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Patterns
32 Plays9 days ago
What makes a "good" or "bad" pattern? Hosts Andrew (Caliri Creations) and Kelly (Cocky Crocheter) spill the tea as they talk green and red flags when it comes to knit and crochet patterns.
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Transcript
Introduction to Fiber Arts Patterns
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of Two CCs of Fiber Arts. I am one of your hosts, Kelly, and of course I'm here with the other host, Andrew. And today, the topic that we have decided we want to really dive deep into is patterns. Because we know that if you're a fiber artist, you have probably encountered patterns. You've probably bought patterns. You've probably gotten free patterns. You've probably, some of you maybe even like never followed a written pattern before and really just kind of go with vibes and video instructions or things like that. but All of that we're including in today's discussion and just seeing like you know what our thoughts are when it comes to what makes a pattern a quote unquote good pattern, not so great pattern, an awful pattern. you know like We're ready to spill some tea when it comes to patterns and what we love and don't love about them.
Journey in Pattern Finding
00:00:58
Speaker
So Andrew, we're going to start off with you um So when you have well, okay, first of all, where do you get your patterns from? Like kind of what's your primary source when you were looking for patterns?
00:01:12
Speaker
I would say my primary source is Ravelry, which okay wasn't always the case because I am like fairly new to the world of patterns. Like I, okay, technically the first pattern I ever made was this teddy bear that I made when I was like eight years old or something. It's one of the first things I ever made. it was like a little kit and it had like all the yarn and stuffing and everything you need to make it.
00:01:39
Speaker
And I technically did follow that pattern because I made the bear. It is not very cute. It's not very pretty. it I have a picture of it. ah But like what it came out looking like a bear. So that's that's the biggest thing. But other than that, I am only like a few years into looking for patterns and actually like diving into the world of patterns. And so when I really first started, like ah I would say like four years ago when I started the pattern journey, I was just Googling.
00:02:14
Speaker
But then I learned about Ravelry and I was like, oh, OK, it's like a whole library of, you know, play patterns and um ideas. You know, it's an amazing place to go.
Ravelry vs. Grindr for Patterns
00:02:24
Speaker
ah a little bit clunky, i will say, like searching on Ravelry is a very clunky and outdated, as I'm sure you know.
00:02:35
Speaker
Yes, I understand. Yes. That being said, I do still think it's like one of the better places to look for patterns just because there's so much on there.
00:02:48
Speaker
It's like, OK, so, you know, like we're both gay guys. with There are like dating apps out there hookup apps. yeah um Back the in college, I was using Scruff a lot.
00:03:02
Speaker
And one of my friends was like, you got to get on Grindr because, um yeah, some people might have Scruff, but everybody has Grindr. You know, like if you're going to have one app, like you should get Grindr because it has the most options. And I feel like Ravelry is like the fiber arts version of that. We're like, yeah, there are probably other databases and, you know, stuff like that has stuff.
00:03:26
Speaker
But most of the stuff you're going to want is going to be on Ravelry. zo yeah. This did not go anywhere i thought it was going to go. i but Okay. So, well, you heard it here first. I'm pretty sure no one else in the world has ever said that Ravelry is the grinder of pattern databases for fiber. i wrong Am I wrong? I wrong? I mean, I cannot disagree with that logic. No. In fact, I actually think now that's a great marketing, know, Ravelry, if any of you from Ravelry are like, you know, the people who actually own it and whatnot are listening to us, marketing idea. We're willing to let you have work with us on that if you Yeah, our DMs are open, so feel free to slide in.
00:04:18
Speaker
Yes, very good. But, okay, so actually that makes a lot of sense because you're right, like Ravelry is really, like it is the
Influence of Pattern Images
00:04:26
Speaker
database. It is the first one and actually...
00:04:28
Speaker
The fact that you compare it to Grindr actually is way appropriate because when you think about it, like anybody who's in the gay community, you know, there are all kinds of like apps and everything like that. But I think if you trace back, I could be wrong. I haven't researched this or anything. Didn't think I would need to research the history of Grindr for an episode on patterns, but here we are. Yeah.
00:04:49
Speaker
yeah so but grinder i think was the first location-based gay meetup app like that was the first one like everyone was like oh okay like i'm finding out like people are a mile away from me 200 feet away from me like oh my gosh where are you where are yeah all the other gays like around me and then other apps like scruff um Yeah. Came along and they're like, they started to take that kind of same idea and then kind of formulated like specialties and things like that. So I think the same thing. Ravelry was really kind of like the first thing.
