How to Design for Pro-Stitcher
Do you love using your Pro-Stitcher? On this page, we share how to become a Pro-Stitcher featured designer to sell your quilting patterns on ProStitcher.com!
Here’s the step-by-step process to get started:
How to become a Featured Designer on Pro-Stitcher.com
Step 1 – Hone your design and digitizing skills
If you love to quilt, have lots of ides for quilting designs, and want to make some money, you’re off to a great start! Now you need to become proficient with a vector-based editing and digitizing software that can produce digital patterns in file formats that robotic quilting systems can read. A couple of examples would be Pro-Stitcher Designer or Adobe programs. Because we at Pro-Stitcher use PS Designer to make all of our in-house designs, we really do recommend using PS Designer.
Pro-Stitcher Designer has a free educational video library that can help you learn the software. Also, free downloadable PDF tutorials are available if you scroll down to the bottom of the page. Practice daily to get good at creating designs that will stitch smoothly and cleanly.
Step 2 – Know what makes a “good” design that quilters will want to use!
Here are some design techniques and tips to consider:
- Simplicity and Clean Lines: Robotic longarm machines work best with designs that are relatively simple and have clean lines. Complex, highly detailed designs may be difficult to stitch accurately and may not look great quilted on a quilt top. While you can use embroidery designs on a longarm machine, typically those designs do need to be adjusted.
- Scalability: Your designs need to be scalable to fit quilts of all sizes. Ensure that your patterns can easily be resized without losing quality or clarity. This is why you want to use vector-based software. Vector designs are easily scalable.
- Patterns: Longarm quilters often prefer designs that can be easily repeated across the entire quilt top. Edge-to-edge or all-over quilting designs are the most popular ones on prostitcher.com. Designs that can be repeated across a border are also good sellers. Custom quilters appreciate block designs and designs meant to fit into other shapes often found on quilts like triangles, diamonds, and hexagons.
Having longarm quilting experience is key to creating Pro-Stitcher designs, as you need a good understanding on what kind of attributes quilters look for!
Step 3 – Build your portfolio – and credibility!
Once you get good at using your digitizing software, it’s time to start creating a portfolio of quilting designs. Pro-Stitcher will want to see ten of your best designs to evaluate their quality. Aim to create a variety of designs that appeal to different tastes and needs in the quilting world. Floral, geometric, designs for memory quilts, traditional, modern, you get the idea.
Also, remember that there is no correct “taste” when it comes to quilting designs. Some quilters love florals and butterflies, and others prefer more geometric designs.
As you develop your portfolio, consider showcasing your designs on your social media pages. It will help to get feedback from your followers and learn just what is popular with today’s quilters. No online presence is required to become a featured designer with Pro-Stitcher Patterns, however it will help to advertise your designs and get more attention and more sales.
Step 4 – Quilt Samples!
It is always a good idea to stitch your designs as a test to see if they stitch smoothly and work the way you expected them to. You might find small bits you can improve for a better stitch-out.
Remember that quilting is often community-based. If someone has a good (or bad!) experience with your design, they’re likely to tell their quilter-friends. Their experience stitching out your design will also impact if they want to purchase your designs in the future.
Quilted samples also help to advertise and sell more designs. Photos of quilts with your patterns stitched on them will demonstrate how they look on actual quilts and help to entice buyers. Seeing a design on an actual quilt is helpful to some quilters who have a hard time visualizing what the image will look like in actual stitches on an actual quilt.
“Mary Beth” – wholecloth quilting design available at prostitcher.com Designed by Telene Jeffrey and digitized by Mary Beth Krapil. Stitched by Mary Beth Krapil
Step 5 – Review Pro-Stitcher.com
There is a page introducing the featured designers already on board with Pro-Stitcher. You may already know some of these talented folks.
Browse the designs
Be sure to check out the designs, both from the talented and diverse in-house team of designers and the amazing featured designers. You will notice there is a Pro-Stitcher patterns membership. Members pay a monthly fee and receive 2 downloads per month. Those membership downloads are only from the in-house designers collection. Members also receive a discount if they wish to purchase designs from the featured designer collections. There are other perks throughout the year for members as well.
Step 5 – Nuts & Bolts – How to Get Started Selling Designs on ProStitcher.com
When you feel confident, send an email to info@prostitcher.com.
Here is what to include:
- your name and contact information
- your social media links (optional)
- links to your web pages (optional)
- 10 of your best designs
- photos of stitched samples
- a little about yourself and why you would make a great featured designer
Becoming a designer who sells designs for robotic longarm machines is an exciting venture that allows you to combine your love for quilting with your creative talents. The quilting community is passionate, welcoming, and growing every day—there’s always room for new designs and fresh perspectives. Perhaps YOU will join the other featured designers and supply quilters around the world with new and exciting designs to help them finish more quilts.
Note: Agreements, Payment Terms, etc
If the Pro-Stitcher team believes that your designs are a great fit for quilters who use our product, they will send additional information on licensing, payment terms, etc.
Happy quilting!