How I Got Models to Work for Free
- Joyfully Embroidery
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
(4 models $0 in wages)
Whilst laying on my couch with my 4 cats I was trying to think of a new product to add to my embroidery shop and the answer was literally on my chest, at my feet, over my head and an arms reach away. Why not make a sweater for cats?! Not only did this idea excite me creatively, but I knew I would also have 4 ravishing unpaid models at my disposal.
Applique has become increasingly popular so I knew this was a technique I wanted to utilize for my next product launch and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. A pillar of my embroidery business has become sharing tutorials and tips and tricks on embroidery, this product launch could also double as a an applique tutorial, it was a done deal. 2 cats 1 stone.
I started looking for the perfect sweater to use for this new product. I came across a waffle knit sweater and knew it was the one because of the texture it offered. I’ve noticed that textured fabrics sell very well and it also had an assortment of colors I loved. Now for fabric to use for the applique letters. I chose a set of different patterns with the same color scheme. I knew I wanted the fabric to have a floral design and each set of applique came with a variety of florals, stripes, polka dots… it was perfect to mix and match with.
cat waffle knit sweater affiliate link:
applique fabric affiliate link:
Now it’s time to make the sweaters. I made sure to record each step for my applique tutorial and the first sweater was successful. I mixed and matched the blue applique on a cream sweater for my gray cat Frodo and it looked perfect on him. I continued making the next 3 with mixes of red and blue, pink and pink, and yellow and pink. I used an athletic style font for the letters borders and embroidered each of their names on the back.
Now for the photo shoot I was most excited about this part because I got to utilize my cats. I used treats to lure them towards where I set up the photo shoot. It took place in my hallway with paintings I took off the wall and fake florals I had in my crafts box. It was a small area for a shoot, but I also had small models (small in the human world, large in the cat world). There was 1 diva on set June, my black cat who is the youngest, just 2 years old I didn’t get any good photos of her, but the other 3 carried her slack and helped me get some gorgeous shots.
