There are a lot of different sources for picking a new pattern. Yarn label, magazines, social media, blogs, websites, yarn stores, clubs – the list goes on and on. Obviously picking one single designer is never going to fulfill all your pattern needs. So, what do you do?
There are several websites dedicated to selling patterns, both for crochet and knitting. I’m going to list a few of my favorites and in future posts will include tutorials on how to find what you’re really looking for. It can be overwhelming but a few tricks will really make things simpler.
So, first stop: Ravelry one of the early adopters to online pattern selling, Ravelry set up shop in 2007 as a source for designers to promote and sell their patterns and crafters to curate their favorite patterns. It’s still one of my favorite sources, as I have years worth of projects and purchased patterns stored on their website. I admit to not being as good about uploading every project as I would like, but for a few years I was awesome! So, I have a documented list of finished projects with pictures! Ravelry boasts over 400,000 patterns (this includes knitting as well as crochet) so they are arguably the largest resource out there.
A newcomer on the market is LoveCrafts. They started as an online yarn seller and have quickly ramped up their pattern collection, selling patterns for individual designers and yarn manufacturers. They are a good source for newer, current patterns. And, they frequently sell the yarn the patterns use! So, that saves a few steps. Love that. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of them in the future.
When I first started crocheting, I didn’t see why anyone would pay for patterns. There are so many patterns available for free! All Free Crochet actually only has free patterns. About 3,000 specifically for crochet. Pretty nice collection! The difficulty with free patterns is that they frequently have a lot of advertising (we gotta pay our bills, right?) and the patterns are not always well written or easy to follow. I find they’re great for novice crocheters, but once you move past beginner stages, you may want more complicated patterns. And, that takes some work. So, they probably won’t be free. But, again, great to build up your abilities.
Interweave is another great source. Their patterns tend to be more complex, but they have some beginner patterns as well. They also publish a magazine that I look forward to every quarter. Their patterns tend to be very on trend and are great for inspiration. Interweave is slightly more knitting focused, but they also feature other crafts as well. Most of us tend to be multi crafters, so they appeal to me on many levels.
Yarnspirations has recently merged with Craftsy and is a source for Red Heart, Caron, Lily, Bernat, Patons, Phentex, and Sugar Bush patterns. It’s pretty comprehensive and they’re all free!
Annie’s Catalog is another large collection that’s been around a while. They started as a catalog and quickly became a much loved resource for products, patterns, and anything related. Their patterns are generally paid, but you can also subscribe to Crochet! Magazine to get many of their paid patterns.
I’ll add to this list as I think of great resources.
In the meantime, Happy Hooking!