I love Ravelry! -
www.ravelry.com
Do you use it too?
There is so much available on this website that it is all too numerous to mention, so I will just give you my top five favourites and urge you to go and have a look around yourself.
1. Pattern search
You can search for patterns with lots of filters:
by just a simple one word search e.g. "cat" "amigurumi" "sweater" "coaster"
type of pattern - such as clothing or toys
by name of pattern
designer name
type of craft
yarn weight
hook or needle size
it's rating by others who have made it
search for free patterns only or paid ones too
search by yardage for pattern, if you know the yardage of your stash this helps you use it up.
There are many more options than those above, you are bound to find something to suit what you are looking for. You can also save your favourite search terms.
2. Favourite pattern
When you find a pattern you like you can add it to your favourites to find later.
3. Projects
Here you can save the projects you are currently working on, those you have finished or those you have given up on.
You can save details about it, add photos and notes, what yarn you used, what needle size, where you bought the yarn, link to pattern etc.
You can rate your experiences of the pattern and yarn too.
You can make your projects available to the public or just Ravelry members.
If you blog about your projects you can easilyadd a link to your blog post.
4. Contributions
Here you can add your own patterns to share with others.
5. Library
Here you can save patterns that you have bought or downloaded for free so you can find them in the future. You can arrange them how you like - I like the 'bookshelf' option, it is easy to navigate and see what you have.
There is also an attached forum where you can discuss patterns and other topics. I haven't used this for chat myself but I did use it when having a problem with a pattern. A search bought up a discussion on the very problem I was having and I was able to get on with the pattern using the tips discussed.
There are tips, help, designers, links to events, messaging service to ask questions of those sharing their patterns. Yarns, books, hooks and other things to buy.
As you can see I love Ravelry and it is my first port of call if I want a pattern.
Here's a good example - last week my grandsons were talking about Star Wars and Ewoks. I said they looked like little teddy bears! I immediately thought "I bet someone has a pattern somewhere to make one" and lo and behold I found one almost straight away! I am currently making one each for my youngest two Star War fans. :)
Another feature I just remembered which I love, is the bookmarklet. Add a Ravelry bookmark to your browser and if you see a pattern on the internet that you like, simply click on it and if the pattern is in the Ravelry database you will be taken straight to it so you can add it to your projects or favourites. Details of how to add a bookmarklet are here:
http://www.ravelry.com/blog/110
I hope you go and have a look and find it as amazing as I do.
Happy crafting!
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