magikarp
What started as a silly project to get rid of my orange yarn has now become my most popular pattern/product. And that’s no shade to anyone who loves orange, but I originally planned to get rid of my orange yarn and maybe make a couple customs here and there- didn’t expect to be buying more orange yarn but here we are. I started this project back in January of 2024. Bored by the monotony of business classes and the never ending cycle of reading new marketing research and case studies, I diverted my attention away from my schoolwork and focused on getting rid of this orange yarn. I thought, “orange, orange, orange… what could I possibly make with orange yarn?” The real question I should’ve been asking myself was why I even had orange yarn in the first place. As I grew increasingly more frustrated by the lack of inspiration I had, I noticed my PokéBall coasters I had made months prior, holding the iced coffee I had made earlier that morning.
Total side note- at this point in my life, I had my coffee routine downnn. I was making my own simple syrup, my Nespresso machine was working flawlessly, and I was saving so much money by not going to a new cafe every week. And that’s saying a lot- as a chronic spender, buying a silly drink is a means of escapism for me- having a drink from a cafe is essentially an accessory for anyone living in Orange County, CA (and again, that’s no shade, because I am a victim of this and I’m not afraid to admit it).
Back to what I was saying. I try and hold myself to the standard of once I have an idea for a new project, I’m going to fully commit to making it, and not begin any other projects until I’ve finished the first draft. So trust and believe this project was finished within the same week I started it. I freehand all my projects- in all fairness, I never anticipate anyone would be interested in a pattern- so the first draft was just me mindlessly crocheting random shapes until I made something that looked like a Magikarp. And the verdict- she’s beautiful. And yes, the Magikarp I made uses she/her pronouns because a man would never be this beautiful. I said what I said, and all you men can stay mad.
Y’all remember that one episode of the Diamond and Pearl anime where Ash and Dawn battle the strongest Magikarp and Feebas trainers? THESE DIVAS. Nothing but a two move learnset and aquatic mobility that other water types could dream of… That’s a core memory not even gonna lie.
SO ANYWAYS. I held onto the first draft for a little bit (call me a gatekeeper IDC. BUZZWORD BUZZWORD BUZZWORD BLAH BLAH BLAH), and took a couple product photos here and there, but never really advertised it as a product on my website. The stress and impending doom of graduating college was burdening my mental health and in all honesty, the last thing I wanted to do was release a pattern and product on my shop. Organizing, writing, planning, all of it- why start a pattern test when I have the rest of my college experience ahead of me? SO THAT’S WHAT I DID. I put crocheting on the back burner and dedicated the last three months of college to making sure I didn’t have any regrets. If people really cared that much about the Magikarp pattern, they would have to wait because I had to get my life back on track. That’s not to say that my life was in shambles or that I had no desire to crochet- I still had a passion for it, but I focused so much of my time in my room that I neglected my life outside of school and crocheting.
Fast forward a couple months later, and I’ve graduated college and have started crocheting full-time. I hate this phrase, but I locked in. Promotion, pattern tester call, pattern test, preorders, pattern release, bus, club, another club, another club- you get the idea. Clocked out of school and clocked in to Crochet by Tyler HQ thank yewwwww. Anywho, the patterns available in the shop tab, feel free to check it out and some of my other projects.
