RANT: Y U Charge For This Pattern??!?? -__-

Time and time again, I come across a nice little pattern for something simple as fuck... and the designer wants to charge for it.

I'm sick and tired of this shit.

Don't get me wrong, as someone who makes up their own shit, I know a lot of work can go into making a pattern. BUT there is some shit I see on Ravelry and online and I scratch my head and say really? You're really charging for this shit?

So! I decided to make this a regular topic here at Pancraftuality. Why not? I want people to be aware of these offending patterns and avoid them like the plague. I will only post things that I feel can be reverse engineered by any n00b with a hook/needles just by looking at it, or have sufficient know-how about the main techniques used. I know I can't speak for everyone in the Ravelry world, but what I love about our community is:

• the willingness of people to help complete strangers
• the depth and breadth of available FREE information and resources
• the free flow of said information and resources
• the support and empathy of the community at large

Charging for a pattern to make a fucking 2x2 ribbed hat destroys all of this for me.

Why? Why be so fucking greedy? If you make a 2x2 ribbed hat with snaking cables and bobbles and all sorts of madness? Fine---you worked hard on it, and I wouldn't give a second glance to your selling the pattern (although I will bitch about you charging $10 for the pattern, but I digress. That is another topic for another day...).

I will say this before I start: I understand I am gonna piss a lot of people off with this. My aim in doing this is to let y'all know that there are people who will not stand for being charged for something that can be easily reverse engineered. I am not saying designers shouldn't be compensated for their hard work. Quite the contrary, actually. There are many designs (i.e sweaters, lace, and colorwork) that have to be extensively tested, charted, etc.-----I don't mind paying for these things. As a matter of fact, I am proud to support these amazing designers and am happy they decided to share these things with us at reasonable cost. However, the designers who

• make a  blah blah blah that someone can make in their first attempt at knitting/crochet EVER
• take a stitch from a book or website and make it into something without any modifications whatsoever
• blatantly rip off a FREELY AVAILABLE PATTERN and make one (if any) changes

should be ashamed of themselves. I will call you out on your shit. Fuck that noise! XD 

There are so many designers who put in real time and effort on shit way more advanced, intricate, and gorgeous...and they offer their patterns FOR FREE. So who are you to charge me for a pattern of striped reverse stockinette mittens??!?? -____-

Not only will I post offending patterns; if I can, I will either attempt to reverse engineer it myself, find a corresponding free pattern, or tell you how it is most likely done. I'll do the pattern that set me off today in a separate post.