Jewelry-Making Articles

Write and Sell Jewelry-Making Instructions for Your Designs

Design Idea G101 Bracelet
by Dan Day, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®

You've had a wonderful inspiration and, through your hard work and artistry, have turned that idea into a beautiful jewelry design. Once you begin displaying it at shows, people start asking you, "How did you do this?"

Of course, you are flattered, and you ask yourself, "Do I mind sharing my design?" "How do I write instructions so others can make my design?" And, "Can I make money selling my jewelry-making instructions?"

Fortunately, you don't have to invent that wheel; there is lots of information to guide you in writing instructions for your jewelry from the experts at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.

Materials List

For starters, as you design, keep a good record of all the materials you used, including the quantity. Make a list of all the tools and techniques you used. Here is an example of a materials list from our Gallery of Designs for Design Idea K303, a jewelry set featuring mother-of-pearl shell beads. Take a look and we'll cover the format of the list below:

Write and Sell Jewelry-Making Instructions for Your Designs
The main components are listed first such as beads, charms, focals, embellishments, etc. Next, list other findings, including jump rings, clasps, bails, head pins and ear wires. After that comes stringing materials: wire, chain, leather, etc. And at the bottom of the list are tools, glues, needles, etc.

The lists will vary from project to project, so why follow a format? First of all, it familiarizes your return customers. Secondly, it's professional to have a consistent, organized, easy-to-follow materials list.

Project Instructions

Next, take a look at the instructions in our Jewelry-Maker's Library. Each project comes with detailed step-by-step instructions. Chances are you will find a project similar to your design. Feel free to use the steps that apply to your design as a guide for writing your instructions.

You will probably need to tweak some of the steps to suit your project: such as lengths, sizes, colors, styles, etc. Don't forget to use the search bar to find projects that use a specific technique, such as soutache, for details to incorporate.

Design Idea K303 Necklace and Earring Set

Tutorials

You will notice that most of Fire Mountain Gems’ project instructions include Additional Resources at the bottom. Feel free to link to these in your digital instructions, so you don't have to explain Making a Simple Loop or Opening a Jump Ring. Our jewelry-making videos and jewelry-making how-tos explain a multitude of techniques, from the basics to the more advanced.

Testing

Getting someone to "test drive" your instructions will prove invaluable in finding out what doesn't quite make sense or doesn't flow. You may want to have a different person test each revision to ensure the best results.

Sharing

At the very least, print out your instructions to sell them or hand them out. However, on paper, you lose the ability to link to materials and resources. You will want to have downloadable instructions on your website. Be sure to include links to your social media pages to promote them to your network of friends and customers.

You can also sell your jewelry-making instructions on sites such as Etsy, as customers can pay for downloadable content.

Go Forth and Instruct

One last bit of advice: remember what it's like not to know. Putting yourself in the place of the person trying to follow your instructions (possibly a newbie) will help you make sure you craft useful, interesting and easy-to-follow instructions.

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