Ways to Build Up a Crochet Pattern Collection

With so many patterns available free of charge, it is incredibly easy to build a collection of crochet patterns for all manner of items. In fact, if you have a computer you can access and download an unlimited amount of patterns to crochet just about anything you can think of.

Offline Sources

Crochet books and magazines have been around for decades and quite often can be found for pennies at thrift stores and yard sales. Many of these books will be older and contain valuable vintage patterns you might otherwise never have access to. Public libraries are another source of classic patterns and these patterns can be photocopied or scanned and compiled digitally.

Craft stores are another source for crochet patterns. Many stores have free project sheets on the aisles where their selections of yarn and crochet supplies are stocked. These project sheets can easily be tucked into a binder or pattern album for easy reference.

Online Sources

The internet is an amazing resource for all things imaginable and unlike the public library it is accessible twenty-four hours a day. There are so many online sources for crochet patterns from blogs to yarn company sites to pattern directories to magazine websites and beyond. There are crochet community sites where members show off their projects and make their patterns available (sometimes for free) and there are craft retailers that offer virtual libraries of patterns to promote the use of the products they sell.

Many of these websites and online communities have email newsletters to which you can subscribe for free. In addition to receiving crochet tips and special offers you will receive featured patterns you can print or download allowing you to build an impressive digital collection of crochet patterns in a very short time.

Some online sources of free crochet patterns are: Lion Brand Yarn, Patons Yarns, Bernat Yarns, Crochet Pattern Central, Crochet N' More, Free Vintage Crochet, Joann Fabric and Crafts, All Free Crafts, Ravelry and Interweave Crochet. (Note: some of these sites require no-cost registration for access to the free patterns.)

No matter what your level of crochet expertise there is an unbelievable wealth of crochet patterns available at your fingertips on the internet twenty-four seven. These patterns are easily downloaded for storage onto CDs or portable USB drives for future reference. Storing your crochet patterns digitally makes them accessible and takes up very little space.