheters doing? What are they’re prices and who are their customers? What do they post on social media?

4. Use social media.

We’re so lucky we have social media to spread our message across continents. Use hashtag to describe what kind of work you do, follow and interact with other crocheters in the same field as yours and post consistently.

5. Define your brand.

How are you working – what’s your inspiration, what kind of work do you like to do in that field?

6. Work with other people.

Find other people in the same field as you or someone who you feel you can work with to help each other get more customers or just get your name out there.

7. Hang up flyers at your local library or reach out to a local newspaper.

You can try and get your name out there in your town or local area.

8. Continue to do what you love.

Even though you are not making any money it will happen for you eventually. It doesn’t mean that you have to break yourself and work 70 hours a week to reach that goal. It takes time and hard work but remember to stay true to your work and take breaks as well so you don’t wear yourself out.

9. Cut down your expenses

The fastest way to make a living from crocheting is to cut down all unnecessary expenses. The less bills to pay the less you need to earn to make a living.


Ideas on how to earn money on your crochet:


– start a youtube channel
– make an online or in-person crochet course
– post videos to Youtube, photos to Instagram
– crochet online or in person
– write an e-book, patterns or sell video tutorials
– start a blog where you share your knowledge
– sell your ready made or custom made products

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10 Reminders If You As Creator Are Dealing With Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem can affect all of us – whether or not we’ve sold none or hundreds of products.

It can hit us when we’re doubting our creations and whether or not we (and our work) is good enough.


I struggle with low self-esteem most of the time, both when creating a handmade piece, taking and posting photos, selling items and making patterns. But it’s getting better day by day. I often doubt whether or not I’m doing it “right” and “to the standard”.

When I dig deeper it’s actually not the fear of having flaws but the fear of someone getting mad at me for not doing my job perfect – or just doing it better. I was used to having a mother who would yell and scream over the tinyiest things, and I was always blamed for something that I hadn’t even done.

Linking my fears and insecurities to the way I was treated as a child helps me to understand what and why I fear and how I can help myself.

_____________________

We have one of the most freeing jobs out there, where we can work when and how we want – there are no rules in crafting. There are no standards that determine what is “good enough”. We determine that ourselves.

If we can be proud about our work even though it has flaws, we’ve taken a big step.



Here are 10 reminders for you if you ever feel not good enough:

  1. It’s not black and white. It’s possible to both be a business owner and have insecurities.
  2. You’re a human. Your business might be a business but you’re also a human being – not a robot.
  3. Customers don’t pay you to be perfect, they pay for something handmade and unique.
  4. Others don’t see what you see. The flaws that can seem like is the only thing you can see, might be invisible to others.
  5. You’re not alone. You can be pretty sure that every other crafter is also feeling insecure about themselves and their crafting.
  6. It is not bad or wrong to have insecurities. We learn to treat ourselves how we were treated as children, so if we want to change that we can start by noticing when and how we were critiqued as children and noticing when we start critiquing ourselves now.
  7. “And so what?”. Whatever your worry is, ask yourself: “And so what?”. Usually we build up our fear to being catastrophical, that the crafting community will banish us, that we will never get any customers again, that people will get angry at us for not doing it good enough. But really we are magnifying our fear to try and protect ourselves from what we fear the most.
  8. Be kind to yourself. Imagine that you are a 5 year old child that is making something – that child only needs encouragement – not someone (us) telling them that they are not good enough and that they should do better next time.
  9. If you really do want to be better at your craft, this doesn’t happen with force. But by being in the present, respecting ourselves, taking all the time we need, exploring without judging. resting, complimenting ourselves.
  10. Talk to others. Crafters, friends, business owners, customers – be open about your insecurities and you will notice that other people either don’t care about the things we worry about or they can recognise the same fears that you have. It’s a relief to be open about our insecurities and it’s inspiring to others too.

Have you ever felt low self-esteem about your work/yourself? And what is your best tip to dealing with it?

Leave a comment below!

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Free Crochet Pattern How to Crochet Clutch Handbag with Strap

Learn how to crochet this handbah clutch with long handles and a wrap strap. You can fit a smartphone, small wallet and keys in here. The sturdiness is great for this type of bag. It holds its shape.

