From Maker to Market: Turning Handmade Into Business

Jill Bartlett Author

Jun 05, 2025 |

Following the journey from maker to designer, and from there, to someone who might just build a micro business around their own dog wear patterns

🎧 Rather listen than read? 

Prefer to soak things in while walking the dog or sewing your next project? This post is based on Episode 10 of the Thank Dog We Made It podcast, where I talk through the journey from hobbyist maker to pattern designer—and eventually, turning your creative spark into something you can share (or even sell).

How to move from sewing dog wear to designing patterns that are uniquely yours

You know that feeling when you put the final stitch in a coat, try it on your dog, and think… “I actually made this”? That flicker of pride? That quiet little voice whispering, “What if I could take this further?”

That’s where the story begins.

It usually doesn’t start with a business plan. It starts with curiosity. With one person deciding to swap the Velcro for snaps, or add a chest pocket. With someone sketching an idea in the margins of a notebook. With a question that won’t go away:

“Could I create something of my own?”

If you’ve felt that nudge—even just a little—this blog is for you. I’m walking through how that creative impulse can evolve into real design confidence… and maybe even a pattern business.

✂️ The 3-Stage Journey So Many of Us Take

You don’t wake up one day and call yourself a “pattern designer.”
More often, it sneaks up on you. You look back and realize you’ve already started becoming one.

Let’s walk through how that happens.

Stage 1: You Start With What You Know

Gaby never thought of herself as a designer. She started with my Cozy Coat Pattern, sewing it exactly as written. Same fabric. Same construction. But then… she tried something. She used quilted fabric on her next version with a faux sheepskin liner. The next version she made was a trench coat with a storm flap and a belt

When people ask where she bought it, she can proudly answer — she didn’t buy it.

She hacked it. She made it. It’s her own design.

That’s the moment when your identity starts to shift. Not overnight. But slowly, stitch by stitch.

You don’t need to start from scratch. In fact, most great designs begin with something familiar.

Whether it’s the Cozy Coat Pattern or another favourite you’ve sewn before, using a base pattern gives you the confidence to experiment—without second-guessing the fit. It’s not about copying. It’s about creating something new from a foundation that already works.

Stage 2: You Start Thinking Like a Designer

This is the moment you stop asking, “Can I make this pattern?” and start asking, “What if I moved that seam here?”

Maybe you sketch it out. Maybe you layer tracing paper over the pattern and try a new curve. Maybe you get your ideas out in a notebook or on a scrap of paper at the kitchen table.

🎨 That’s not just sewing anymore. That’s designing.

And if you want a shortcut into this phase?

• ✏️ Try the Dog Coat Sketch Templates

• 🧵 Or browse the Hack Pack for quick modification ideas

• 📓 Use the Design Planner to start organizing your ideas into something real

Stage 3: You Start Wondering… Could I Share This?

Maybe a friend wants your pattern. Or you imagine seeing it sold on Etsy. This is where digitizing and grading enter the story.

You don’t need to master it all today—but understanding these two pieces will help you see what’s possible.

🖥️ Digitizing means converting your paper pattern into a clean, scalable version in Adobe Illustrator (or similar software). You can add notches, seam allowances, layers, and export it as a printable PDF.

📏 Grading means creating a range of sizes that actually work. It’s not just resizing—it’s reshaping thoughtfully to fit different dogs well.

🧭 Which Path Is Right for You?

If you're still in the creative tweak phase, experimenting with ideas—that’s where my upcoming course Hack Your Pattern fits in beautifully.

🧵 Coming Summer 2025, this course walks you through how to:

• Use a base pattern to jumpstart your designs

• Sketch with intention and confidence

• Add functional details like curved hems, pockets, drawstrings, and zippers

• Test your ideas on a real dog and refine your design

• Think like a designer—without needing to digitize (yet)

✨ Join the Hack Your Pattern waitlist to get early access when it opens (plus creative sneak peeks in the meantime).

💼 Already Thinking Bigger?

If your design is working and you want to share it with the world—digitally, professionally, and with all the polish—I’d recommend Patterns to Profits.

This course teaches you how to:

• Digitize and grade your design

• Write clear, step-by-step sewing instructions

• Build a size chart

• Style and photograph your finished product

• Package it into a PDF that feels ready to sell

📩 Join the Patterns to Profits waitlist to be notified when it opens again.

🧰 Want to Start Today?

Here are a few free tools to support you wherever you're at:

• 🖍 Hack Pack – Creative prompts to modify any base coat

• ✏️ Dog Coat Sketch Templates – Printable silhouettes to get your ideas out

• 📓 Design Planner – A fillable guide to map out your next idea

• 📏 10-Step Measuring Workbook + Video Guide – For those early in the journey, still learning how fit works

💬 Got a Dog Coat Idea?

Seriously—I’d love to hear about it. Whether you're still in the "what if?" phase or knee-deep in sketches, you're not alone.

Drop into the Thank Dog We Made It Creative Circle, tag me @thankdogwemadeit on Instagram, or send a DM. Let’s keep building this community of quiet makers who are starting to see themselves as something more.

And if you found this helpful?
Share it with a friend who might be sitting on their first big idea. 💛

Categories: : Blog, Business, Pattern Making