00:05:24
Speaker
It wasn't like the first pattern database. i'm sure I know that there were other patterns like databases, but they were very fragmented. Their goal was they wanted it, I think, to be everyone could access it. Like it was a community-based um database. So like anybody could contribute. It wasn't just like, you know, you had to sign up to contribute or be a member or something like that. It was literally just... yeah you could be a member or like you just join and then now you can access and trade patterns with each other, share projects and things like that. So I think that that was kind of their big goal.
00:05:55
Speaker
And so they became that model
Evaluating Pattern Quality
00:05:57
Speaker
that other databases could then try to replicate. um Yeah. So, yeah. So I'm guessing i think it sounds like you use Ravelry a lot as well.
00:06:06
Speaker
um so i do, um yeah So when you use Ravelry and you're looking for a pattern, of what kind of keywords or like what kind of catches your eye when you see a pattern listing on Ravelry? Because I will say, not everyone has the best pictures or the best like information about their pattern. like They're not all made the same. Some of them definitely stand out more than others. ah So I'm wondering, like what catches your eye when you're looking for patterns?
00:06:38
Speaker
Oh my God, that's a great question. Okay. So sometimes what I'm looking for is ideas of where maybe I could fill in a niche.
00:06:49
Speaker
So I might be like looking to see, okay, has this something that's already been done? and if so, like how prolific is it? So I might be like, okay, well, I would like to design, you know, like a raglan sweater. Well, there's a ton of raglan sweaters. So I'm looking for things like, you know, is there one specifically designed for men? So I know do the little narrow down and usually the men's category is way less than the women's category. And then of course, yeah specifying crochet. And then another thing I look for is things like, you know, are they quality photos, but also do they show it from multiple angles? So I'm actually seeing,
00:07:23
Speaker
the way it fits in different spots. It's not just a couple of really fancy photos of it from the front. I'm like, well, I also want to see the back. I also want to see the bottom part. I want to see closeups. I want to see far away effect. I want to see all of those things.
00:07:37
Speaker
And so as a result, actually, that's like what drives when I photograph any of my own designs. I try to keep those in mind. i'm like, I need some good just like eye-catching photos, but also I need ones that show here's how it fits here. Here's a detail here. Here's what the stitch pattern looks like. Here's the overall effect. like So that's what I look for. And then I use that to then drive my own photography.
00:08:01
Speaker
That's not necessarily a deal breaker. It's just, it makes it easier for me to decide if it's going to be a pattern I think I'm going to like. but The other thing I kind of look for is um if whether or not the person who made it seems like they put in effort, like they didn't just throw a pattern together and think, I'm just going to try to sell this and make a big buck. Like I'll look for like how detailed they write out things. If they've written out things about like the construction, um if they have any info or if they're like admit they're like this is my first design you know something like that I'm like oh my god a new designer I would love to you know try their pattern out and support them and everything like that so yeah and there we go that's that was my final point there what were you gonna say yeah well I mean I think it's ah definitely true like the pictures like I want multiple angles I want to see it from the front and from the back or like I want if it's like a hat or something like I want to see what it looks like on and maybe what it looks like when you're not wearing it, like for a beanie or something like you could definitely take a flat picture or like a picture while you're wearing it. um
00:09:00
Speaker
I think also mom if if I can see that other people have made this project and there are pictures of their stuff, then I'm like, okay, so it's not just the designer that's made it. It's like there are a whole collection of people who have made this pattern. And like, you know, you can kind of get ideas for colorways and ah you know, get a sense that like, oh, this pattern is actually going to work because, um you know, that's just not the case with every pattern.
Dealing with Incorrect Patterns
00:09:30
Speaker
I've run into patterns as recently as like a month ago that I was like, this pattern just doesn't make sense. Like I'm reading it and rereading it and I was showing it to other people. And I'm like, look, it says here for the large size to do fewer number of stitches.
00:09:48
Speaker
than the medium size, which doesn't make sense. Like it was a sock. It was that sock I tried to make. And so ended up having to Yeah.
00:09:59
Speaker
So I ended up having to just go basically off of vibes of like, ah like it basically said to do 24 stitches and then start the ankle.
