We’ve made listing patterns here on Crochet Union as simple as possible, and today we’ll be going through how to get started listing all your designs on the Crochet Union marketplace!
You’ll need to have an approved Vendor account to list a pattern, make sure you’ve send in your application using the link on the navigation bar!
Making Sure Your Pattern is Ready
Once you’ve designed your pattern, make sure that it follows our Pattern Guidelines.
Our Pattern Guidelines go over the requirements for the types of patterns allowed on Crochet Union, as well as the requirements for pattern testing and formatting.
Listing Your Pattern
Let’s get started listing your pattern!
First, navigate to your Designer Dashboard by clicking the link in the Navigation bar.
Then hover over the “Products” section on the left side of the interface, and an option to “add new” should appear. Click this button.
Check the “Downloadable” Box
At the very top of the listing interface you’ll see a checkbox labeled “Downloadable”. Check this box, and the option to upload a file will appear down in the sections screen.
Enter Title
Next you’ll need to enter the name of your pattern in the “Product Title” box. This should just include the name of your pattern, and not the words “crochet” or “pattern”. This would be redundant, as this is all that is sold on Crochet Union.
Enter Your Pattern Price
In the Price box, enter the full price of your pattern. If you wish to run a sale, enter the on-sale price in the second box as well. There’s is also an optional “schedule” button if you want to schedule out when your pattern should be on sale.
Fill Out Description Box
Your description is where you’ll tell the buyers what your pattern is, what they need to make it, anything special about your pattern, and anything else they should know or you want them to know before they decide whether or not they’ll buy your pattern.
Uploading Your Pattern PDF
Below the description box is a section of buttons labeled “Downloadable” “Tax” “Attributes” “Linked” and “SEO”. Click on the “Downloadable” one first.
You should now see several boxes as shown below.
Enter the name you’d like your file to be stored under in the “Name” box.
Then click the “Upload” button to be taken to the Choose Media screen. This is your Media Library, where all your photos and files are stored. To upload a new file, either drag and drop it into the interface, or click the “Select Files” button in the center of the screen to be taken to your device’s file browser. Double click (or tap and press “select” depending on your device) on the file you want to upload.
This will start the uploader. Once your file is fully uploaded, click it to highlight it, and click the “Select” button in the bottom right corner of the Choose Media screen.
Once your file is selected, there are two more boxes in the “Downloadable” tab; Download Limit, and Download Expiry.
These do not need to be changed. These sections mess with the rights a buyer has to redownload any pattern they’ve purchased.
Setting Up the “Tax” Section
After you’ve set up your Downloadable settings, move on to the “Tax” section.
In this section there are two dropdowns:
Tax Status:
This dropdown should stay at Taxable, the other two options will mess up the automatic tax calculation software.
Tax Class:
The Tax Class dropdown can be used to set the listing to Standard (default), Reduced Rate, and Zero Rate. You only need to change this setting if you calculate taxes into your listing price, other wise just leave it set to Standard.
Setting Your Attributes
The Attributes section is where you set things for your pattern like Hook Size, Pattern Difficulty, etc.
Press the top checkbox on each one to set the proper settings
Hook Size:
Select the hook size(s) needed to make your patterns. The hook sizes are written in this format: millimeters, [US], Metric;
Pattern Difficulty:
Check out this post from the Spruce Crafts on pattern difficulty to learn which rating you should use.
Terms:
Choose whether you used US crochet terms or UK crochet terms to write your pattern.
Yarn Weight:
Select which yarn weight(s) you used for your pattern.
The “Linked” Section
The next section is called the “Linked” Section. There are two options here, Up-sells and Cross-sells. These dropdowns give you the option to link other patterns in your shop to the pattern you’re listing. Up-sells is where you’d link another listing, say a bundle or a book, that also contains the pattern. Cross-sells are products which you promote in the cart, based on the current product.
Filling out the SEO section
The last section at the bottom of the listing interface is the SEO section. This is where you’ll enter your focus keyword and a meta description to improve findability in search engines like Google and Bing.
A focus keyword is what people would most likely type into the search bar when looking for your pattern. The meta description is the thirty or so words that will be shown along with the link and image for your listing if it’s found in search results from a search engine outside of Crochet Union.
Photos
Now it’s time to add your photos. We ask that you compress all of your images before uploading them. A site like Compresspng.com or Compressjpeg.com are great options and easy to use.
Simply go to the site, drag and drop your photos, and hit go! Then redownload the compressed files, and head back to the listing interface.
The big box is going to be your cover photo, click the box and upload your images as described in the Uploading Your Pattern PDF section. You’ll then be able to select one photo for your cover image.
Once your cover photo is selected, click the smaller image box below the cover photo, and select the rest of your listing photos. Then, click “Select” and you’re good to go!
Categories
The Categories section is just under the Photos section.
Click the checkbox next to the category that fits your pattern best, then click the arrow beside the checkbox, and check the box next to the subcategory that best fits your pattern, if applicable.
Tags
Tags are important for your pattern to be found in search. Use commas to separate any keywords entered, and only enter under 20 tags. Too many more will likely confuse the search engine built into Crochet Union.
Finishing Touches
Look over your listing and make sure you have entered everything you need to make your listing as informative and enticing as possible. Once you’re sure you’ve gotten everything, click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page. Your listing will be available in your shop right away and will start showing up in search in seconds!
