A current discussion here on Ribblr made me realise that Iâve grown hestitant to buy patterns on Ribblr because of âbad experiencesâ with previous purchases.
Typically (I guess) they come from the pattern being copied into a Ribblr e-Pattern and then published without someone looking over it again. Formats being all over the place or just small things like the a wrong color here and there, but frogging up chenille yarn to correct even small mistakes isnât fun and not what I expect when I pay for a pattern.
As Ribblr is a community of many designers with only a few patterns out each I canât really find one designer I like and know the pattern quality is good and then keep purchasing there.
So my suggestion is to show one way or another if a published pattern has been through testing here on Ribblr or not. As an alternative I would count if a pattern (not the shop) has like 5 or 10 easy to follow+would recommend recommendations, then I would grant the tested icon/badge as well.
Let me know your thoughts about this suggestionâ
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Yes, this is a very good idea. This way you donât need to judge based on the quality of the cover pictures and intro, because that really doesnât say that much.
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I also always look at the preview as far as possible, but Iâve had patterns before where there were only a few info notes and the first line (so it looked fine in preview) and then no further e-Patternâ
(thankfully the Ribblr team quickly helped me with that oneâ
)
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Of the patterns you purchased here on Ribblr, that you had bad experiences with, were you able to get in contact with the âdesignerâ to get assistance?
I think thatâs also a potential issue. Being able to contact the designer when you need assistance with a pattern and receiving a prompt reply.
From personal experience, something else to consider is that, although a pattern may go through the testing process, it doesnât necessarily mean there wonât be any issues with the pattern.
Iâve tested many patterns and most of my experiences have been fantastic. However, there have been a few âdesignersâ who have not utilised the feedback provided by their testers. Iâm not referring to minor issues either, Iâm referring to major issues that impact the overall pattern.
As for your suggestion, I think it would be great to see something like a little gold star or similar on the image/s of the pattern, so when youâre scrolling through patterns, you can see at a glance whether itâs been tested or not.
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I donât have enough data to say something about the responsiveness of designers on average.
To me when I buy a pattern I need a break from testing and am looking for smooth sailing. Therefore it would be nice to have a system in place that ensures that beforehand.
I think it would be good to incorporate into testing that testers have a final look over the updated pattern and give it a go. Currently that is sometimes the case, when designers update the pattern as testing feedback comes in, but some donât. Then there is quite a chance for further typos etc in the updated version
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I think a tested icon is a great idea, but it would need to be done carefully. Testing feedback happens in the private test chat, while the public journal prompts donât encourage honest criticism. Theyâre generally quite positive, so potential buyers donât get the full picture.
Iâve tested patterns that I personally wouldnât have purchased because of issues I found during testing. Whether those issues get fixed depends entirely on the designer. So while a tested badge could be really helpful, it shouldnât automatically mean the pattern is high quality unless thereâs some way to verify that the feedback has actually been addressed.
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I agree. Do you, or anybody else, have ideas how to solve that? My original post doesnât have to be the end of the line, maybe we can try to improve it together
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Thatâs the hard part. Maybe post testing once pattern is released testers could fill out a short anonymous questionnaire asking things like whether theyâd recommend the pattern, whether the instructions were easy to follow, and if theyâd actually buy it. Testers could also have the chance to confirm that the issues they raised were fixed before the pattern gets a âTester Approvedâ badge. I think that would make the badge actually mean something, instead of just showing that the pattern had testers.
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I definitely agree with this. Iâm not sure patterns need a âtestedâ icon since the journals already have the icon. However, like NoellCrochet said, many people are very positive with their journals, or if they donât have anything nice to say, they just list the materials they used. Maybe something we need is the option to make an anonymous journal â that way people can give honest feedback without worrying about what other people will think.
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I second this idea! Would be great to know if patterns have been tested or not before purchasing.
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Iâm not sure if it has always been a requirement for every test to write a Journal? Itâs very common now but does it mean it hasnât been tested if a pattern doesnât have any (public) Journals yet?
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I wholeheartedly agree with this. Me personally, I get the free patterns ( I am broke), and once I get my stripe account up and running and getting profit from it, I am going to start paying for patterns myself. I would be horribly upset and frustrated if I bought a pettern with a bunch of mistakes glaring up at me. If you are paying for a pattern with adult money, I would expect a full complete pattern with minimal mistakes. I understand free patterns are not as good quality wise usually, but paid patterns? This would be easier to identify those patterns who hadnât been wltested, or looled at with another set of eyes.
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When I first began testing, I noticed that most tester calls asked for testers to bring up any problems with the pattern in the group chat and not to put it in their journal. I understand that this gives the pattern designer a chance to make any necessary/relevant adjustments prior to the release of their pattern. Generally any problems/issues with the pattern will get âironed outâ during the testing phase and wonât be present once the test is over.
In my experience, most designers acknowledge your feedback and let you know that they will/have made the correction/change etc.
However, on occasion a designer simply doesnât want to make necessary changes for whatever reason. If a designer chooses not to make a change/s that I believe is/are essential to the integrity of the pattern, I will make relevant notes in my journal mentioning this once the pattern test is over. If the pattern is free, Iâm not as concerned, however, if the designer is selling their pattern I feel it only right that the prospective buyer knows of the issue/s I experienced. This way they can assess for themselves whether they want to purchase a pattern that potentially has a problem with it.
Currently, once youâve completed a pattern test, the journal âasksâ you 2 questions.
- Is this pattern easy to follow?
- Do you recommend this pattern?
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I like how you change your journal after the designer has time to change the pattern based on feedback. I might just start doing that.
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Maybe a note like âHey this pattern you tested just got released, do you want to have a look at it and update your Journal?â would help. I know of a few test where Iâm worried about the final results, and would update my Journal as well if necessary, but I donât want to do that before the designer updated and published the pattern. But then again I might just have missed that the pattern/s is/are published by now. I occationally check for one or two patterns/tests, but thatâs difficult to keep up
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Youâre correct.
Patterns donât have to be tested here on Ribblr. Some designers choose to have their patterns tested on other sites such as Instagram etc, so the absence of a journal doesnât necessarily mean it hasnât been tested.
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that would be a great idea!
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You can also test here without making a Journal (technically). Itâs a common requirement, but I had one test that explicitly asked to not make a journal. Maybe the designer considered noticable changes, if testing made them seem like a good idea, and didnât want the pictures to look different from the final design. Whatever the reason, it is possible
Maybe I should clarify my question: has it always been common to submit a journal along with testing here? Iâm not using Ribblr very long so I donât know
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Or maybe even better an option to set a reminder to update a journal, like with the bookmarks. Then I could also remind myself to share how clothes survived the first wash or how straps of bags hold up (with the yarn I used)
What do you think @IMadeIt?
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i think that is a very good idea. sometimes i look at a paid pattern and think âoh thatâs such a cute pattern, i might get it!â but then i see that it has no reviews/journals, which likely means that it wasnât tested. i just canât trust it.
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