Free knitting and crochet patterns are not free. Just because you didn’t pay for their cost doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost associated with them. So who is paying that cost? Why do they do it? What is the cost? How do free patterns make money? Let’s answer those questions!
Why Talk About It?
Because I think there are some common misconceptions floating around about free patterns, but also because I hear people say things like “I don’t pay for patterns, I only use free ones.” I also think it’s important to spread awareness on this topic so people can make informed decisions when it comes to judging designers for offering free patterns vs. pay-for patterns. There is a demographic of people who think designers charge too much for their patterns, but here’s the real tea, even if a pattern is free, there is still a value associated with it. On the flip side, there are people who think designers shouldn’t offer free patterns at all because it perpetuates the idea that patterns shouldn’t be valued or paid for by customers. As a designer, personally I have a variety of both free and pay-for patterns. Hopefully sharing this information will help spread awareness and clear the air.
Patterns Aren’t Free, They Have Costs
What are the costs associated with knit and crochet patterns?
• Time to Create Pattern (Concept, Sketches, Swatches, Sample, Pattern Writing)
• Materials (Yarn, Tools, Notions)
• Technical Editing
• Testing
• Publishing (Printing, or uploading to ecommerce (fees) / blog)
• Marketing (Photography (including editing), Videography, Graphic Design, Blog Post, SEO Research, Social Media )
• General Business Expenses (Equipment/Services necessary to execute tasks i.e. computer, software, website expenses)
How much money do patterns typically cost?
This number ranges widely depending on the size and complexity of the pattern and the chosen marketing strategies. There are several marketing strategies available and marketing costs can add up quickly the more marketing you do. Keep in mind, organic social media marketing isn’t free either, it still has time costs associated with it!
(Creating signup form, survey form, and communicating with volunteer testers)
Publishing, 2 hours @ $25/hr = $50
(Uploaded to Ravelry, Etsy, my website, and Ribblr (this one alone took an hour))
Marketing, 7 hours @ $25/hr = $175 (Photography (3hrs = 1 hr x 2 people for photoshoot; 1 hr for editing), 1hr graphic design, 2hr social media)
Total Cost (not including general business expenses)
$648
That pattern sells for $6.
How many $6 pattern sales do I need to cover just the cost?
108 (anything over that starts to generate profits)
How many copies have I sold to date?
Only 1 but that’s an entirely different topic…
If this is how much a pattern costs how can people offer patterns for free?
So Who’s Paying for Free Patterns If It’s Not the Customer?
Funding Free Patterns
Instead of relying on customers to cover the costs of a pattern, designers rely on other businesses to cover the costs (and potentially generate profits).
4 Ways ‘Free Pattern’ Costs are Covered by Other Businesses
#1 Copyright Purchases
Yarn companies and local yarn stores will purchase full or shared pattern rights in order to help market and sell their products (yarn). This grants the company legal ownership and rights to distribute the pattern for free (or for sale). The terms of the agreement are typically outlined in a contract and a one-time fee is paid to the designer.
#2 Sponsorships
Companies will cover some or all of the costs of a pattern in exchange for advertising purposes through sponsorships. This is a common advertising technique used by yarn companies. Sponsorship is generally the reason you’ll see patterns that don’t offer a general yarn weight or information about yarn substitutions. This is because yarn companies most likely provided the yarn for the pattern in exchange for the pattern recommending only their yarn.
#3 Advertisements
Big businesses have large marketing budgets and shell out big bucks to advertising companies like Google AdSense, MediaVine, AdThrive, and YouTube. Placing advertisements on a free pattern blog post or a free pattern video on YouTube helps cover pattern costs and potentially earns profits. The amount of money generated from advertisements relies heavily on having high traffic (among other factors).
#4 Affiliate Programs
Other businesses such as Amazon Affiliates, CJ Affiliate, and ShareASale offer affiliate programs where you can get a portion of a sale by referral. This works well for any digital pattern (on a blog or pdf) that allows you to embed direct links. Income from affiliate marketing can fund the cost of a pattern and even generate profits if the pattern is leading to sales for that linked product, like a specific yarn or tool for example.
So as you can see, other businesses can cover the costs and potentially create large profits for free patterns.
How large you ask? Check out some of the real income reports available online.
