FAQ

Below, I’ve compiled a list of the questions I’m asked most often. This FAQ is a work in progress and I’ll add answers as more questions arise.

If your question is not answered here, or you’d like any more information, please email me.

About PlanetJune

About PlanetJune Patterns

Buying Patterns

Commission Requests

Translations

Teaching

Reviews and Advertising

About PlanetJune

Who is PlanetJune?

PlanetJune is a one-woman business, run by me: June Gilbank. I design crochet patterns and write craft books, but that’s not the whole story: I also maintain the PlanetJune website and online shop, ship orders, answer questions, post tutorials and video tutorials, and much more. Basically, anything you see with the word PlanetJune attached to it is created 100% by me.

I try to answer questions as quickly as possible, but please be patient with me if I can’t reply immediately; I have a lot on my plate, but I’m always happy to hear from you and to help wherever I can! If you have a quick question, you’ll probably get a faster response from me if you ask me through Twitter (@PlanetJune).

What is a CAL and how can I join in?

A CAL is where a pattern (or several) are chosen, and people crochet them at the same time. Every month, we have a PlanetJune Crochet-Along (CAL) at the PlanetJune Ravelry group. It’s a lot of fun, a good way to make friends with other friendly crocheters from all over the world, and a chance to crochet the same patterns at the same time as others, ask questions, get help, and take cute photos of what you’ve made for everyone else to admire!

For further details and step-by-step instructions for joining in, see the PlanetJune Crochet-Along FAQ.

About PlanetJune Patterns

I’m a beginner – where should I start?

I’ve created many step-by-step photo tutorials that you can use to help you out, if you need it. They are arranged, top to bottom, in the order in which you’ll need them. You can find them all at www.planetjune.com/help. I also have a growing library of video tutorials.

You might also like to look at my book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi. It’s a very useful reference book to keep at hand, as it includes:

  • A primer on the yarn, hooks, and stitches best for amigurumi, plus fun embellishments you can use to personalize your ami.
  • Easy-to-follow tutorials for getting started, increasing and decreasing, working in the round, changing colors, and more.
  • Expert advice on adding eyes, hair, jointed limbs, clothes, and other fun accessories to your ami.
  • Tips for following an amigurumi pattern, plus four start-to-finish patterns to give you a head-start on designing your own.
I’m a beginner – which patterns are most suitable for me?

Don’t be intimidated to try my patterns as a beginner to crochet: almost all my designs are worked in only single crochet (the most basic crochet stitch!) with increases and decreases for shaping. My patterns always explain any special stitches or techniques required with complete photo tutorials, and the few intermediate level patterns are marked as such in the pattern descriptions in my shop.

As a beginner, I would advise staying away from any of the ‘fuzzy’ patterns or patterns that include colour changes, as those techniques are a little more advanced. Get comfortable with making single-coloured amigurumi first, until reading an amigurumi pattern, forming a magic ring and making an invisible decrease are easy for you; then you can add to your skills!

For beginners, I recommend PocketAmi Sets 1 & 2. They are specifically designed for beginners as they are easy and quick to make, with three sweet pocket animals included in each set!

If you’d like to get your feet wet with a free pattern, many of mine are very simple no-sew designs, which makes them great for beginners! You can use them to practice the magic ring, increasing, and decreasing (the basics you’ll need to make any amigurumi). Some perfect beginner options are:

And here’s a small selection of examples of other simple choices from my pattern catalogue. These have more pieces, so require some assembly, but the crocheting is no more difficult than for the one-piece patterns above:

And remember, all my patterns come with unlimited support available by email, so you can always email me with any questions, both before and after purchase!

Buying Patterns

How can I pay for my order?

You don’t need a PayPal account to be able to order from my shop – I use PayPal as my credit card processor, so, provided you have a credit card, you should be able to order without having a PayPal account, by providing your credit card details and billing address on the PayPal screen (this won’t create a PayPal account, just process your credit card payment).

I’ve bought a pattern – how and when will I receive it?

