Crocheting with a Crochet Pattern or Crochet Charts

Dear crocheters,

what do you think a crochet e-book should include? Do you prefer to crochet using a crochet chart or a detailed crochet pattern? Should it include photos of individual steps, or would you rather it didn’t?

I’d really appreciate some tips.

Best regards
Natalija

Speaking from experience, I can say that both are good. I’ve had customers for my patterns who asked beforehand whether they, as beginners or as someone who hadn’t crocheted since school, would be able to manage them.
For a beginner, step-by-step patterns with lots of photos are certainly helpful. For “advanced” crocheters, this might be too much. They (like us, I’m sure) can immediately follow a crochet or knitting chart.
I think it always comes down to the target audience, doesn’t it?
Best regards
Petra

Hi Natalija,

I think it’s all about the right balance. Personally, I only include pictures in my patterns when there are special details or when I absolutely want to—or need to—show exactly how something is done.
I write out the rest in fairly great detail so there’s no confusion, even for beginners. But I’d also be interested to know what buyers are looking for.
I’ve made a firm resolution to include a few more pictures, but in my opinion, the patterns shouldn’t be too long—if only for printing purposes.

Best regards, Jeanette

For me personally, a written pattern without any pictures is perfectly fine; I find too many pictures distracting (because it takes too long to get back to the pattern). Notes are also enough for me to recreate the same project, even years later. And these days, a single product photo is enough for me to be able to recreate it.
For many beginners in crochet today, photos of individual steps seem to be essential, since well-illustrated patterns are bought more often than those that are primarily written. I think I would have liked that as a beginner, too—it just didn’t exist back then. You had to figure everything out for yourself, and I suppose that’s why you remembered it so much better. Personally, I would only buy patterns that challenge me; I like it when it’s tricky, and I like it when I have to figure things out on my own.

Good morning,
I’ve thought about it some more, and I think in the future I’ll start by writing out a complete written pattern first, followed by the photo section—with the written pattern between the photos as well. That way, you’ll have the option to print just the written part or everything, including the photos. This will certainly be more convenient for advanced crocheters and suit everyone.
I wish you all a pleasant Tuesday.
Best regards 

Hi Natalija,

I think what you’re doing now is just fine. Having two versions—one for printing and one for the computer—is really convenient. I can’t think of anything that could be improved.

Best wishes, Karo

As an experienced crocheter, I can’t work from text alone at all. Somehow, I “lose track.” Too many pictures actually bother me as well. I prefer crochet charts, but I guess that’s just a matter of personal taste.
Natalija, I like your “printable” section! So, small pictures with explanations.
But for beginners, it’s probably better to keep using large pictures as well.

Printing out 98 pages is no fun (and makes the purchase price for a pattern that much higher...) I love crochet charts—precisely BECAUSE I’m a beginner. That way, there’s no room for misunderstandings!
As far as I’m concerned, you can include detailed instructions at the bottom if certain parts of the chart remain unclear. But while I’m actually working on the project, I need things to be clear and easy to follow.

I don’t print that out. Crochet charts aren’t always quite enough for me.

I really like crochet charts, even if they look like Chinese chopsticks to some people. They make everything clearer. That’s why I recently started using a crochet chart too. Then the whole thing also looks better than my hand-drawn ones ;-)
I also try to keep the page count around 10. Printing more pages isn’t much fun, given the cost of printer cartridges.
Detailed instructions are especially good for beginners, but you don’t have to photograph every single stitch.

Best, Nici

Hi,

I like both. But I’ve found that I get along better with text and pictures—as long as the pictures are good. Especially with larger projects, a crochet chart can quickly become hard to follow. With patterns that don’t have pictures, I often misunderstand the abbreviations and then have to rip it out and start over. They’re often used in magazines, which is why I prefer to use patterns from the internet. That way, I can also ask questions more quickly if something isn’t clear.

Cheers, Nici 

Hi,
I’ve heard that it’s easier to work with the charts if you print them out enlarged or go to a copy shop and have them enlarged. I think that’s a lot of work.
Crochet charts aren’t for me—to me, they’re completely incomprehensible. I guess I still lack a lot of experience before I can make that mental leap required to understand them right away.
Sunny regards
Sidney

I prefer crochet charts and only pictures for the tricky parts.

I still can’t quite get the hang of crochet charts, even though I realize they could be a big help once you get used to them