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Crocheting is a great way to relax and create beautiful and useful items.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, there are always new patterns to learn and new projects to try.
But where do you find the best crochet patterns?
If you’re looking for inspiration, there are many great sources for crochet patterns.
If you’re a beginner, it’s a good idea to start with a simple pattern. As you gain experience, you can move on to more challenging projects. No matter what your skill level, there are many great crochet patterns available. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to create beautiful and unique crochet projects.
WHERE TO FIND PATTERNS?
I will list here all the sources and then we will go in more details just for the ONLINE sources.
CROCHET MAGAZINES AND BOOKS
There are many great crochet magazines and books available. These magazines and books offer a wide variety of patterns, from simple beginner projects to more challenging advanced designs.
Magazine are usually focus on themes (Spring, Christmas, etc) while books are more focused on type of projects (Amigurumi, Blankets, Granny Squares, etc.)
PROs
- Wide variety of patterns
- Professionally designed patterns
- Clear and easy-to-follow instructions
- Beautiful photography
CONs
- Can be expensive
- Not always available in local stores
- Not always suitable for beginners
CROCHET BLOGS
There are many great crochet blogs that offer free patterns. These blogs often have a personal touch, and they can be a great source of inspiration and information like my blog, LOL, definitely self-promotion here! This is my patterns’ page where you find many free and paid pattern to choose from.
To find blogs, you can simply search for patterns on Google (see later in the page about Google Search).
PROs
- Personal Touch
- You would most likely support a small business
- Great Customer Service in case of questions
CONs
- You might not be comfortable to buy patterns on their platform
- They can be hard to find if you don’t know the name of the blogger
CROCHET WEBSITES
There are many great crochet websites that offer free patterns. These websites often have a wide variety of patterns to choose from, and they can be a great resource for finding new and unique projects and this is what we are speaking about in this post.
PROs
- A lot of Free patterns
- Wide variety of patterns
- Easy to find
- Can be updated regularly
CONs
- Not always professionally designed
- The research might be difficult
No matter the source, once you’ve found a pattern that you’re interested in, it’s important to read the pattern carefully before you start working on it. This will help you to understand the stitches and techniques that are used, and it will also help you to estimate how long the project will take.
Another important thing to mention before getting on with the online sources it’s about the differences between US and UK terminology: the stitches are the same, they are just called differently. At this link you can find a conversion chart that you might find helpful. Usually in the pattern it’s indicated which terminology is used and the most common one is the US terminology.
Ultimately, the best source for crochet patterns is the one that works best for you. There are many great resources available, so don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the ones that you like best.
Let’s now speak about the main online sources.
ONLINE PATTERNS’ SOURCES
First you will see here a simple chart with a summary, but below you can find a detailed description for each source with indication of pros and cons more detailed.
Google is probably the first source where you would think to search for a pattern and it’s a good idea.
Google can definitely help you in finding the right pattern, but my recommendation is: try to be specific with your search terms.
If you search something generic like “amigurumi patterns” or “blankets patterns” you will have a lot of results and the first ones will be other websites (like Pinterest, Ravelry, etc) where you will have to research again, insert filters etc.
But if, instead, you search something specific, such as “cat granny square” or “crochet oval basket pattern” you will have much better results and most likely you will have links to blog already.
Another very cool feature you can use in Google is the “Search by Image”: if you find a design you like and you want to know if there is a pattern for it, you will just upload the photo or the screenshot you have and Google will help you to search for it.
PROs
- no login needed
- easy to search
- wide variety of results (from videos to
written patterns) - you can find both free and paid patterns
CONs
- Many results to look through, it can be overwhelming
- Not always precise if your research is generic
YOUTUBE
YouTube is definitely the best source if you are a visual learner and you would like to learn new techniques and / or new projects.
You can simply search in the top bar and also follow the videos suggestions that appear automatically after your first research.
As for Google, you should try to be specific in your researches to avoid too many results, but if you are in search of inspiration a wide research can help you as well.
I personally recommend YouTube if you want to learn a new technique.
You can find also many patterns but not everybody finds easy to follow a video without a written pattern and, unfortunately, not all YouTubers write their patterns in the description.
Some people also find challenging having to stop the video to complete a specific part, so it really depends on how you prefer to learn and work with crochet.
