How Much Do You Pay Attention to the Price of Patterns?

Dear users, dear authors,
Of course I understand if you don’t want to say anything about this topic. I’d like to know how much attention you pay to the price when buying patterns? Do you have a (monthly) budget that you don’t exceed? Does the price of patterns you really want not matter to you? Do you have a pain threshold when buying patterns? Do you regularly browse through the free patterns to save money?
I’d be happy if anyone would like to say something about it, but of course I also understand if you don’t want to say anything. 

Dear Josefa,
you can ask anything. Everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to say something about it or not.

Personally, I only buy sewing patterns because I can’t design them myself. When I want to sew something—like a summer dress, for example—I look at all the designs shown, regardless of the price. I add them to my watchlist , where they sit and simmer for a while. Then I usually let a few days pass, since I’m not really a spontaneous buyer.

When I take a second look at the patterns—once I’m ready to make a decision—I also check the price. If both patterns are almost identical, I choose the cheaper one. Before I do that, I read through all the reviews and comments . If everything looks good, I buy the pattern. If there are mostly negative reviews, such as “it’s poorly put together, bad pictures, not for beginners,” then I wouldn’t buy the pattern.

I don’t have a set budget. When I want to make something specific, I only look for that particular pattern. Sometimes I come across other patterns that I like while doing so. Those go on my watch list for later. If I liked them once, I might like them later, too.

I don’t look at free patterns that often. But I’m happy when the designer whose pattern I want to buy offers a free pattern. Then I download it and can see if I like their pattern style . That’s another reason to buy.

Best regards, Ina

I hardly ever look at the price. First, I discover something I’d like to recreate,
and that goes on my wish list. I go through it every now and then—some things get dropped, others stay—and when I’m ready to make it, I buy it.
I don’t design anything myself, so I look around everywhere. And I’ve already downloaded a lot of things, but I still haven’t made them yet because my tastes change, time isn’t unlimited, etc.
But so far, everything has been within a price range that I don’t think too much about—definitely single digits, and almost always under 5 euros.

It’s a whole different story for me—I definitely pay attention to the price, especially
with sewing patterns, and I often wonder if they’ve lost their minds for charging almost the price of a ready-made item for such a flimsy pattern. Okay, I look at it very differently than you do—that’s obvious. I’m not really a fan of buying patterns anyway, because I can design a lot of what’s offered on my own, so I usually skip that—often just seeing a picture of something is enough for me to say, “Okay, I can do that too.” My training in pattern making really comes in handy here, so I can often tell at first glance whether it’s worth it or not. I’ve also noticed time and again that some patterns aren’t worth the name—they’re so confusing that you’d have to be able to read Suhaheli backward to make sense of them. Many people forget that the person buying the pattern can’t read minds and therefore can’t follow the author’s train of thought.
I’ve written quite a few patterns myself, and I always try to write them so that even a total beginner can follow along. So far, no one’s ever told me, “What kind of nonsense have you written here?” :-) Thank goodness :-) If you have any questions, I’m happy to help and clarify anything if necessary.

Best regards, Inge

Sure, your circumstances are obviously completely different. This really reminds me of our attempts to go out to eat with a trained chef.... :-)))

Price is a secondary consideration for me. If I really like the pattern and I’m practically already holding the yarn for it in my hands, I’ll buy it. Of course, it’s nice if it happens to be on sale at that moment.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t spend exorbitant amounts. The price should always be in reasonable proportion to the effort that went into creating the pattern. 
But if someone, for example, offers simple round seat cushions—which are already shown as hexagonal in the description photo (anyone with crocheting experience knows that you can actually crochet round things so they really are round)—for €2.50, that tends to put me off as a buyer.

You’ve all summed it up perfectly.
If I like something, I buy it. Because I know that handicrafts involve a lot of work, and a lot of effort goes into the pattern, which you’re happy to reward. But, as mentioned earlier, there should be a healthy balance between price and product.
Of course, you’re happy about discount offers. I certainly don’t say no to those.

