What do you expect from a paid pattern?

Dear users, dear authors,
With free patterns, you can certainly overlook certain things, but what aspects are absolutely unacceptable in a paid pattern? How much does the price affect your expectations? What exactly do you expect from a pattern that costs 4 euros that a pattern costing 50 cents doesn’t have to include? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. 

Actually, patterns—whether they’re free or cost something—should ALWAYS be written in a way that makes sense and is easy to follow. The argument that “this pattern doesn’t cost anything” shouldn’t be used as an excuse to, let’s put it this way, deliver sloppy work.

Best regards, Inge

I agree with Inge. A free pattern is like a calling card for the designer. That’s why even the free patterns must—or at least should—be flawless. 

I strive to make all my patterns easy to understand.
I also offer support for free patterns if there are any questions.

That’s part of it for me.

Well, I think a paid pattern should, first and foremost, be error-free. The finished piece should resemble the one in the product photo. I find detailed photos very helpful for comparison, and crochet charts that are easy to read and, ideally, not scribbled by hand (though, of course, there are also charts that are drawn very neatly). Complicated sections or unusual stitches should be explained in detail, and ideally, no questions should be left unanswered. And if they are, contact information should be provided.
I find this an interesting question—I’ll post the link in my group :-)
Best regards

Well, I think that regardless of whether a pattern costs money or not, it should always be written to the same high standard. There are many people who use free patterns to see how the author writes. If I get a free pattern and don’t understand it, I won’t buy a paid pattern from that author either.
I also think a crochet chart is important, since that’s what I mainly work with. 
I can overlook mistakes in the text or the crochet chart—mistakes are human, even if they shouldn’t happen.
I also think that if you find a mistake, you should report it to the author so they can revise the pattern.

The pattern must be written in a way that’s really easy to understand and be free of errors. It should include both a crochet chart and written instructions. Special stitches should be explained clearly, because I don’t feel like constantly Googling them and watching videos for hours on end.
  If the designer doesn’t want that, it should be clearly mentioned in the preview.
And the designer should be easy to reach for questions and respond politely.

I don’t really make much of a distinction between free and paid patterns—I want to be able to recreate both.
But there is, of course, a difference in the amount of effort involved: a square, solid-colored potholder without a pattern isn’t nearly as time-consuming as, say, a fruit crate with different kinds of fruit for a play store—not to mention clothing.
Of course, with a pattern costing 5 euros compared to one for 50 cents for similar items, I naturally expect many more detailed photos, explanations of individual stitches, information on alternative yarns, etc., etc.

Thank you all for your responses so far.
Thanks for sharing, Claudia.
Welcome to all the new members.

Personally, I expect a more expensive pattern to be more elaborate. A more complex design, a more detailed and comprehensive pattern, more pictures… Some kind of added value. A lot of work goes into every pattern—including the design—and I’m happy to pay a fair price for that. But it has to be reasonable 😉

Once, I was disappointed by a pattern because it cost almost 5 €, but still left me to figure out the crocheting on my own...
The design was very simple (which is fine—I actually liked it!), but the pattern consisted of 3 pages, only one of which actually contained any information—the “template” for a poncho and instructions for sewing it together... The rest were photos of the finished piece and notes on gauge and such. But you were supposed to change the colors as you liked and add dropped stitches as you liked… So, apart from the shape, the entire design was up to me, and the price was excessive for that.

For any pattern—whether free or paid—it’s important to me that I can see good photos of the finished piece before I buy or download it. That helps me make a decision and lets me better compare it to my own work as I’m making it.
I also think a good key with explanations of the required stitches is important.

Welcome to the newcomers.

@Madzia,
do you need help with the pattern mentioned, or is the model already finished? If it’s a Crazypatterns pattern, I can contact the author for you and ask for help. Of course, you can also contact the author at any time.

I think each of us has had the kinds of experiences described here, in one form or another. Sometimes you’re surprised because the pattern is as good as you’d hoped—or even better. The result is that you were able to follow along without any trouble. Then you take note of the author (follow them, check out their other patterns) because you really got along well with their style.