All patterns bought from the PlanetJune shop (www.planetjune.com/shop) are automatically available for immediate download from your PlanetJune account as soon as you have completed your order and payment. (Need help with that? Read the download instructions.)

  • If you paid using PayPal Express Checkout and did not create a PlanetJune account, one was automatically created for you. (If you don’t see the email with your temporary password, please check your Spam folder.)
  • If you paid by PayPal eCheck (this usually happens when you send payment via your bank account or debit card instead of a credit card), your patterns will be avilable as soon as your eCheck clears through PayPal, which usually takes a few days – check your PayPal account for the expected clearing date.

Note: if the pattern still appears in your shopping cart and there’s no record of your order in ‘My Account’, that means your order was not completed (check your PayPal – you’ll see that no payment was made to me). Log back in to your PlanetJune account, go to checkout again and you’ll be redirected to PayPal so you can pay. Once payment is complete, you’ll be returned from PayPal back to my shop, where you’ll be able to download your pattern immediately.

If you bought a pattern from my Etsy or ArtFire shops, I will email your patterns to you within 24-48 hours (wherever possible). I recommend that you purchase from my own shop in future, so you won’t have to wait to receive your patterns!

I’ve bought a pattern – what may I do with it?

By purchasing any PlanetJune patterns, you are not buying a copy of a pattern; you’re buying far more: a perpetual single-user licence for the pattern.

Your licence entitles you to:

  • Unlimited customer support from the pattern designer (that’s me: June Gilbank).
  • Unlimited copies of the pattern (for your personal use only): if you lose the pattern in 1, 5, or 10 years and want another copy, just contact me and I’ll sort it out for you.
  • Access to any errata or revisions to the pattern.
  • Make as many items from the pattern as you wish.
  • Do whatever you wish with items made from the pattern (if you choose to sell them, please give me credit as the pattern designer, as specified below).

Your licence is non-transferable and PlanetJune patterns may not be shared, passed on to others, re-sold, or redistributed in any other way.

May I sell items I’ve made using your patterns?

Yes, you may sell items made from my patterns, provided you comply with the following:

  • The items must be 100% handmade by you, the purchaser (no production-line allowed)
  • Any items for sale must state in the item description that they are based on my pattern (by ‘PlanetJune’ or ‘June Gilbank’ or both) and preferably with a link to my website (www.planetjune.com or www.planetjune.com/shop or www.planetjune.com/blog)
  • Any items you sell based on my patterns must feature only your own photographs of the item you have made to sell. You do not have permission to use my photographs to help sell your work.

If you have an online shop where you sell items made from my patterns, you’re eligible to be included in my list of PlanetJune-designed toy sellers, and get some free publicity for your shop. (See the bottom of that page for details of how to sign up – it’s 100% free; my service to you!)

Commission Requests

Can I commission you to design a pattern?

I’ve started a new crowd-sourced commissions process, where you can pledge an amount of your choice towards the commission of a new design. When the design is fully funded, I will create the design for you! I’m using this method so I can get a feel for which designs will be popular and be paid a fair price for my work in creating the design without charging any one person excessively.

If the design you want isn’t on my commissions list, submit the form at the bottom of the Commissions page if you’d like me to add your suggestion to the options, or, if you’d like a design more quickly and are willing to pay the full cost of the design process, you can commission me privately. The cost for a private commission would vary depending on:

  • The size and complexity of the design
  • Whether you want exclusive rights to the pattern (very expensive!) or if I can also sell it in my shop
  • How popular I estimate the pattern will be (I’ll reduce my price if I think I’ll be able to sell lots of copies)

Before you contact me to request a commission, please consider these points:

  • Please don’t ask me to design a pattern for a trademarked character (from film, TV, video games, comic books, etc) – it’s illegal to sell patterns of trademarked characters without a licence from the trademark holder. (If you’re the trademark holder and would like to commission an official crochet pattern of your character, that’s a different matter, of course – please do get in touch!)
  • Patterns I create will be in my style – realistic, cute, clean lines, understated. Please look at my existing designs to get an idea of my general aesthetic and see if you’d like to see your idea crocheted in my style. If not, I’m not the right person to commission to bring your idea to life!
  • I value quality over speed: I won’t release a design until I am 100% satisfied with it. From research, through design, crocheting, pattern writing, photography and editing, it will typically take at least a month for me to bring a new design to life, and potentially longer if I have prior commitments.

