I often cringe when I think about the fonts I have used in the past for writing a blog entry, emails, or even personal journal entries. I’ve always had a fondness for good font pairings, and while it might be a bit embarrassing to admit, I really enjoy fancy fonts. My love for fancy fonts definitely took a hit when I asked my brutally honest friend to check out my resume before I submitted it for a part-time job. She went through it and said the content was solid, but the font looked childish and unprofessional. I wanted to shout, “Girl! Don’t diss my fonts!” But when I got home that night and switched them to one of those “classically boring” fonts, I had to admit it looked way less childish and way more professional!
From that day forward, I never wrote another piece of content that others would see with a fancy font. In a strange way, I felt like I grew up that day as a writer. Since then, I published hundreds of emails and several hundred blog posts and submitted a manuscript for a writing contest, winning second place and getting published in an anthology of short stories, all with classically boring fonts.
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Then I came into my crochet pattern writing era, and with that same mindset, I wrote crochet designs, knowing how important my font choices would be for my readers and for sales. Believe me when I say that the fonts you choose make a huge impact on your readers, whether you (or they) know it or not. In this week’s article, we’re going to nerd out on typography and styling choices when it comes to typefaces you choose for your crochet patterns.
I’m not going to lie; this was a fun article to write. I did a lot of research, found a lot of interesting information, and learned a few things myself! Are you ready to dive in? Because we’re going deep!
What is Typography?
Typography is how your text is arranged to make it easy to read and visually appealing to your customers. Typography is the use of specific font styles, how you space your letters, and how you space your lines. It also involves the indentations of paragraphs or how you use creative word art. All these little details play an important role in how easy your text is to read and how good your pattern will look.
Did you know typography affects how we feel about words? Some letters look really serious and important, like the ones you’d find in a book, while others have a fun and playful tone, like those in a comic strip. When you, as a designer, get creative with how you style words in your pattern, you can tell a story before your readers even read a single line of your instructions.
Typography captivates people’s attention primarily through its aesthetic appeal. I know I won’t have time to discuss every aspect of typography in this email, but I’m going to cover what I believe is one of the most important things when it comes to writing a crochet pattern.
Let’s Talk Fonts
Listen, if you use those super fancy fonts with squiggly lines or curly cues….please don’t come after me once you read this article. I know I’m going to offend some of our flock members, but I care too much not to share the truth!
The fonts you choose matter….a lot! Your font choices will decide if your pattern is easy to read, accessible, and if it looks professional. And if you thought in your head, “Well, I don’t care if my pattern looks professional,” then please click unsubscribe right now! Professionally written patterns are what makes sales (and great marketing, of course)!
I think the best thing you can do for your crochet pattern is to choose two different fonts that contrast one another but also harmonize. They look different but also work really well together. These two different fonts are called font pairings.
Basics of Font Pairing
There are four main categories of fonts: serifs, sans serifs, decorative, and script.
Serif Fonts
The word serif refers to the little strokes that are attached to each letter. Look at the photo below for an example. Serif fonts use a combination of thick and thin strokes that create a look that is classic or more traditional and easy to read. These fonts are most commonly used in printed material…like that book sitting next to you. Go ahead, pick it up, and look inside. Do you notice all the serifs? Do you know what pairs really well with serif fonts?
Sans Serif Fonts
Sans is a French word that means ‘without.’ So, a sans serif font is a font without any serifs. Look at the image below. I know what you’re thinking….it looks so boring. I thought that too remember? Right now, you’re reading a sans serif font. This type of font is perfect for websites, emails, and blogs.
Decorative Fonts
Decorative fonts are more…well, decorative. They look and feel more creative than the classically boring fonts above! Decorative fonts are meant to be a focal point to catch readers’ attention. They are usually eye-catching, bold, and make a strong statement. These fonts are great for logos, party invites, or certain packaging.