The opposite is when you couldn’t make head or tail of a pattern and simply couldn’t recreate the piece you’d been hoping for. You get frustrated because you feel like you’ve been misled. Yes, everyone has a different style of writing instructions, but what really annoys me is that I was denied the necessary information before making the purchase. I was missing crucial details to make an informed buying decision.

If I could read exactly beforehand what materials I’d need, then I could, for example, check whether I can even afford the materials or if I might already have them at home. I also need detailed views from all angles—not just five identical photos, especially when they were taken in poor lighting. Visually, I can’t even tell what I might be buying. What’s the cut like? How does it look from the back, the front, and the side—whether worn or displayed?

Even considering just these points alone, they’re all deal-breakers for me. Given my standards and past experiences, I wouldn’t buy a pattern that doesn’t list exactly what materials I need in full and show what the finished piece looks like from all angles in good lighting.

No one has money to throw away, and such amateurish patterns don’t stand a chance with me anymore. Instead, I’ll become a loyal customer of authors who thoroughly develop their patterns. I’m

also always very happy when patterns have been rated and commented on. That’s often where you can tell whether the project was easy to follow or where the weak points are. Unfortunately, some patterns have already been sold 100 times and don’t have a single review. In those cases, I steer clear of them—precisely because I can’t assess the quality of the patterns.

Best regards, Ina

I like to try out a free pattern to see if I can work with that style.
If it’s easy to understand, I’m happy to buy a more expensive pattern.
That’s why I also see creating a good free pattern as a kind of calling card.
I always admire your great ideas and how you manage to create such fantastic patterns.
I also think reviews are very important for assessing how good a pattern is.

Almost 60 pages?
It looks like every stitch was photographed individually.

A print version would be ideal for patterns like this.

I usually don’t include sizes for my sweaters, since the wearers can adjust them to fit themselves.
What I do mention are the measurements of the models shown.
I find size specifications difficult anyway, since even the clothing industry doesn’t have standardized measurements.

Hello Channa,
welcome to Crazypatterns.
Thank you for your detailed feedback.
Do you currently need help with a pattern? For patterns purchased on Crazypatterns, I can ask the author to get in touch with you. 

Thanks for your kind welcome, Josefa,
ALL GOOD 🤗 ... The frustration has blown over, and I’ve written off the cost as “well, that was a bust” 😂

OK :-)
Would you like to download one of our free patterns as a little Sunday treat?

Since I’m currently in the process of writing my first patterns, I’ve naturally been thinking a lot over the past few weeks about what a good pattern should look like.
For me, even a free pattern is a designer’s calling card. Before I buy a pattern, I usually download a free one first to read through it and see if I’m comfortable with the style. But I have to admit that I’m also very adaptable in that regard.
  What I personally find absolutely dreadful are lots of spelling mistakes in a pattern. It makes reading it extremely jarring for me.
I always love it when there’s a print version and a digital version. That way, I can study the pattern more closely before starting my project and just plop down on the couch with just a few clearly laid-out pages ;-) If I get stuck along the way, I can just check the digital version on my computer.
I also think the font and—above all—the font size are very important. When I’m doing needlework in the evening, my eyes are usually already strained from the day’s work, and I have a hard time reading small print.
Photos of the finished piece from as many angles and perspectives as possible are important to me. I only need step-by-step photos when a pattern explains where you have to insert the needle differently than usual.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

I once had “bad luck” with a pattern I bought—I’d bought it just for the pattern, but the pattern itself wasn’t explained; only the construction of the finished product was covered. I wrote to the designer, though, and she immediately rewrote the pattern accordingly. So I ended up being satisfied with the purchase after all.

I think it’s important everywhere in life—not just here—that we talk to one another!
If I’m having trouble with a pattern, I try to reach out first before getting frustrated, and sometimes the problem is right in front of my own nose—it’s all happened before.

Yeah, exactly—that’s how I see it, too. Above all, I think it’s pretty mean to write a bad review without first contacting the designer to ask for clarification.