00:10:11
Speaker
But if I was going to do that, I was going to be on the very front of the sock, not the ankle. And so I was like, why would I start the ankle right here when the ankle doesn't start for 20 more stitches after this?
00:10:23
Speaker
And so like yeah the actual pattern itself didn't make sense. And so I kind of, okay, I'm, I'm, I'm hesitant to just buy any pattern these days because I bought money. i I spent money on that. I bought that pattern and then I wasn't able to really like, I mean, I did make the sock in the end, but the pattern was so bad that I didn't want to make the second one.
00:10:46
Speaker
You know, I want to be able to finish the pattern and be like, Oh, I would definitely make that again. Okay. I mean, okay. Literally everything you just described, and I did not even realize until you were starting to describe it. I was like, oh my God, that is also very much like Grindr.
00:11:02
Speaker
Where you're like, i need multiple pictures, multiple angles. Yes. In the front and the back. I want to see other people using it I want to see like, you know, to make sure it's like, is it well reviewed? Does it have like good quality? Like, you know, because you're right. Sometimes you're like, oh, this looks kind of cool. You get the pattern and you're like, it's not what it looked like in the picture or. Oh, yes. This wasn't what I was expecting. I'm a little disappointed. like So you're like, you attempt it. You still try it out just for benefit of the doubt because maybe it's a good pattern and you just don't. Yeah. And then you're like, no, never mind. This was a bust. We're never working that pattern again. but
00:11:42
Speaker
ah Yeah, it was a bust, but not the good kind of bust. ah yeah Wow, we are officially rated R at this point, so... ah Is this even still about patterns? How are we talking so much about Grindr? But you're right. There should be a rating system on Grindr. I met up with this person and they were a catfish. Yes. Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, that is kind of similar to how Ravelry works it. So they're like, you know, you get the star reviews, you get people like writing comments. So, you know, yeah. Bringing it back to...
00:12:23
Speaker
Fiber Arts. yeah Let's redirect back to actual fiber arts. This is not 2cc Subgrinder. No, it is not. It is not. ah No.
00:12:34
Speaker
Wow. Okay. um But in kind of keeping with that now, it seems like we're kind of getting into things that we do look for when we're looking for patterns, but also what are some red flags? Like what are things you can see immediately and think, I can already tell you that this is not going to be a good quality pattern.
00:12:52
Speaker
Well, for me, I... i So I recently looked at a pattern that I was like, i'm I was kind of excited to make. And um but the people in my knitting group, they were going to do a knit along. And actually, they are doing it right now. But I opted out of the knit along.
00:13:08
Speaker
Because when I looked at the pattern, I was initially excited because it was like a polo. um And I want to make more polos or more polos. I have never made a polo myself, but I wear polos a lot. And so I would like to make one. And so I was like pretty down, you know.
00:13:25
Speaker
And I was like looking at the pattern, thinking about the yarn I could use for it and everything. and then i realized that there is no shaping. It's literally just like a tube.
00:13:37
Speaker
And this was designed by a woman. And it says unisex. And I was like, that's not going to work for me. there no I need it to be Specific for my body and like male bodies and female bodies or, you know, anybody's body is different than anyone else. And so it just got me thinking like, you know what?
00:14:05
Speaker
I think even though I like this pattern, the way it looks, I just don't know if it's going to be worth all
Designing for Body Types
00:14:11
Speaker
the effort that I'm going to put into it. if this is made for somebody with a completely different body than me, it probably looks amazing on the designer. Like I'm sure like she's a big designer.
00:14:23
Speaker
Um, I don't know the name of the designer, but I did see her Instagram and like, she has her whole account is like design and, um, all her patterns are called something like camisole number 10 or something. It's like polo number one.