Hook: 4,5 mm hook + 3 mm hook
Yarn: Cotton, 70 grams (4 balls), size 1 (fingering, superfine, suitable for 2,5-3 mm hook)
I used this yarn from Mayflower. (affiliate)
Stitches: Half double crochet (hdc), single crochet (sc), slip stitch (ss), chain (ch),
Gauge: 10 cm = 13 stitches x 10 rows
Measurements: 19 cm x 9 cm

You will use 4 strands of yarn at a time for the bag.
1 strand of yarn (and a 3 mm hook) for the straps.
and 1 strand of yarn (and 4,5 mm hook) for the edges.


Row 1: Make a chainless foundation of 30 hdc (or chain so you have that number of stitches.).Ch 1.

The 1 ch ainis a turning chain and doesn’t count as an extra stitch – instead you crochet into the first stitch from the hook = 30 stitches on the row

Row 2-18: Make 1 hdc into each stitch, ch 1 and turn over. If you want it to be longer, make more rows!


Single crochet 1/3 of the side together through over 10 stitches. Do it on both sides.

Wrap strap:


With a 3 mm hook and 1 strand of yarn insert your hook on the middle of the bag (between the 9th and 10th row), and chain 130, make 1 ss into each chain, finish with 1 ss where you started. Switch to a 4,5 mm hook and crochet over the edge of the bag. Also crochet over the other sides of the bag.

Shoulder strap:


With a 3 mm hook and 1 strand of yarn insert hook where you connected the side and chain 170, make 1 ss in the other side of the bag and ss back into each ch, finish with 1 ss where you started off on the bag. Break off the yarn.


Sew in the loose ends and you’re done!

More crochet accessories here:

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Find Yarn & Materials for Your Crochet Project

This post contains affiliate links

My favourite hook (3 mm)

This is the crochet hook I use for the majority of my crochet patterns. I especially like this one with a soft plastic handle. I have had my hook for probably 9 years now and it still works.



Finding the right yarn size

When I refer to yarn sizes in my patterns I use this scheme and use both US and UK terms. Make sure to look at the yardage to be sure you are picking the right size yarn. I most often use size 1 yarn.



size 0 = lace (hook: 1,5-2,5 mm)
size 1 = fingering (hook: 2,5-3)
size 2 = sport (hook: 3,5-4,5)
size 3 = worsted (hook: 4,5-5,5)
size 4 = aran (5,5-6,5)
size 5 = bulky (6,5-9)
size 6 = super bulky (8 and up)

MY FAVORITE YARNS

My favourite cotton yarn:

This 100% cotton yarn comes in a wide variety of colors, both powerful colors and more subtle and muted colors. Explore and get inspired for your next project.

Buy crochet pattern here>>

Cotton yarn in superfine (size 1) is my most used yarn and it’s perfect for tops and dresses, shorts, pants, you name it. You can make really delicate pieces when matching it with a 3 mm hook.

MOST SUSTAINABLE YARNS (vegan)

Reduce your CO2-emissions and go for environmentally-friendly yarn materials and read about becoming a more sustainable crocheter here.

Tencel

This crochet dress is made in 100% tencel and it is really soft and slightly shiny. It is great for dresses and tops where you want to stand out.

Buy crochet pattern here>>

Bamboo

This crochet top is made in 100% bamboo. It has a more shiny look than cotton and does not absorb water like cotton, this makes it great for summer clothes where you want to be able to have your skin breathe through the clothes when it’s hot out. The skirt is made in regular cotton.

Buy crochet pattern here>>

Viscose

These crochet earrings made in 100% viscose have a beautiful shine and are very light weight. Viscose is made of wood fibers and is, like other natural fibers, biodegradable.

Buy crochet pattern here>>

Linen blend

The Marilyn Monroe cable sweater is made in a mix of viscose, cotton and linen. Find the yarn here. You can also try this alternative with 47% linen.

Get the free crochet pattern and learn how to crochet this cable sweater here >>

Hemp or jute

A scrubber for skin, vegetables or cleaning in 100% jute.

Buy crochet pattern here>

Linen & viscose blend

This crochet set has a great texture and look. There is something very natural looking about linen. There is also cotton and viscose in this yarn and there is a ton of beautiful colors to pick from. It is almost like you are looking at the actual plant fibers, when you look close to the yarn.