If all this sounds good, please email me with your ideas and we’ll start the conversation!

Can I commission you to crochet something for me?

I am a designer and writer, and my time is more than filled with creating new designs, running my shop and blog, and providing assistance to my customers. My process is very time-intensive as I take so much care to make my animals to a very high standard and to give the finished animals the cutest face and personality possible. I refuse to compromise on quality, so, unfortunately, I can no longer accept any commissions for finished items as there aren’t enough hours in the day!

As I do allow sales of finished items based on my designs, you may be able to commission a piece from one of my customers. I’m compiling a list of customers with online shops selling PlanetJune-designed toys that they’ve crocheted, so I suggest you look there! (Please note that although other people work from my patterns, they will not create exact replicas of my work – this is the nature of handcrafts, that no two pieces are exactly alike. Please also note that I make no claim as to the quality of their work or how it compares with my original designs; I cannot be held responsible for others’ work, so I suggest you look carefully at the crocheter’s previous work before deciding whether to commission them.)

Can I buy the Discworld/Reepicheep/orang utan (etc) you crocheted?

I’m afraid not! These are one-of-a-kind art pieces that take me weeks to create. The originals aren’t for sale and they aren’t intended to be reproduced. I create them out of love for the subject and I hope you’ll enjoy my photos of the finished artworks. (Also, there’s the issue of licensing with trademarked characters such as the Discworld and Reepicheep – I can’t make a profit on unlicensed merchandise; it wouldn’t be legal.)

Can you make a pattern for your Discworld/Reepicheep/orang utan (etc)?

I’m afraid not! Although most of my designs are specifically created with the intention to produce easy-to-follow patterns from them, I sometimes crochet art pieces which are one-of-a-kind pieces and a) far too complicated to make into patterns and/or b) fan art involving trademarked characters such as the Discworld and Reepicheep (I can’t make a profit on unlicensed merchandise; it wouldn’t be legal).

Can you make a video/tutorial for a certain crochet stitch or pattern?

I’m creating a reference library of crochet tips and techniques, demonstrated through photo and video tutorials, and I’m always happy to hear your requests and ideas for new tutorials I can make! Please contact me with your requests.

Please be aware though that I create my videos to support my own patterns. Each one takes me several hours to film and edit, and nobody pays me to make them – I just create them as a service to help my customers. I’m afraid I only have time to make videos that demonstrate techniques I use in my designs. Of course, my future designs may require different techniques, so I may still be able make the video at a later date when it’s needed to support a new pattern!

Translations

Are your patterns available in my language?

Quality control is very important to me, and, until such a time as I am able to provide official translations of my patterns that are guaranteed to meet my standards for quality and accuracy, my patterns are only available in English (with standard/US crochet terminology).

May I translate your free patterns and post them on my blog/website?

You are very welcome to translate any of my patterns for your own personal use, but you may not share your translations with anyone else, either online or offline. I make my living from selling my crochet patterns. My ‘free’ patterns are not entirely free: I provide them as donationware (so that you can choose to compensate me for my time in creating and sharing these patterns), and to introduce you to my work so you can be confident of the quality and clarity of my patterns before you choose to buy more patterns from my shop. As such, I cannot allow my patterns, or translations of them, to be published anywhere apart from on my own website: www.planetjune.com.

Teaching

May I teach a class using one of your patterns?