00:14:37
Speaker
Um, don't know the name. Cause she's that prolific of a designer. It's like, she makes so many, yeah I cannot come up with names for all of these. number. Yeah. Yeah. okay Like that's what she's, you know, That's sort of kind of like maybe what I was, it's like, okay. So for instance, it's like, I design men's clothing, like even things that might be on the little bit more like sexy or like risque or feminine size. size It's still designed with, yes, exactly. It's like, it's still men's items. Like it's sized for men's bodies. I use men's sizing for it, but yeah's like, So if a woman wants to make it, then she's going to have to adjust for that. Like that just is the nature of it. If I like, I have a sweater pattern that I got for, from one of my favorite designers and it was designed for women's bodies, but I was able to take that and still figure out what to do for my own body. I still haven't finished the sweater. I need to go back and work on it, but still I'm like, I was able to figure that out, but that's not really a red flag. The designer doesn't have to design directly. to fit oh yeah my body if it's designed for women. So to me, I'm like, that that's that's not exactly quite what, like, up to me, that's not a red flag. But like, I'm looking for like, what's, I said we were going to spill some tea. So like, what's a really bad pattern? Like you want to like complain about um that you were like, this was designed for nobody's body. Like they tried, but they did not succeed.
00:16:04
Speaker
ah Well, I mean, that sock that I made was like horrible. Like, i mean, oh yeah yeah like that one was awful. um And that one for sure was like an issue with the pattern, because like I said, the stitch counts were just off. And like when I did the math on like how many stitches would be in this round,
00:16:25
Speaker
it just didn't add up with the numbers that were on the pattern. And so I'm just like, something is wrong there. And yet somehow, like I did my research before getting that pattern and it had like thousands of reviews. So um I didn't really read them. And so people have been saying like, ah like in my group when I've been talking about it, they're like, you got to read them because sometimes they put corrections in the comments or like in the reviews, people have already figured out the problems.
00:16:53
Speaker
And like the designer is not always like, I mean, there's no telling if the designer is even still alive. You know what I mean? Like they, oh they might not have caught an error before they passed or something.
User Feedback and Pattern Correction
00:17:05
Speaker
And so then they can't update the pattern. And so like, there are sometimes notes in the comments.
00:17:10
Speaker
yeah. But I mean, another pattern that I struggled with recently was the the sailor slippers um by Annie Sews. That pattern, though, I do think that the pattern was good. She had a lot of resources in there. And I mean, she had I actually learned a lot of different seaming techniques from that pattern because she linked. There's like the way that you have to construct them. You need so many different seams at the end.
00:17:42
Speaker
And she put videos and i I mean, the pattern is really well done. i just think the yarn i specifically chose was not the right yarn for it. So I think that wass that's like more on me, but yeah.
00:17:56
Speaker
I'm probably not going to go back for a felting pattern. Like for me, felting is a red flag. I'm just going to make it at the size it is. Yes. So you're only going to make like the giant version and keep it that way? No, I'm not making the giant version at all. I'm making the regular version and that's going to be it.
00:18:20
Speaker
All right. Well, I love that. I mean, that makes a lot of sense. but So some of that sounds a lot like, you know, your experience with certain types of patterns or projects are like, well, now I'll never work on that type again. So I, yeah to me, I'm like, that's kind of, um,
00:18:35
Speaker
When I've done, i'm trying to think like a type of pattern I did, um certain blanket patterns. Like I was like, oh, the picture makes it look so good and everything like that. It looks like so solid and so warm and everything like that. And then I made it and was like, this thing is not going to make me feel warm at all. It's got these giant gaps in it. And I'm like, that's not going to work. Like the picture made it look like it was so full and luscious and warm. And I'm like, this just a thin, holy piece of cloth that is not my feet are going to stick through this. Like, that's not going to work. Yeah. Yeah. so
00:19:13
Speaker
yeah, like I, that is a huge problem with blankets. Oh yeah. That's why I like, actually, I don't even really like crocheted blankets, honestly. because they just... Even though you just said you made blankets for everyone in the last episode? Yes. You're like, yeah, I hate them. I made them, but I hate them. Yes.
00:19:33
Speaker
But all for the exact same reasons. like a lot They were beautiful blankets. like Do not get me wrong. They were so great and they were fun to make, but they are not the most practical things. like I was like, a quilt is more solid. Or even if I did make a blanket, it would be like a solid stitch. It couldn't be something...
00:19:50
Speaker
that has a whole lot of design elements in it because then you start getting into fans and puffs and things like that. And then there's little gaps and stuff like that. Like that's what then stretches and creates it. So, yeah, there's
Pattern Pricing and Designer's Intent
00:20:01
Speaker
that. But um I will say also that I have run into patterns on Ravelry where I'm looking and I'm just like looking through pictures and I will not lie. I've been like, that's heinous. Like that is just a not, yeah it's not just not a good picture, but I'm like, that is just a not good looking project. Like what makes you think that you can charge $10 for this product, like for this pattern? Like that doesn't make sense to me.