PROs
- no login needed
- easy to search
- wide variety of results
- it has an app
- free techniques / patterns
- amazing way to see the techniques / patterns in practice
CONs
- it might be difficult to follow the video while you’re working
- some videos are not good quality and you can’t see the stitches well
- some videos don’t have detailed description (it can be voice over or written description of steps)
Pinterest is considered a Social Media platform and often people don’t think they could find good patterns on here, but actually it’s one of the best sources for patterns.
You will need a login to enter, but it’s completely free.
The problem is that Pinterest doesn’t work exactly like the other Social Media such as Facebook or Instagram, so sometimes people get confused on how to use it and give up.
Since Pinterest is less common than Google and YouTube, I will go into little bit more details on how to search on
it, but if you already know how to, feel free to skip this part.
First thing to know is that Pinterest has two types of post and they are called Pins and Idea Pins.
Pins: they are posts like you find on Instagram, where you have a photo or a video to look at, but the amazing differences is that you can click on the picture or the video and it redirects you to a website, a blog, etc. Some
images might be without a link, but that’s rare.
Idea Pins: they are like Instagram Reels and they can have multiple page like the Instagram Stories but they stay forever (they don’t disappears after 24h). They can have links to products and they can be both a series of pictures or videos or a combination of both.
In order to use Pinterest as patterns source, you can go on the home page and click on the magnifying glass icon to start a search – see screenshots below.
Then you type in your search idea on top and click search (or you press enter in the desktop version): automatically Pinterest will suggest you the most common researches (exactly like Google and YouTube), you can choose one of the suggestions or continue writing for your own research.
Let’s say for example we search for “Crochet Cat Amigurumi” and we select the first suggestion it comes out.
We see a series of pictures and most of them are already patterns, but if you want to be sure that you’re searching for a pattern and not a finished item, add the word “pattern” to your research.
So let’s be more specific and let’s search “ Cat Amigurumi free pattern”, you can now click on one of the suggestions or click on “search” (or press enter in desktop version) and Pinterest will perform your search.
Now you can scroll down through the pictures and click on the one you like the most.
Now here is where sometimes Pinterest can be confusing!
Often the link of the pin is not immediately the content you were looking for: the reason why is because some bloggers use a picture to define a group of posts. So what they do is they collect a series of free cat patterns, they create a blogpost about it and then they post on Pinterest a pin with that picture. But maybe that picture refers to the last pattern of the page, so before you reach that you have to scroll down or change page multiple times.
Then, usually, the pattern is not in that blog post, but you have to click on a link (usually below the picture) to go to the right page.
I know it can be confusing and unfortunately sometimes the link doesn’t go anywhere because bloggers aren’t always able to follow the original blog / source, but I think it is still worth trying – there are a lot of free patterns there, most of them are from bloggers that are really talented.
The good news is that not all the pins are like that, PHEW!
Most of pins are actually very good links to very good patterns, so just click and try!
Also when you find a creator / pattern designer you like it, you can follow them (like in any other social media) so Pinterest will notify you when they release a new pin or idea pin.
Another good thing of Pinterest is that, when you perform a search, by default when you open the app / website next time, it will suggest you content similar to your previous researches.
You can then save the pins you like in folders, called boards and you can also protected them so you will be the only one to see them.
Pinterest was born for DIY, Crafts so, in my opinion, it’s one of the first source to look at when you’re searching for a pattern.
PROs
- wide variety of results
- it has an app
- free and paid patterns
- you can search both for patterns and
techniques - it works well both on the app and in the desktop version
CONs
- it can be confusing and it might take a little bit of practice to navigate properly
RAVELRY
Ravelry is a very niche platform, it is a website only for patterns!
You can find both crochet and knitting patterns.
It’s a quite old forum-style website, but it’s very useful when in need of a pattern.
You will need a login to enter, but it’s completely free.
It has an advanced research where you can use many filter to define better your research 9see screenshot below), but the research for free pattern (“advance research – availability – free”) doesn’t always give you only free patterns as results, so you still have to search a little bit.
Ravelry was one of the first (if not actually the first!) platforms where you can find only patterns (and not finished items).
As mentioned, it has an old style graphics and it can look confusing as first research, but you can just play with it and find that, in the end, it’s not as complicated as it looks.
When you perform a research, Ravelry will show you listings with a picture, a title and the designer name / business name.
You can click either on the picture or the title and you will be re-directed to the listing.
In the listing page you can find most of the info you need at the beginning and more photos on the left side, then, scrolling down you will see the description of the listing and where to find the pattern.
The pattern can be free or paid.
