Serendipity Designs
WELCOME
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
A One-Woman Show
with Incredible Support
Serendipity Designs was born out of my love of crochet and desire to offer more supportive patterns. While it is mainly me, Amanda, running this show and designing patterns, I do have an incredible support system. With support and encouragement from my children, testers, family, friends, and YOU, dear reader, I've never truly been alone in this endeavor. Each of you have a special role in this and I'm eternally grateful for all of the support I continue to receive!
My designs are influenced by many aspects of my life: my children, my degree in wildlife biology, family fishing traditions, growing up crafty, a love of cats, and last but definitely not least, my silly and oftentimes corny sense of humor that thrives on puns and dad jokes.
Since childhood, I have been a collector of many crafts including sewing, cross stitch, painting, crochet, knitting, scrapbooking, etc., frequently meshing different crafts into new ideas. Between my childhood craftiness and childhood dreams of being a teacher, it's fitting that I've found my place in teaching craftiness through my patterns!
Today, I live in middle Tennessee with my four sons and our two kitty queens. You might spot our cats, Delilah and Treasure, in some videos and social media content. While I continue to enjoy exploring new-to-me crafts, I also enjoy hiking, audio books, puzzles, and playing video/board games with my kids.
Please know that I appreciate each action of support and pattern purchase. It greatly impacts our livelihood, helping to keep our family running after losing my husband and children's father 11 years ago.
Thank you for believing in me!
Scroll down to explore more about my design philosophies and what my patterns have to offer.
Please note: all text and photos on this website are straight from my awkward brain - no AI was used.
ABOUT MY PATTERNS
Design Philosophy
With Serendipity Designs by Amanda Ray, I am on a mission to create functional and whimsical crochet designs with supportive formatting by including helpful resources at your fingertips.
I love learning through patterns and I bring that mindset to my designs. My patterns are excellent for makers who are ready to expand their skills, working toward larger, more intricate designs. My designs generally involve more shaping and unique no-sew methods than standard patterns, which allows us to create interesting details in small pieces.
As for my design aesthetic, many of my designs blend functional and whimsical elements to make fantastically fun gifts for yourself or others.
For example:
Make a can cozy that's also shaped like a fish.
Make a pocket square that's also a dragon companion.
Make a basket that's also a bass (a bass-ket, if you will).
The list goes on!
I hope to put a smile on the face of everyone who makes or encounters a project made with my patterns.
Languages & Terminology
- US English -
At this time, all pattern PDFs, video tutorials, and print-able materials are only available in US English crochet terminology, text, and audio.
(Except for the RAK tags on my freebies page)
I do hope to provide other languages in the future. Please contact me if you believe in my mission and would like to assist with this.
Pattern Formatting
I strive to provide patterns that have resources available at your fingertips, right when you need assistance.
What you'll find in every pattern:
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Table of contents
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Clickable navigation
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Special stitches and techniques glossary
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Step-by-step photo tutorial with extra tips and tricks formatted in a table with round number, instructions, and stitch count columns
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Printer-friendly layout
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Short, helpful videos for new-to-you stitches or techniques
Because I offer so much support within the PDF, there is more content than a typical crochet pattern.
Start at the cover page and read through all background information before beginning the project.
A Helping Hand
The more makers the merrier!
Since the beginning, I've wanted my crochet patterns to help users work through the pattern more than a typical pattern.
My vision looks like:
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Photo tutorials with reference numbers
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Fully written-out text* (for when abbreviations don't make sense)
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Full video tutorial* (for when text and photos don't make sense)
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Short, helpful videos that quickly demonstrate a technique
My patterns have evolved over time by listening to and learning from makers and testers. This is important to me and I will continue to make improvements with each additional design. I'm always open to kind, helpful feedback.
*Most of my patterns have one or both of these options. There are a few exemptions. Read the listing details to learn about which "Helping Hand" supports are available in a specific pattern.
Video Tutorials
My patterns include 1-3 types of videos:
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Short, Helpful Videos: These quickly show how to make a stitch or learn a new technique. No waiting 7 minutes for me to show you how to do something.
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Select Tutorials: These are full tutorials for only select portions of the pattern. For example, I might show you how to make the entire dorsal fin, but not the whole fish.
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Full Tutorials: This is a full tutorial for the entire project. For longer patterns, the tutorial will be segmented to prevent theft. You will need to follow along with the pattern to access each section.
Pattern-specific videos are only available through links in the PDF and won't be searchable.
Currently, my YouTube channel is not monetized and therefore, I do not have control over ads.
My goal is to keep my patterns low-cost, however making full video tutorials adds weeks onto each project, meaning I release fewer patterns. If you find my videos helpful and would like to contribute more, please consider buying me a coffee with the link at the bottom of this page. Your continued support means I can continue providing support via full video tutorials.
Skill Levels
As creatives, I believe we never stop learning and it's important to begin every project with an open mind, ready to expand our skills, no matter our current skill level.
My skill level designations take into account the amount of concentration needed, stitch knowledge needed, color work, and amount of support offered within the PDF.
This is how I rate my patterns:
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Beginner: Uses only basic stitches, simple shapes, sewing, no color changes
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Easy: Uses 3-4 stitch types, introduces shaping, sewing, simple no-sew techniques, simple color changes, use front and back loops
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Intermediate: Uses 4+ stitch types, more intricate shaping, uses different parts/loops of stitches, no-sew techniques, surface crochet
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Advanced: Requires extra concentration, may include intricate color work, shaping, no-sew, or assembly
Special Stitches & Techniques
Enhance your project!
With the special stitches and techniques found in my patterns, you will enhance your skills and refine your work. These special stitches are defined in their own section along with photos and video tutorials or you can find them here in the Special Stitches and Techniques Guide.
Bonus!
Free print-ables
With the purchase of many of my patterns, you'll also receive accompanying tags, coloring pages, and/or greeting cards.
You can use these to present a cohesive display at markets, to enhance personal gifts, color-plan projects, or just for fun.
Pattern Testing
All of my patterns have been through the testing process.
One of the absolute joys of designing is working with other makers during the testing phase.
If you would like to become a tester, please follow me on Instagram to watch for opportunities or join our Facebook community.
A sincere thank you to my amazing team of dedicated testers! I couldn't do this without you all!
Collaborate with Me
Let's make it better together!
If you believe in my mission with Serendipity Designs and would like to aid in my efforts or collaborate on a separate project, please contact me.
If you believe in my vision and would like to support my efforts, please consider buying me a coffee so I can continue this journey.
(Link is at the bottom of this page)