00:20:31
Speaker
And then I'll find another one that I'm like, this, this pattern's $2, but it's such good quality. Like this photograph, what's wrong with this pattern? You know, they or like sometimes free. I'm like, yeah. And I'm like, and I'm like, okay, well I'll risk it. So I get the free one. I'm like, okay, so far, not so bad. So far this looks pretty good. I'm like, why are they not charging money for this? But this person who's like spending $10. So like, I, I tried to do a pair of shorts once.
00:20:58
Speaker
Yeah. And they were not well written. The pictures were not super great, but I was like, you know what? It's a free pattern. It's whatever. I'll get it. And I was just like, these shorts do not look good. Like they're not constructed well. I think that how they sized them was basically just everything got bigger. And I'm like, ah no, yeah like my waist may be bigger than some people's, but I'm like, but the length is not five times bigger than a small. Like that's not how it works. So right it was just not good. Not good.
00:21:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think i I feel like nowadays, like as I'm getting more advanced in my craft, I am kind of straying away from designers that i have no idea who they are. Like, from now on, I think moving forward, I only really want to make things from designers I've already heard of, or that I've already heard really good things about.
00:21:53
Speaker
um it's one of the reasons why after making my bear sweater, I was like, I'm going to make another Max the Knitter pattern because the first one worked really well. And like,
00:22:04
Speaker
His pattern was easy to follow. It's all like everything you need is in the pattern. The sizing is in the pattern. The like customization options, like everything is there. Like whatever you need is in the pattern. And I love that.
00:22:19
Speaker
I think a lot of the big name designers do a really good job of doing that. And yeah, You know, it's those are some of the things I gravitate towards, like like male designers, because I know that they're designing for male bodies, ah like especially for wearables.
00:22:35
Speaker
I think that is like actually really important to focus on that. Yes. um And then just like the bigger name people, because I know that it's going to be worth the investment of buying the pattern.
00:22:48
Speaker
That being said, like if it's a free pattern from like a person I haven't heard of and I'm i'm willing to give it a try um because if it's free and I don't like it, a well, I didn't really lose that much. But like that sock pattern that I got was like $7. And I'm like, you can't charge $7 for this pattern. And then it comes out looking like like I had to do a lot of the heavy lifting to figure out how to actually make this sock because your numbers were totally wrong.
00:23:17
Speaker
So then I'm like, well, now I feel like slighted because I actually paid money for this. You profited off of me. And like, for what? Like this crap pattern.
00:23:29
Speaker
Yeah, I actually sometimes worry that that's some experience of people who buy my patterns. And so no I actually strive really hard to make sure that I'm like, okay,
00:23:45
Speaker
I cannot make everyone who buys one of my patterns happy. Like that's just impossible. But at the very least, I'm like, I want to try to minimize that experience because I don't want anybody to come back and be like, he was, he messed up all these numbers. Like there's this entire section that makes no sense whatsoever. Like, I don't think he even reviewed this and blah, blah, blah. So I'm just like, I want to make sure that that never happens. Or if there is a mistake that somebody finds, I'm very quick to be like, well,
00:24:13
Speaker
Because I'm still alive. as you like If I'm no longer here, obviously I wouldn't be able to do that. Maybe like a foot in the grave, you know, but still alive, yes. Okay, all right. we're Okay, no, okay. I know I'm older than you, but I'm not that close to death, hopefully. um But anyway...
00:24:33
Speaker
but but If we're going back to Grindr again, it's like, yeah, I'm way too old. I'm ancient. Yeah, I and get it. Yes. You're like deceased already for Grindr. Yes, exactly. Yes. No.
00:24:46
Speaker
ah Yes. ah But um so if people point out a mistake, I'm very quick to be like, okay, I'll update the PDF. I get it out. I send out the thing to everybody. And what's great about Ravelry actually is the option for designers to send the updated PDF to anybody who's downloaded it. yeah put the little note on there being like, Hey, here's the change. Like, here's what made it, you know, I'm so sorry. Like, you know, all that stuff. But then I always, always, always, when somebody reaches out to me and points out a mistake and,
00:25:16
Speaker
I'm like, okay, you get another free pattern of your choice. Like just take something from my library. It does not matter. I was like, thank you for catching that and bringing it to my attention. That saved me like, you know, a lot of headache. And so I'm like, I want to reward somebody for that to encourage that behavior in the future. Because I mean, like even with tech editing and testing, things will slip through the cracks. And I think that that's the thing is that like, if I feel like a pattern has been written with the intent of really trying to make it quality and,
00:25:45
Speaker
the designer is responsive and they change things as needed, then that's good. I'm fine with that. But it's the ones that are just like, like we, we know that there's a particular big name designer who, when they write patterns, they do their quote unquote testing group. And we know people who have done testing for them.