If it’s free you will find the pdf download or the website where you can read the free pattern.
If it’s a paid pattern you can buy directly it on Ravelry or you can have the link to the website where it’s available to buy it, it can be Etsy or it can be the designer website directly.
PROs
- designed for crocheters and knitters
- free and paid patterns
CONs
- old style: it can be confusing and it might take a little bit of practice to navigate properly
- there is not an app for it, so you can use it on your phone with the mobile view, but it’s not very responsive
- not very updated, so old patterns might be not available anymore
ETSY
Etsy is a big platform where people sells handmade or vintage products, but you easily find a lot of patterns.
If you want a pattern, remember to write the word “pattern” in your research, otherwise you will find a lot of finished items.
When there is a pattern, Etsy classify the product as “digital” so you will immediately understand that’s a pattern and not a finished item.
Many designer also adds “pdf pattern” or “digital pattern” to the first photo of the listing just to be sure it’s understood that’s not a physical item.
On Etsy you won’t find FREE patterns, Etsy is for PAID pattern ONLY.
Search on Etsy is pretty straightforward: you will insert your search terms in the search bar on the top (both in the app and in the desktop version) and then it will suggest you some terms to choose from or you can proceed with your research. Like other platforms, you will see a series of listings with photos and titles, you click on the one you like and you will find other photos, descriptions, etc.
You don’t need a login to view, purchase and download, but you will need a log in if you want to keep an history of your downloads.
PROs
- no login needed
- focused on handmade
- it has an app
CONs
- only paid patterns
- the app doesn’t work for downloads (you can purchase a pattern through the app, but you can’t download the file: for that you have to use a browser)
RIBBLR
Ribblr is a quite recent website / app (launched in October 2020) and it has an innovative concept: it’s an universal user-friendly format for ALL patterns that lets you easily track your progress so you can continue right where you left off.
They have a smart sizing feature to view your size only and craft in your preferred language using the built-in automatic pattern translation. You can create on the go using the Ribblr app and continue right where you left off – the progress is saved and synced automatically.
Since it’s quite new, it doesn’t have still the same amount of patterns that you can find on the other platforms, but I would recommend to create an account and check it out, because this is definitely the future!
You will need a login to enter, but it’s completely free.
PROs
- user friendly
- it has an app
- free and paid patterns
- it translates automatically in many languages
- you can view only the size you want
- video tutorial for most of the stitches
CONs
- new on the market, so it doesn’t have as
many patterns as other platforms - it works only ONLINE, you can’t download the pattern or work offline (it’s designed to protect designers from the stealing / sharing patterns without permission)
LOVECRAFTS
LoveCrafts was born to combine the struggle to find inspiration and to find craft materials in the same place.
So actually LoveCrafts does both: they sell materials for crochet, knitting and sewing and they offer free and paid patterns for different crafts as well.
Speaking of crochet patterns (because this is the topic today) you can find both free and paid patterns, the search is quite user friendly but not high performing.
If you use the pre-listed options it works quite well, but if you want to search, as we did in the Pinterest example, for a Cat Amigurumi pattern, even if I write that in the search it doesn’t work well.
PROs
- free and paid patterns
- they have patterns in different languages
- you can buy the yarn you want for the project in the same place
CONs
- there was an app but is not available anymore
- the search for patterns is not the best and it’s more focused on wearables than amigurumi or similar
HOBBII
Hobbii is an online yarn shop, but they have a lot of patterns both free and paid, both for crochet and knitting.
If you select the patterns menu, the options are only crochet or knitting, but you can use the “search” on the top and it will search on the entire website very well, so, again, if you write “cat pattern”, the search will re-direct you to all the patterns to create a cat or something for cats.
I love Hobbii as a yarn brand, I use their yarn for most of my patterns and for my crochet classes.
In each pattern they have yarn recommendations and vice versa under the yarn you have pattern recommendation which I find really cool and easy to use.
Plus they do a free bingo game every Monday which give you the possibility of win some yarn and it’s fun!
PROs
- free and paid patterns
- it has an app
- it has an official Facebook group where you can ask for help with crochet in general and more specifically about their yarn and patterns
- you can buy the yarn you want for the project in the same place
CONs
- not huge variety of patterns yet (they just started to have them)
CONCLUSION
Those were the main sources you can use, but there are much more connected to yarn shops, bloggers, etc that you might find very useful, feel free to suggest your own source in the comments below.
Happy Crocheting!