In the crochet field, it's easy for a person to develop a pattern and then refer to themselves as a designer. Starting to crochet at fourteen, I realized some stitches were out of my scope. You understand what interests you in the yarn arts versus what is available. I've come from an era where patterns were limited by the local craft store, in my case, Lewis Craft. Learn crochet designing tips through Mikey's learning process.
In being hard for cash at Christmas time and having the ability only to buy one ball at a time for my paycheck, I gifted three Crochet Never Ending Granny Blankets with the typical Christmas colouring such as Red, Green and White. I immensely enjoyed making them.
I struggled with stitch stitching to finish a square and decided to go my route to never have slip stitching with the concept. It would be the first time in my very early twenties that I was colouring outside of the lines for crochet. I was finding my way.
I learned how to read crochet patterns from a diagram perspective, as my reading skills are not the greatest. I knew the symbols and understood them as a unique language.
Learning to Read Patterns
The best way to learn to read patterns is through practice. It's one thing to read the pattern and agree with the words. It's another to be able to do it with your hands to follow through with the pattern.
No one is perfect, including the designers so that you may run into mistakes. I know for myself there are always pattern errors when I launch a pattern, as it's the fine-tuning that is needed, and usually, people who are physically following the instructions with their hands can find it.
There are standards in writing patterns. Some crochet designers have their own style, but the more you can get to be standard, the easier it will be for those who read your patterns. Don't re-invest existing stitch names like changing things like 'double crochet = dc' to something like 'double crochet stitch = dcs'. You will confuse people who are used to the standard. Be sure to use Google to find them. We have an article on Crochet Abbreviations with the short forms that are typically used.

When I joined the yarn arts in 2008, I had some concepts already in mind, but learning how to write a pattern would take nearly a decade. Though I could get away with the basics, I lacked the consistency. I could not also draw crochet diagrams on a computer.

Starting a New Design
I have a considerable-sized graph paper pad that isn't far from me. When inspiration strikes, even in 2024, I hand-draw my steps on the graph paper. It all starts with a blanket piece of paper and a pencil with a big eraser!
For many years, I worked on The Crochet Crowd, and crocheters saw and could download my working notes below. It was time for me to learn how to draw the symbols and start the huge learning curve it takes to do it on a computer.
People can be pretty rude and don't appreciate the chicken scratches on my diagrams, and I wanted to step up my game and become more independent on my way to becoming a designer.

Crochet diagrams are done in Adobe Illustrator. I hand-drew the symbols you see and saved them in a master file so they are all together. The hardest diagrams that take the longest are the square diagrams. Row by row is rapid to make.
To Create Your Own Stitch Library
The symbols are usually the same size for height. It took me a week to draw and create the basic symbols. Using an exemplary ruler, I measured the heights of the stitches to give me a baseline between the chain, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, double crochet, treble crochet, and double treble crochet. From there, a standard is made.


Typically today, I will draw the diagram directly on computer and sit in front of my monitor as I am figuring out the stitch work. It's best not to think you will remember the steps and silly things like did you ch 1 or ch 2 may be in question if you don't remember when you finally write your pattern.
Some designers who don't have the capability of drawing the diagrams on the computer, which is the majority, will handwrite the pattern out and then type it out later. They could sit with their laptop banging it out, too.
My process is more visual for me due to the way I learn. I want to see the steps in diagram format. If there is buckling happening in the project, seeing the diagram will make it more obvious what you could have done differently.
The Crochet Study Possibilities was the moment I determined I was a designer. It was in 2021 and thirteen years after I had started The Crochet Crowd. I had designed over 300 patterns but it wasn't until this pattern and the complexity of it that I felt I deserved the title.
Edie Eckman held a crochet diagram workshop in 2021 and offered a course. By this point, I was already designing on the computer, but her workshop filled in gaps where I was missing things. She put the final pieces of the puzzle together for me. Your knowledge of Adobe Illustrator basics is beneficial. With Edie's help, my diagrams went to a new level of consistency and book/magazine quality.
Drawing diagrams on the computer would have taken me three years of self-help videos on YouTube. The key issues is not knowing what the terms are called to be able to execute commands.

When you call yourself a crochet designer, the public expects you to problem-solve and create new patterns out of thin air. While it's easy to self-label yourself as a designer, consider what that means. For me, I didn't want to label myself as a designer without understanding the complexities of the stitches, how they work together and much more.
Don't rush your learning process, but know that everything involved is procedural-based. Start with simple ideas and work your way up. The designers of Yarnspirations are usually trained in fashion school, even without knowing the stitchwork involved, but they understand shaping sizing, and much more. I'm not a clothing designer. I prefer blankets and home decor.
Mikey, you and Daniel have been an encouraging part of my life. My background is nursing and I don't struggle to crochet or knit. But you have become a hero to a child with special needs and I have here fun yarn, 3 hooks and a book (that I still can't believe I gifted) with you channel and my phone number. I am excited to see what she creates. My project is Tunisian scarf,hat and gloves. Winter camping is in the future.
Thank you for being an inspiration to everyone.
Kay