In the past I have avoided getting involved with “blog hops” or pattern bundles offered by various crochet or knit webpages. My excuse has always been that I’m not one to join in these type of events, nor did I like the idea of a ton of emails overflowing my inbox. Now I realize how much I missed! I did not realize how much I could learn or how many wonderful indie designers I could interact with through “blog hops” or pattern bundles. What changed my mind you ask? It all started with Pinterest.
I was searching my Pinterest business page for a particular baby blanket pattern that I wanted to purchase when I happened to notice a pin for The Spring Crochet Bundle 2021. It was such a wonderful opportunity to support indie artists, get some fantastic patterns, and best of all… the price was excellent!! (44 patterns for one low price.) Was this too good to be true? Maybe not! I recognized many of the names associated with this particular pattern bundle. Indie artists like The Friendly Red Fox, Maria’s Blue Crayon, Two Brothers Blankets, Meladora’s Creations to name a few. Of course, I considered whether I’d use all these patterns. However, even if I used just 5 or 6 of the patterns the bundle would be worth the price. After purchasing the bundle I began to follow some “new to me” crochet designers either through their email newsletters, on Pinterest, or on Facebook. I learned about a few blog hops that had been organized to feature Spring/Summer fashions. Currently, there are two of interest to myself and my daughter T.k.. High Desert Yarn is curating the “At Home Crochet Blog Hop” and the “Spring Exclusives Blog Hop”, curated by Cosy Rosy UK. I’ve never been involved with blog hops to the extent I have been this Spring. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know some of my fellow crocheters through Facebook Groups and reading the emails from various designers (I’ve learned to organize my inbox LOL) I’ve discovered some great crochet designers who really do seem to enjoy interacting with their followers. I was curious to know how these hardworking artists choose which bundle project or blog hop they will participate in. Most of the designers with which I interact are women. They have jobs that aren’t crochet related, they have a home life and families, not to mention other interests. What draws them to a particular blog hop or bundle project? I asked a couple of designers this very question: Hortense is the proprietress of a fantastic webpage entitled “Knitting with Chopsticks”. She’s a prolific knit and crochet designer. I’ve had the privilege of exchanging emails with Hortense when I’ve had questions. Therefore, I sent her a query about how she chose which blog hops and bundles with which to become involved. Here is her answer: “Blog hops are amazing when you're a new designer starting out. It helps your patterns get in front of new people and you meet new designers to collaborate with. But you're also giving a pattern away for free. I always look at the host: are they organized? How big is their audience? If it's not going to run smoothly (which I can usually estimate by the signup process) I don't participate, I can't do everything and I don't have time for endless discussion and no results/decision. I also look to the size of their audience. Aiming for my size range or bigger to make the most out of the event. I can't do all of them, there's way too many so I have to select. For bundles, it's actually similar. Organization is the biggest criteria. Here I'm not too concerned about audience size as I rely on my promotion efforts only. But it's always good to have someone big tag you etc for social media. I also look at the style and type of knit/crochet of the other participants, will it be a good fit for me. It doesn't make sense for me to participate in an amigurumi bundle for example And the craft, there are a lot more crochet events and bundles than knitting ones. But mostly I try to be the host myself. Then I control all of that Cheers, Hortense” Likewise, I asked Bernadine Graham, proprietress of Me ‘n’ My Hook about her involvement with blog hops and pattern bundles. Bernadine is an innovative crochet designer from Pwlheli, Whales, UK. As a designer she is newer to the crochet scene therefore I wanted her perspective on the process of choosing a blog hop or pattern bundle project. Here’s what she had to say on the subject: “For me it has been a mixture of things - a couple of times people have reached out to me, some are public calls so you sign yourself up, others have been an application process. I am also part of a couple of business groups, one of which is crochet related so there are opportunities to take part in things there as well. I try to stick to things where the host’s audience is similar to mine or they make things that I design as a way to introduce myself, it's also a great way to meet other designers and get tips. For the guest posts on my blog this year, I had a theme idea and I asked people to submit an idea around that theme, I have selected about half the designs now and some of those designers are newer like me. I hope this helps... B x” As with many things in the business world, timing and organization are two of the keys to success in the blog hops and bundle projects. Technical glitches, at times, plague the designers who have organized these events. In today’s techie world glitches can’t always be avoided however, in my experience the bloggers seem to adapt and overcome very nicely. I do want to discuss one important topic. As most of you who read this blog with any regularity are already aware of how passionate I am about attribution. My daughter has written about this very thing recently. Therefore, a note of caution please. Copyright laws are in effect worldwide. Using photographs without properly attributing them to the designer is not only unfair but against the law (at least here in the USA). These designers work very hard to design and test patterns for the use of all crocheters. It’s only fair to give credit where credit is due. My daughter and I have found the blog hops and bundles to be an excellent source of inspiration for upcoming projects. We’ve also begun to build a library of indie artist patterns for our own use, so that inspiration will stay with us into the future. My readers may feel I am exaggerating a bit, but I honestly believe that I’m seeing the work of some future top crochet and knit designers. The motto for this year: “beatitudinem obtinebit momenta” or seize the moments of happiness. In that spirit I want to say thank both Hortense and Bernadine for answering my emails and for the beauty they’ve brought to my Spring season crocheting/knitting.
Looking to get in on the blog hop or the pattern bundles? Check out Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or join your favorite designer’s newsletter. Not a knitter or crocheter who joins in? I didn’t think I was one to join in either. Give it a try, I’m sure you won’t be sorry!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
Archives
August 2021
Categories |