00:26:05
Speaker
um And they were like, yeah this is so bad. Like this pattern is written so badly But they're like, the designer doesn't listen. They don't care. They're just like, whatever.
00:26:17
Speaker
<unk> yeah I'm only doing this to get photographs. I'm doing this to put it out. I'm doing this to get money. And they do it. And they're like, you know what? i If those sizes aren't going to work, I'm not going to try to fix it. I'm just going to eliminate those sizes. We're just going to only say it's good for these sizes that it actually worked for. And i'm just like...
00:26:34
Speaker
no, that is not okay. Like that is not a good well-intentioned design. I'm like, those patterns are not going to be good patterns. I cannot trust that. And now that I know that I'm like, I know definitely stay away from those, that designers work. So yeah yeah what designer was that by the way, I'm totally blanking.
00:26:53
Speaker
forgot oh my god i'm not uh no i we're not we're still too small in the ocean like they're sharks right now and i'm like i'm not risking that way maybe when if we get big enough i'll be willing to to say it but you know if Yeah, anyway. Yes. don't want it to get cancelled too soon.
Size-Inclusive Patterns
00:27:17
Speaker
Well, I mean, i think the moral of that story is to also pay attention to what sizes a pattern has available. If it's a wearable pattern and there are only three sizes available, um I mean, that doesn't seem like a very green flag to me because, like,
00:27:39
Speaker
how can you not have more sizes available? Like you only designed small, medium and large. You didn't think about like the fact that we live in America and a lot of people that you could market to are going to be bigger than that. I mean, just straight up in like small, medium, large, especially for handcrafted items, like that may not have the stretch you're looking for, you know, like, um you are probably going to want to have bigger sizes available.
00:28:08
Speaker
um So I don't know. That to me is also kind of like a a red flag of like, m I can try and make the large, like I'm going to need the large at least. So, but like, if I don't feel like there are options for me, then I'm not going to move forward with it.
00:28:27
Speaker
And i'm I'm just not going to get it because I'm like, well, there's no point in getting it And then being like, well, the biggest size is still too small for me. So, you know, then it's a waste. I completely get that. Yeah, that's another thing is that it's like size inclusivity is a huge thing for me if it's something that needs to be size inclusive. well that That is a whole other topic that i yeah i You know i am itching to talk about that at some point. Oh, I know. i can i Me too. I was like, that's too big for this. like that Well, it's not too big. We're going size inclusive and say it's not too big. That's a topic for another day. um But basically just the generic
00:29:10
Speaker
If it's not a size inclusive pattern for something that should be size inclusive, that is a red flag for me. like It is flag. The designer did not make the effort to even try to make it something that more people can make besides the people that are the designer size. So, yeah. Yeah. ah Well, I mean, another ah major red flag for me also is how much does this pattern cost me?
00:29:34
Speaker
You know, and what is it? ah You know, it we know of other designers as well that charge yeah very way too much for their small patterns. um yeah And like the price tag alone can be a barrier of just like looking at it and being like,
00:29:56
Speaker
$15 for this small little thing like and I have to make it and hope that the pattern is fine like that's too much like I I kind of feel like in the pattern world like $10 is already kind of like on the higher end for me of like I gotta really consider like do I want to spend $10 on this pattern and like what is the pattern? Like, is it a blanket pattern that I'm spending $10 on? Because that makes a bit more sense.
