December 2024 Recap

Welcome back to my “what a crochet designer makes in a month” series. If you are new to the blog, each month of 2024 I am giving you a general breakdown of my financials as a small, independent crochet designer and maker as I think transparency in our craft is so valuable. So, if you are curious about what it’s like for many independent crochet designers, read on!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase from that website, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, see my Disclosures page.

December Overview

December started with a craft market that was less than ideal, but also not my worst market. It was huge with 50+ vendors, and quite a few people walking around said they found it a little overwhelming to try to navigate that many shops. I’m very happy for the experience, and happy I did make a profit, but I’m not sure I’ll do a market like this again. I much prefer the smaller artisan/boutique style markets and likely will stick to those types of shows as much as I can.

My pattern sales, however, did fantastically this month. Like the rest of the year, the standout seller was once again the Coffeehouse Santa Hat crochet pattern. No surprise there, since we were officially in the holiday season and even the Christmas hold outs are diving into all things Christmas.

I also released the Coffeehouse Cup Cozie patterns in December. You can view the pattern for the hot cup cozy free on the blog (check it out HERE), or get the PDF with instructions for all 4 cozies on Etsy or Ravelry. This pattern was part of a Holiday Gifts blog hop, so if you found my blog through that, welcome!

Now, for the details you really want to know about – what money I actually made!

1. Etsy

Once again, the Coffeehouse Santa Hat pattern was my most viewed, favorited, and purchased pattern on Etsy this month, by a long shot. But, I expect this pattern to do really well in November and December since it is a seasonal pattern. I also sold a holiday themed messy bun beanie this season, which is about the only time of year a handmade item sells for me on Etsy.

Total sales: 62
Gross income: $357.47
Minus Etsy processing, listing, transaction, and shipping fees: $67.78
Net profit: $289.69

2. Ravelry

This month, the big sellers were the Coffeehouse Santa Hat and my newest release, the Coffeehouse Cup Cozie pattern. No surprise since the cup cozy pattern was part of a blog hop this month, so more eyes were on it than normal.

Total sales: 45
Gross income: $171.75
Minus PayPal processing fees: $28.73
Minus Ravelry fee + remitted taxes: $9.31
Net profit: $133.71

3. In Person Sales

As stated above, I had just the one market in December, which went okay, but wasn’t a great show. I made a profit, but I won’t say it was really worth my time. Like last month, the details here are a little ish-y (i.e. in the right ballpark, but probably not exact).

Gross Sales: $378
Cost of materials + labor (approximate): $252
Table fees: $40
Credit card fees: $6.86
Net Profit: $79.14

4. Affiliate Marketing/Blogging

Affiliate Revenue: I am an affiliate for WeCrochet/Knit Picks and Lion Brand. This month I received a payout of $52.55. Thank you to anyone who has ever made a purchase through my links!

Ad Revenue: Ad revenue is still pennies a day, and I won’t get a payout until I reach $20 (I’m currently at $13 accrued since April), so it won’t be listed in the total until I actually get a payout from ad revenue.

Affiliate + Blog Profit: $52.55

5. Expenses

WeCrochet had some really good sales this holiday season, and I have had a few projects floating around in my brain that I’ve been wanting to design. So, I finally purchased yarn for those projects. A couple of the designs are larger projects like sweaters and a blanket that made sense to purchase when the yarn is on sale.

Total Expenses for December: $152.24

What a Crochet Designer & Maker Makes (Totals):

Total Brought In for December: $555.09
Total Profit for 2024 (Income minus expenses): -$1714.79

Overall, December was a decent month. It was my best month all year in terms of pattern sales and is my second best December of all time. While I expected much more from the market I did, I still made a profit, so for my first year of markets, I am happy with that. I did end my year in the red, but I am also now set up really well for the upcoming year. I’m considering this an investment year, so next year can be a growth year.

For a full year overview and stats, plus my goals for 2025, make sure to check back later this week for another blog post! What do you think…should I continue this series in 2025?

Happy stitching!

Want to check out prior months?

January 2024
February 2024
March 2024
April 2024
May 2024
June & July 2024
August & September 2024
October 2024
November 2024