Yes, you are very welcome to use any of my paid or free (donationware) patterns to teach with, provided you notify me in advance and comply with my terms below:

  • Paid patterns
    You may use my patterns to teach classes, provided either:
    1. You purchase the pattern, and instruct each student to also purchase a copy of the pattern from www.planetjune.com/shop prior to the class.– or –
    2. You purchase one copy of the pattern per student plus one for yourself and provide each student with the PDF file of the pattern and/or a printout of the entire PDF file, with instructions that the pattern may not be shared or passed on after the class.
  • Free (Donationware) patterns
    You may use my patterns to teach classes, provided either:

    1. You instruct each student to either purchase a PDF copy of the pattern from www.planetjune.com/shop or see the pattern at its web address prior to the class.– or –
    2. You donate a minimum of $1 per student plus $1 for the pattern, and provide each student with the PDF file of the pattern and/or a printout of the entire PDF file, with instructions that the pattern may not be shared or passed on after the class.

    You may not share excerpts from the pattern or printouts of the web version with your students.

Reviews & Advertising

Will you review my craft product?

I’m very happy to review craft books and products that may interest me and my readers. Please contact me prior to sending items for review and/or if you’d like to know about my readership statistics (I won’t post them here, as they change over time!).

Please be aware that my reviews are well-respected because I write honest, thorough reviews, stating my real opinion about the product; both good and bad points. I will not accept payment to write a review, or recommend a product I do not believe in.

Can I advertise on PlanetJune?

To avoid misleading my readers, I do not accept any paid advertising on PlanetJune. Any websites, products, or services that are mentioned on PlanetJune are done so as personal recommendations from me. If you’d like me to review your product/service instead, please see my Reviews FAQ answer.

Other Questions?

Please contact me with any other questions and I’ll add them to this FAQ!

4 Comments »

  1. Cody Said,

    February 4, 2012 @ 12:53 pm

    Hi June,

    Your patterns are amazing. I’m wondering how simple your patterns are. My wife and I have no crocheting experience but we’d like to give your designs a try. Would you suggest working on something easier first, or is it typically simple enough to jump right in to?

    I understand this is a completely subjective question, just thought I’d give it a shot. :)

    Thanks,

    Cody

  2. June Said,

    February 6, 2012 @ 4:16 am

    Cody, you’re not the first person to ask this! Thanks for giving me a reason to make time to write my answer up fully for my FAQ :) You can now find the answer to your question here: http://www.planetjune.com/blog/faq/#patterns

  3. Andrea Said,

    April 3, 2012 @ 1:47 pm

    I love your patterns but I can’t download them to my iPad! (not Safari-friendly) Why can’t we buy patterns directly into our Ravelry libraries, that way we would have online (paperless) access to our copy of the pattern at all times.

    I can download/save to my laptop at home and then print out the pattern, but that’s not generally how I work and it’s much more restrictive for when I’m traveling or just want to make something on a whim.

    Just wondering.

  4. June Said,

    April 3, 2012 @ 2:03 pm

    Andrea, I am sorry you feel inconvenienced! I have set up my own shop with my own download system so I have complete control over my patterns. If I used Ravelry instead, not only would I lose control over my patterns (they’d no longer stored on my own server) but I’d also lose $20 per month in fees and I’d have to raise my pattern prices to compensate for that! Ravelry is a good solution for small-volume sellers who don’t want the hassle of creating and maintaining their own shop, but I prefer to keep control over my patterns. I hope you can understand my reasons.

    As for your iPad, as I specify in my download instructions, you can download your pattern on your computer, unzip it, and then transfer the PDF to your iPad – it’s a small inconvenience, but not insurmountable. Your entire pattern library would barely make a dent in your iPad’s storage, and by storing the PDFs directly on your iPad, you’d also be able to access your patterns when you’re offline! :)

RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI

Leave a Comment

Please leave these two fields as-is:

  • Welcome to PlanetJune!

    June Gilbank Hi, I'm June. Welcome to my world of nature-inspired crochet and crafting. I hope you enjoy your visit!

  • Follow me

    RSS FeedLike me on FacebookFollow me on TwitterFriend me on Ravelry
    Watch me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestMy photostream on Flickr

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Like me on Facebook

    PlanetJune

    Promote your Page too

  • Follow me on Twitter

  • Meta