knitting fix

 

 
April/May 2008    

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Very few people in the knitting industry are wealthy. Those lucky enough to earn a living put in countless hours each day. Knitting is carried around like a yet-to-be-weaned baby, picked up at any free moments, lovingly grown, stitch by stitch, often well into the night. We are afflicted with a bug that compels us to create, with a brain that never stops seeing imagined designs, and we dare take a chance at this business because we just love it.

So, I am somewhat surprised by the growing trend of some folks who get their panties in a bunch :-) when a free pattern is no longer available. Or when a site that offered lots of free patterns suddenly closes down, and poof! all the patterns are gone. “Darn it”, you say. “I meant to print out those 2134 patterns for future use, and now I can’t!”. Hummm… Did someone invent a live-forever pill and didn’t tell me?? ('Cause if they did, sign me up for a case!)

I remember when the only free patterns one could get were found on the back of 15-pound balls of acrylic yarn -- a nice pattern of gramma’s ripple-stitch afghan. Now, it seems that our standard of what is acceptable for free has ballooned, and the more we get, the more we want. Is it really expected that folks work long hours and simply donate their labor?

I blame the Internet for this ever-growing sense of entitlement.  Instant gratification, I want it now, gimme, gimme, gimme, and all that. Bad, bad Internet.

Editorial Note: This article is intended to incite reflection about changes introduced in the knitting world via the Internet, and in no way is meant to insult, accuse, or provoke readers. All words were written with a touch of humour, smiling all the way.

 

In Stitches
Gimme, gimme, gimme
by Helene Rush

Very few things in life are free. So we must consider ourselves lucky. There are thousands of free knitting patterns to be found on the Internet. You’ll even find some right here on the pages of WhoKnits.

It is a marvelous thing, for sure. Want to make a hat, using size 7 needles, and a yarn that knits at a gauge of 5 sts per inch? No problem! Just Google “knitted hat pattern 5 sts per inch size 7 needles” and see what you get. Presto, voila, and tada!

So, where in the world do those free patterns come from? There are what you may call “pattern fairies.” Creative knitters who come up with original ideas sprung forth from their needles, and take the time to write a pattern to share with others. Très cool, I say. Thanks a million.

Then there are patterns sold by designers making a living at it, who put out the carrot (free patterns) to lure you onto their site to, hopefully, inspire you with their other non-free patterns, and make a sale. I’ve done that myself. It works pretty good. It reminds me of the free samples of chicken teriyaki peddled at the mall food court. And you know, once in a while I actually order chicken teriyaki.

There are online magazines uploaded regularly, gratis to all, who derive an income from the clickable ads included in each issue. And there are printed magazines intent on wowing you with a selection of free downloadable patterns, then reel you in with a purchase of a subscription.

So, aside from the aforementioned pattern fairies, all others use the tactic of donating free patterns hoping for some type of purchase to generate the income they need to stay in business. Sounds like a fair exchange to me.		  

 

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