00:30:27
Speaker
But is it like a hat that I'm spending $12 on? Well, that's a lot. Yeah. And I actually get what you mean by that, because a lot of the things when I think price wise, when I design $10 really is like my max for my sweaters, like the things that take me the most amount of work to work on. I'm like, I want to price it to where it's like, it's just $10. Like it's, it's definitely more expensive. Obviously like any kind of bundles or packages or anything like that, they're more expensive, but they're just taking into account. You're buying multiples of something that's different. um Yeah. Yeah. But I'm like, if it's one of my hat patterns, I'm like, I price every hat. I think it like,
00:31:08
Speaker
either 595, it's like six bucks, I think something like that. And then like tank tops, I think are like around $8 or something. Cause they're like, they're not quite a sweater. They're a smaller project than that, but they're bigger than I have. It's like, I kind of keep them within a pretty small range because I'm like, my my goal of it is I want it to be affordable enough that people are like, yeah, I will buy this, but also high enough that they know it's not just me pumping out ah a $1 or a free pattern. It's not just like low quality kind of thing. but Yeah, definitely there are some people that think they deserve $15 for a pattern that I'm like, you didn't even size it. This is a one size, a post situation or like, this is a you, ah this is a single stitch that you're using throughout the whole thing and there's no shaking or something. I'm just like,
00:31:58
Speaker
Yeah, no work in and it's like, why did you do that? No, I'm not paying that. Yeah, no. and Nobody else. could Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's, that's definitely like, a it tells you something about the designer and why they're designing it. If their pattern is like way too expensive for like a small item, then it's like,
00:32:18
Speaker
Well, I kind of feel like I understand why you got into pattern design, and it's probably not for the love of
Motivations Behind Pricing
00:32:25
Speaker
the craft. oh It's probably because you saw some dollar signs, and you thought you could make a quick buck. And, I mean, it works for some people, I'll just say, but um I feel like for people who are like really about the love of the craft, it's not so much about like pricing your pattern super high. Like the people who are really into the love of the craft and like spreading their pattern, especially like the big name people too, like their patterns aren't even like 10, $15. Like all the patterns that I get from like Stephen West or Max the Knitter, like all they're like seven or $8 or something. And like, these are like for sweaters and you know, that's, it's,
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. So anyway, price for a pattern is also a huge red flag for me. I'll just leave that. Yeah, that makes total sense. And I think what i love about what you just said is that you're like, it also gives you an idea of who the designer is just as a person. Like, are they really just trying to exploit and make a big, like a fast buck off of makers and just kind of pumping out something to be like, so people are going to like this. They're going to love this pattern because it's popular or whatever. And I'm just like kind of capitalizing on that. And there's no real like soul to
00:33:40
Speaker
And I'm just like, don't want to support a designer like that. Yeah. I'm like Stephen West and Max the Knitter or like any crochet designers like Tony Lipsy for TL Yarn Crafts or like I Love Brianna Kay or like MJ's Off the Hook Design, Hand Jan Crochet, all of them. You can tell they love what they do. They are also yeah very good at what they do. They are business people. They are they understand their market. They understand, you know, they need to make money. This is what they do for full time work. So ah obviously you need to make your money.
00:34:11
Speaker
but they're not just there to make the money. They're also like, I love designing. I love figuring out like problem solving, like how to design something fun. I want to make a variety of things. I want to make sure the patterns are really well-written. I want them to be cute. I know videography. I know photography. I know like how to get people in here.
00:34:30
Speaker
And so you know they're going to be quality. So yeah. yeah and it's like And you know that they are great people to buy a pattern from. So I'm like, yeah, like the reputation, like what you said about like really big names of people that you really like. You're like, well, they're already they've established they're really good. Like so I can trust that I'm going to get a good pattern from them for whatever price they might be charging. Yeah.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:34:54
Speaker
At this point, I think we have reached the end. I mean, we could obviously talk for hours and hours, it seems. And we even like open up a couple of other topics that we might be able to explore in future episodes. So...
00:35:09
Speaker
If that's the case and you liked how we talked about this today and you want to maybe stick around for some of those other topics that we kind of mentioned we might want to talk about, then you'll definitely want to keep up with us by hitting the subscribe button and the bell notification so that you'll be alerted every time we come out with one of these new fun videos.
00:35:26
Speaker
Yes. Yes. I think we got a little bit derailed there. I feel like we ended up talking more about um designers than patterns, but you know what? We can do a pattern 2.0 next season. So that just leaves even more things to talk about. So um yeah, thanks for sticking around. And yeah, like Kelly said, subscribe and make sure you never miss an episode and we will see you on the next episode.
00:35:55
Speaker
Bye.
00:36:00
Speaker
you