Buy crochet pattern here>

Bamboo

These crochet pants are made in bamboo and has a soft feel and shine to them. Super comfortable and breathable.

Buy crochet pattern here >>

Drops Paris

Buy this chunky, ribbed crochet skirt pattern here>>


Drops Paris is a cotton yarn in size 4 (aran/worsted). It is great for sweaters or vests or accessories like bags and hats. But it can also be used for chunky items like this ribbed crochet skirt.

It’s more heavy and thick than my preferred yarn size, but because it’s cotton it’s more breathable than syntethic fibers. Go for chunky summer items if you tend to easily be cold in summer or if you want to use summer items throughout winter with clothes underneath.

Drops Belle

Get the free crochet patern for this long cardigan here>>

Drops Belle is a size 3 (DK/worsted) and a blend of cotton, viscose and linen.

This makes it a good vegan substitute for wool because of the warm qualities of viscose and linen.

Drops Snow Chunky Wool Yarn

My favourite chunky yarn is the one I use for the following crochet patterns: Beth sweater, Bella beanie, Doris sweater, Gerda neckwarmer, Chunky wool balaclava, Chunky wool skirt & more.
Buy crochet pattern for balaclava and sweater here>>

Explore the countless colors of this yarn and be inspired for your next comfy project. It’s super fun and quick to work with and the result could be a warm and sweater that you would never want to take off.

Scheepjes Our Tribe

Buy the crochet set for these crochet shorts and mesh top here.

is a merino/polyamide blend in size 2 (sport).

It’s perfect for making clothes that is both light and warm on the body. For instance this lacy top or a pair of shorts.

3 TYPES OF ELASTIC FOR YOUR CROCHET CLOTHES

Elastic thread (1 mm)


HOW TO USE ELASTIC THREAD

Elastic thread is super fun to work with. I use it in my crochet rows to add this ruched effect – the same way you would add it to a sewed item, but here you just manually insert it and crochet around it. I also sometimes just use it in one area of the row to make one area more tight.

Buy the crochet pattern for this ruched top here>>

Thin elastic band (5 mm)



HOW TO USE THIN ELASTIC BAND (4 ways):

Have you ever tried adding elastic bands to your crochet? You can add it to the edge, all around or just one area where you want to tighten the crochet or make it stretchy. You can even add it into your crochet straps, see below.

1. Elastic edge going all around the body

2. Elastic edge just on 1 row

With this crochet dress pattern you learn how to crochet a romantic dress with elastic thread in the waist and thinastic band in the edge of the top for a comfortable and ruched effect.
Buy crochet pattern here>>

3. Elastic straps and edge

Another use of this elastic is to create ruffles in both edge and straps. Kind of like how a scrunchie works. This both creates a ruched effect on the bra cups as well as making the dress more comfortable.

Buy crochet pattern here>>

4. Elastic shoulders

Here’s an example of a crochet top with long sleeves and rib, where I only inserted elastic in one area of the sleeve – the top edge – this way it holds the sleeve in place plus makes it a more comfortable crochet blouse top wear.

Buy the crochet pattern here>>

Wide elastic band (30 mm)

HOW TO USE WIDE ELASTIC BAND (2 ways):

Here are the ways I use wide elastic band for my crochet projects.

1. Elastic waist

Buy crochet pattern combo here>>

2. Invisible elastic edge

Here’s a crochet set with an example of invisible elastic edges. The top uses thin elastic band and the skirt uses wide elastic band. Did you notice that there is elastic inside the top edge of the top (thin elastic band) and the top edge of the skirt (wide elastic band)? Cool huh?

Buy crochet pattern combo here>>

Yarn for Olivia halterneck dress:

Get the free pattern guide for this striped halterneck dress here>>

Green yarn – cotton, viscose & linen blend
Off white yarn (alternative) – cotton
Blue yarn (alternative) – cotton

Buy crochet pattern here>>

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How to Grow Your Instagram

… and your sales!


Followers are not everything. I’ve made many sales when I had 500 followers.

What is most important is engagement – how many people like, comments and share your posts and that the people who see your posts are interested in what you’re sharing.

