To free or not to free... the pattern

Reflections on the free pattern model (plus a woven sky in Mexico from a wonderful collective)

I hesitate on publishing free patterns for two main reasons that both come down to fear:

1. Fear people won’t value my work, in whatever form or shape I put it out there, if there’s no monetary cost attached to it.

2. Fear I will be doing a disservice to every crochet/knitting pattern designer who does this for a living, or count on their pattern sales to support them or complement their income, and so, do a disservice to the entire community and end up not being a force for good in raising the whole value of crafts and handmaking in general.

Not long ago there was an interesting post by

KnitLeaks

about the issue of pricing knitting patterns. I wonder how much overlap there is between knitting and crochet patterns, though I have the impression crochet patterns tend to be lower priced. Do correct me if I’m wrong.

You can join the conversation below.

Lily Langman

and

Dorothy Van Daele

bring up some important issues on the comments. I digressed a bit over there, like I had a lot to say, but it’s just a consequence of too much time wondering about how to go about it.

Striking a Balance: The Debate on Knitting Pattern Pricing

You can check my (long) comment there. I’ll save you (and the space). Do keep in mind English is not my first language, and I saved on nuance, or it would’ve been even longer.

This comes up because I’ve been thinking about this Substack, and how it works for me as a creative outlet, a place to find and build community, and also as a tool in my plans to slowly create a crochet business now and for the future.

Some things I can say: I want people to know about overlay mosaic crochet, and get excited about trying it, learning it and doing it, and get inspired to use their hands in a creative way, no matter what craft (or crafts!) they choose to pursue. I want to give back to the designers that, namely by putting out free resources, made it possible for me to learn the craft and keep learning. I want to honour their generosity by giving forward, and also honour the people who give me the gifts of time, attention, support, trust, through this publication and elsewhere.

And I want to be able to do all of this in a meaningful, purposeful way, for as long as I can, and carry it with me until my old age.

Not everything is, can or should be about making a buck. For me, ideally this buck should come as a result of providing value. And everyone’s circumstances are different. I for one can’t afford to spend money at the moment at all the substacks, patterns and classes I’d like. But there are other ways of giving back and giving support. In Portuguese, there’s a saying that goes something like “Hell is full of good intentions”. But intentions are important (aren’t they?). And if we do what we can, where we can and when we can, that can’t be a bad thing (can it?).

Now what?

If you’ve read my comment to KnitLeaks piece on pricing, you already have an idea of how I think free patterns can make sense for me: simpler, beginner-friendly patterns, as a way of showcasing my work, showing the technique, and getting people to try overlay mosaic crochet, and also as a gift of appreciation for people who make themselves present in some way.

I hesitate on how to make this happen, and where to start.

What type of project would you see yourself making to try overlay mosaic crochet? Or would you prefer to have only small samples of stitches to get the hang of the technique? Do let me know and share your thoughts and suggestions about this, and about all of what I’ve been digressing about here.

And now, a break.

For your eyes and soul to feast on

Came across the Cielo Tejido (“woven sky”) instagram this week, and I’m amazed at the work and the beauty these ladies do with huge, record-breaking crochet instalations that cover streets and many other venues and infrastructures, and have gone beyond the borders of Mexico to places as far as Brussels or Dubai.

Their goal is to improve public spaces in Mexico, using their hands, a crochet hook and a lot of rafia. But the story of how it all began is as beautiful as is moving. You can learn more about it in this article.

The fabric heals your mind and your body because you forget your sorrows, your worries, your stress, you turn it into wonderful things and apart from that it is also a social fabric that unites all social classes for the same goal,”

(Lorena Ron, leader of the collective)

The streets of Etzatlán covered with a “woven sky“ that set the Guinness World Record with 2,832 sqm. (photo from Jalisco es Mexico facebook page).

PS: Do let me know your thoughts on the kind of overlay mosaic crochet projects you see yourself doing, if any, and also on what you think about this whole pricing and free pattern thing. Does it show I’m needing someone to bounce off ideas with? :D

Lots of peaceful crafting to you,

Ana