Script Fonts
If you are as old as me or older, you remember getting graded on your handwriting. When I was in school, we had to learn to read and write in cursive. Cursive, or script, really is a forgotten art. In 2010, the government removed cursive writing from core standards. However, I recall my children never learning how to write in script during their school years, and that was long before 2010. I know a lot of people mistake decorative and script for the same font, but they are definitely different. Script font looks more like natural handwriting with uneven strokes. They are great to use for headings and simple designs.
What Are the Best Pairings For a Crochet Pattern?
I mentioned earlier how typography affects how we feel about words. With this in mind, we need to take a few things into consideration before choosing our font pairings.
Emotion/Mood: What kind of emotions do you want your readers to feel when looking at your pattern? What kind of mood or tone do you want to set? Choose a font that will convey the tone you want to display in your writing.
Brand Personality: What is your brand’s personality? Are you more playful or serious? Is there elegance in your branding? Your font choice needs to reflect your brand’s personality. A serious font won’t work for a playful soul.
Target Audience: Who are your people? What age group visits your website the most, or who purchases your patterns? If you don’t know who you are serving, how can you connect with them in the fonts you choose?
When it comes to pairing the right font, you need to have a solid starting point. If you nail down those three considerations, then you are well on your way to finding the perfect match.
How to Use Different Fonts
When writing a crochet pattern, you want some kind of variety in your text to break up the monotony. I’ve seen patterns where everything is in the same font and size. Let me tell you, I got lost. I couldn’t even keep track of where I was. Variety is important. Now, variety in text can come in several ways.
Using 2-3 Different Fonts: A rule of thumb in design is to use no more than 2-3 different font pairings. You could have one font for the heading, one for the subheading, and one for the body. This is really the perfect combo for a crochet pattern. The heading would be used for the title of your pattern, and it is usually in serif font. You could also use a decorative font for this. Subheadings would be used to break up the body of the text. Oftentimes, subheadings are bolded or a different color to make the text stand out. Then the body of your text would be the most bori….oh, I mean classic.
Using One Font in Different Weights: I’ve also seen designers use one font throughout their pattern but manipulate the weight of the font and sizing of the text to give it the contrast it needs. Contrast is so important!
Using Font Spacing: On top of using different font weights, you could space your font in such a way that it looks like an entirely different font altogether. This would be great to do in headings. I would avoid spacing out the font in the body of your text.
How to Find Font Pairings?
The best way I’ve found to find great font pairings is to play around with Google Fonts. There are hundreds of fonts to choose from! When you spot one that catches your eye, just click on it, and you’ll get a display where you can type in your own text to see how it looks. What I did to find my font pairing was copy and paste one of my crochet patterns in the display to see how it looked in particular texts. Pay special attention to how the text displays numbers and what your abbreviations look like. You want to make sure they are clear.
10 Great Fonts for Crochet Patterns
If you dread even the thought of looking through a ton of fonts and finding the perfect font pairing, I got you! Here are some of the best fonts you could use in your crochet patterns.
- Montserrat – A clean, modern sans-serif that looks great in digital and print formats.
- Lora – A slightly decorative serif font that remains highly readable.
- Roboto – A simple, professional font that is easy to scan quickly.
- Raleway – Elegant yet minimal, great for pattern titles and headings.
- Merriweather – Designed for readability, making it great for long sections of text.
- Open Sans – Highly versatile and clear, ideal for both print and digital patterns.
- Source Sans Pro – A balanced, contemporary font that’s excellent for instructions.
- Avenir – Clean and professional, making patterns easy to follow.
- PT Sans – A neutral, approachable sans-serif with good readability.
- Georgia – A classic serif font with excellent clarity for printed patterns.
If you don’t already have a set font brand (or if you are looking to establish a new font brand) play around with different font pairings then decide on 3-4 different font pairings. Take to social media and create a poll for your audience, asking them which pairing they like best. This will let you know which pairing resonates with your ideal audience!