Here I will share with you the tips I’ve used to both grow my following and my engagement on my Instagram account. I’ve gotten 5.000 more followers from January to June of 2020, but I’ve been active on Instagram since February 2017.

The first year I didn’t even use my stories and though I posted regularly I didn’t really have any planning regarding what, when and how I posted.

1. Name
Choose a simple name. Something that is easy to read, remember and write, so that people easily can search for you and quickly identify you.
My first Instagram name was Crochetedtops, which I think was too anonymous. It doesn’t tell me anything other than it’s an account with crochet tops. Then I changed it to Mati_Crochet and later to Mati_Denmark because I wanted to make sure people knew that the products are produced in Denmark.

2. Picture
Either use a picture of your logo or a photo which is easily recognisable – maybe with colors or an outline so people can tell what the picture is, even from just seeing the small icon on their smartphone.

3. Bio
In your bio you can write a few words or sentences either with your slogan, your first name or simply describe what your brand/Instagram is about.
You can also insert a link to your website/where you sell your products and attach an email or address (when you change your account to a professional account).
I’ve changed my bio (and will continue to change it) beause me and my brand changes all the time. It is for me a lot about defining my brand and that is something I think I’m continuing to do, because I have a hard time actually clearly defining what and why I do what I do in a way that makes sense to others as well, the more I keep changing my bio and my “About” page, the more I also figure out in myself where I am going, who I am and what I do.

4. Posts/captions
Post what you like to post. Post regularly and consistently, wether that be once a week or twice a day. Just get into a routine of posting, so people know what and when to expect something from you.
If you feel like writing something, do so. If not, it’s okay to just post a hashtag or an emoji or a few words.
I’ve noticed that long texts often don’t get alot of responses, but engaging with the audience like asking for advice or asking “which picture do you like the best, 1 or 2?” is a great way to get people to engage with your posts.

Sharing you insecurities, post that are not a great quality or doesn’t show your best angle is just as great, to show that you’re human too and not perfect. It gives your audience something to relate to as well.

Your feed doesn’t need to be perfect, with a color scheme, the same filter on every photo or planned all the time. People will feel the authenticity when you just post what you like to post, instead of what you think people want to see.
Play around with it, post whatever you want and see how it makes you feel, what response you get and what you like the best.

I’ve tried to take and post many different photos the past 3 years. This way I’ve found out what photos I like the most: like close-ups, photos in nature, photos focusing more on the clothes rather than the face and photos of customers. And all these are also the most popular posts.

5. Story/highlights
There is really no “right” way to use Instagram stories. Only 1 out of 9 followers watch my stories so I need to keep that in mind, if I have something important to share, this might be better to share in my posts, so more people will see it.
I like to post stories of behind the scenes, inspirational pictures, other peoples posts and also lifestyle photos – like what I’m eating that day or if I’m going somewhere. I like to see the stories as a way to get to know the person behind the Instagram more. The stories is also a great way to post something you sell. I’ve found that posting a layout with multiple items + the price and size of each item is the best way to make sales. But sometimes just posting a photo of a product I have for sale can work just as well.
Stories have so many features that are great for engagement: make a poll, a quiz or ask a question – a good idea is to ask something of your followers, because people always want to share about themselves, so give your followers the opportunity to do so!
I try to only have a few highlights regarding what I know most people are interested in.

6. Engagement
Share others posts that you like.
Repost when someone shares your posts.
Comment on and like the pictures you like. Even if it’s just an emoji.
Respond when someone comments your post.
Make polls, quizzes, ask questions etc. in your stories.

7. Influencers
Offer a free product to an influencer with more followers than you, this way you can get free exposure. Just make sure to find someone that you think can represent what your brand stands for or someone that fits your existing customers/audience.
Write them a short message, asking them if they would like to receive a free product and in return they post a photo with that item to their Instagram (and tag you). This is a great way for new people to notice you!
I’ve used about 4 influencers in my time on Instagram and that has been a great succes and all gotten me multiple sales.

8. Hashtags
I post hashtags to my comment section, so it doesn’t show in my caption. In “Notes” on my smartphone I have saved all the hashtags so I can just copy-paste. I try to use both popular hashtags but also hashtags of the name of my product (like #mirabeltop) and my own hashtags like #matidenmark and #maticrochet (which was my last Instagram name). You can search on google for popular hashtags in your niche.

