-DISCLAIMER- Whatever I decide whether my patterns should be paid or not is my choice. Everyone decides differently.
My paid crochet patterns: They are more complex, and I’ve basically poured my heart into them. They also sometimes includes additional bits, such as a colour change chart and felt templates in the PDF files.
My free crochet patterns: They are much more simple than my paid patterns, so they should be very easy for beginners. However, not much detail or originality has gone into them. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.
This is totally fair! There is another side though. Sometimes designers (like me) just make all of their patterns free regardless of complexity. Free doesn’t always mean simple, unoriginal, or undetailed!
I find that question to be extremely rude and I refuse to answer it until after my call is closed. I want my testers to test because they like helping make the pattern the best it can be and not because they just want my paid patterns for free. Also, they could take 30 seconds to check out my shop and make an educated guess that it will not be free.
If you want to know if a pattern will be free, try asking how much the pattern will cost once it releases because you really want to get it but can’t test right now. This will get you your answer without insulting the designer
I don’t ask designers if their patterns will be free but I do appreciate knowing the answer. I test free and paid patterns when I have time but sometimes if I have to choose between tester calls, I’ll choose the paid one. I’m a broke hooker so I can’t really afford to buy many patterns. So if I know a pattern I love will be free, then I’ll often pass on that tester call.
There are exceptions, of course, but on this side of it, I don’t think your patterns should or should not be free, it’s just weighing all the info to help me decide whether or not to apply.
Exceptions for the curious: If one of the patterns I love isn’t getting a lot of attention or volunteers, then I’ll volunteer to test, free or not. And sometimes if I’m not overwhelmed by other pattern tests, if I need the pattern asap because OMG I LOVE IT AND I CANNOT WAIT then I’ll volunteer to test. And I’m sure there are more but I just woke up and haven’t had my coffee yet lol
Yeah I think for many people it’s really not easy to decide weather a pattern should be paid or not and probably even harder to determine the right price. Because so many aspects play into that.
What do you mean by crochet patterns based on a bag? Like amigurumi? Do you have an example for them?
Oh I see, ty. On other platforms there also might be other sources of income too. But there are many different reasons and motivations for pricing. It’s quite complex when I think about it like that
That’s great for you, the only reason why I don’t buy paid patterns is because I cant. So I might still ask, I don’t want to seem rude though. As for me I will always make my patterns free but your technique makes a lot of sense!
I would never find this question rude. I feel like it’s a valid question, sometimes people don’t know that they could just check the shop. For me I don’t mind answering but maybe that’s just me, I didn’t know so many designers found the question rude. I only ask because I think the pattern is cute but I can’t test, and if it’s paid I can’t get it.
i think the part being missed here in a major way is there are a lot of teens on ribblr who just cannot purchase.
sure, there could be people who would sign up to test just to get a pattern that would be paid for free, but i think a majority are just kids asking about something they like and wondering if they’ll be able to have it.
i dont think it’s a mystery to anyone here why things are not always free.
your frustrations are valid…i understand, but ribblr is used in large part by a younger group that doesn’t have purchasing power yet. gentle reminder to maybe consider the whole picture before assuming rudeness or whatever else.
that’s thoughtful of you. the post carried a bit of a passive aggressive feel before you changed it is all.
if you really don’t want to have people ask, you can include whether it’ll be free or not in the tester call. i’ve seen people add a line that says “yes, this will be a free pattern!” or something like “sorry to those who use just free patterns, but this one will be a paid pattern!”….and that will answer the questions before they are asked.
I just found out from another commenter, that the reason I get that question is because Ribblr is more likely to have young people. Those who simply can’t afford paid patterns. In other words, I missed a point. Therefore, the post has been slightly edited.