It really depends on how quickly, or how much, you manage to get done in a month. If I download tons of patterns, the price is definitely more important than if I only buy one or two every now and then.

Is it okay if I ask you about the average number of purchases per month? If you’d rather not say anything about it, that’s fine.
If you like to download free patterns or don’t have much money to spare for purchased patterns right now, that’s fine, too, of course.

I still have three free patterns somewhere on my laptop waiting to be made.
Since I have so many ideas, I don’t know when I’ll get around to them.

I don’t buy sewing patterns and patterns very often myself, because my stash is already very large, and because I design/try out so many things myself.

But if I really like a sewing pattern, I’ll spend up to €10 on it; on average it’s €5–6. But I tend to buy fewer patterns for that.

In the past, I picked up lots of free or very inexpensive sewing patterns, or sewing patterns on sale—and I still haven’t sewn all of them!

These days I’ve become more selective, and I’m also willing to spend more money for that.

Regarding what Akela said, I’d like to add: Yes, there are many very simple things that you can reconstruct yourself. I used to wonder, too, whether you really have to charge money for a simple little zipper pouch.

*sigh*

I’m very torn about that now, because even a simple pattern involves a lot of work. Good patterns pass on a lot of knowledge that can be quite valuable for beginners.

For example, my highest sales and download numbers for freebooks come from simple sewing patterns and patterns.

Do they have no value just because they’re simple?

Or is the simplicity what makes them so valuable?

I keep finding that my customers like the simple and understated things, and they are willing to pay money for them, too. I’m grateful for that, because that, too, is appreciation. In my own shop, you can voluntarily pay for my free patterns. Many people do that, too.

Best regards,
Sonja

First of all, I have to like the pattern, even just based on how it’s presented. Since I write patterns myself, I know how much work goes into them, but for a shawl pattern, €5 is my upper limit - I really have to love it. For sweaters or shirts, I’ll go up to €8, but even then it depends on the specific piece.
If I can tell that it only uses simple, non-complex stitch patterns, I won’t pay €7 or €8.

Yeah, patterns are a bit of a thing, but when—as happened to my daughter—you ask for a pattern for a square and a triangular headscarf, that’s where I draw the line. Because if you want to sew something, you shouldn’t neglect practical considerations, since a lot of things become clear just from the shape, like with these headscarves. Our teacher always really emphasized this practical thinking; she’d always say, “Don’t neglect that—then you’ll only have half the work when creating something, whether it’s a pattern or instructions.”
It’s true that good patterns take a lot of time and dedication—I realize that, since I’ve written quite a few myself.
Since I need plus sizes anyway and once again need a new pant pattern—or rather, want one ;-)—I might look for a good one and buy it, BUT, the way I buy it, I can’t use it as is anyway, because it has to be altered and then tailored to fit me. For tops, I save myself the money anyway, because I’m better off making them myself. It’s different with coats or jackets—I’ll sometimes buy the pattern for those, even if it has to be altered. In those cases, though, I prefer timeless, elegant patterns that you can wear for several years. I sewed myself a hooded coat in the early ’90s that I still wear today—it’s a forest-green loden coat. I just had it shortened a few years ago and now wear it as a short coat; before that, it went almost down to my ankles.

Best regards, Inge

I based the softshell wind-and-weather jacket, the short coat or long jacket, on the cut of the loden coat, but that piece doesn’t exist anymore—it had become unsightly over time

The loden coat

Kind
regards, Inge

Inge is having fun in the snow. :-)
Could you reply in the thread about creating a facing when sewing?
Creating a facing when sewing?

I tend to buy crochet patterns very, very rarely, since I prefer to design things myself :) Only if something specific is requested or if I see something that makes me think, “WOW! I HAVE to have this,” then I’ll buy it. In those cases, I don’t really care about the price. (Well—if it gets into double digits, I do think twice about it, but yeah...) 
Often, the price is just a fraction of the cost of the materials, and you have to pay for that, after all.

When it comes to sewing, I can’t design anything myself yet.
For “special” sewing patterns that I’ll probably use often, I’m happy to spend a little more.
If something’s on sale, I’m still happy, of course :)