9. Business Instagram
A great way to track your audience and their behaviour is to change your account from personal to professional and choose which area you work in. This way you can see which posts were saved, liked and engaged with the most. At what time of day your audience is most active, which countries your followers are from and much more. It’s such a game changer, if you want to grow your Instagram and also it just gives a much more professional vibe to your account.
Go to your profile. Click the three lines in the top right corner, click Settings, go to Account, scroll down and there you’ll see: Switch to professional account.

10. Act like you already have a huge following
This tip I got from one of my followers (and one that I also follow: https://www.instagram.com/rosycrochets/) and I thought that tip was so great. Write, post and act like a huge amount of people are already following and seeing your posts, even though your stories and posts only have 10 likes or 10 view, act as if it was 1000. Ask people for advice, share whatever you like, as though a lot of people were there to witness it.
It’s one of the mistakes I’ve made – and still sometimes make – that I forget that people are watching.

And I think this is why I didn’t write that many captions in the beginning, I thought people didn’t care about it or that people weren’t seeing my posts, but making captions and stories where you share what is within you is such a great way to let people really see and know you!

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How to Define Your Brand and Stand Out


Defining your brand is important for both you and your audience.

The way that you define your brand is the right way to define your brand. There is no right way to do it.
Keep in mind that you can keep re-defining your brand throughout the process.

Defining a brand is figuring out the you in the brand & what others can mirror themselves in. It’s personalising the brand, having crediability and giving a sense of trust and that others know what they can expect from you.

They have a sense of who you are as a brand and they will know very quickly if you represent something that they are interested in.

DEFINING YOUR BRAND

WHAT?
Figure out what it is you are creating and what your focus is.
Are you making art, clothes, sculptures or post cards? What is the genre of your craft?
What are you contributing with? What are your strengths, your weaknesses? What is your inspiration?
What is it you want to express or change in yourself or the world?
Make a brainstorm and write down as many adjectives you can think of when you think of your product and you.

WHO?
Who are you? What defines you as a person? If you could use 1-3 words to describe yourself or the way you work, which words would you choose?
If you could talk to, help or listen to someone, who would it be? Who do you look up to?

Who is your audience? What kind of people do you wish to reach/inspire/sell to?
Who is your ideal costumer? Figure out all the information that this person would have; gender, age, ethnicity, hobbies, job/education, income, friends/family, lifestyle etc.

WHY?
Why did you pick this craft and this niche?
Why do you like working the way you do?

FINDING THE ESSENCE OF YOU AND YOUR BRAND

Think of an animal, sound, movement, color or smell (or all the above) that captures your brand. Even though this is very simplified it can help you to narrow down your brand into a feeling or a thing, which you can have in mind when you define your brand. You can even look through Google or magazines and find pictures that inspires you or which you find interesting, beautiful or which speaks to you in some way.

What makes you you? What is one of your qualities that is really strong or prominent? What do you remember being good at since you were little? What interested you about the world? What kind of friend are you? All of these questions, even though they might be hard to answer, will help you point you in the direction of getting a clearer idea of your brand.

BRAND SLOGAN

So when you’ve started defining your brand (remember – it’s an ungoing process), what can you use it for?

Well, you can find a slogan or make a logo or write a short bio for your Instagram, which in a few words gives a feeling or sense of what you and your brand is about.

You can also find a picture and write a little text and put on top of the picture, to bring out both via picture and text what it is that makes your brand and you unique.

When you bring yourself into the equation you can’t help but stand out as a brand, because people will feel the mind behind, and you are unique and therefore your brand will be unique.

It’s a misconception that you need to be clear or write very few words when defining your brand. It’s not true, that people need to know exactly what you do and how you do it.

You can just as well have a few words which are poetic and speak to you or a long text which describes deeper what your message is.


I’ve used a few slogans and texts throughout my process, here are some of them:

Finding unity in the divided.

Transforming nothing into everything.

Embracing body and mind.

Intuitive crochet.

Crochet helps me to create a path to be intuitive and present everyday – filling my life with what drives me, calms me and lifts me up.

I’m a 29-year old woman using crochet to express my vulnerability, creativity and intuition and helping others to do the same.