Do I just sign up for every crochet designer's newsletter?

August 1, 2022 10:32 AM

I am a pretty advanced crocheter, but a medium ravelry user (I buy patterns, like patterns and store patterns in my library but don't participate in any forums, or use any other features). I'm also a low-to-no social media user. How to I catch designer sales/coupon codes?

I know there's a lot of knitters (I am not, but I think this question applies equally!) and crocheters here. I don't Facebook anymore, and I technically have an intstagram and Twitter login to view, but don't use them except to do that.
I just caught an amazing deal on a cute pattern from an email newsletter of a designer I signed up for a billion years ago. Is this my best path? Should I follow a few on insta or Twitter? Reddit something? Facebook still won't be an option. Thanks for advice!

posted by atomicstone to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

An email newsletter is probably your best bet. I don't crochet but do cross stitch and sewing projects and I get emails from a few big pattern designers which is how I found out about sales/deals/freebies in the past. Second place for that kind of info would be facebook unfortunately, but a lot of designers also cross post on Instagram so you could have some luck following specific people there.
posted by Captain_Science at 11:21 AM on August 1, 2022

Instagram is your best bet, my wife is an elite knitter and she says all the designers and fiber artists are all on instagram.
posted by schyler523 at 11:35 AM on August 1, 2022

You could join (or just regularly check) this forum on Ravelry, which lists discounted, always-free, and temporarily-free patterns. You don’t have to ever post/participate. It does include both knit and crochet patterns, but people are supposed to indicate in the post whether it is knit or crochet.

There is also chatter, but it is cleanly separated from the discussion threads for the discounted/free patterns, and in my experience at least the temporarily-free thread (the one I check most often) is quite strictly moderated, so I assume the others are too.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 12:11 PM on August 1, 2022

So as not to abuse the edit window - I actually don’t like Instagram for knitting/designers; it ends up making me feel icky in a way I can’t quite describe (though to be fair to the knitters, this is consistent with my general reaction to IG). There is a knitting group on Reddit but I don’t see discounts there either. I don’t use Twitter. I have signed up for a few designer’s email newsletters and gotten some coupons there. For knitting at least, I think newsletters and that Ravelry group are best for finding discounts. Might be different for crochet.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 12:17 PM on August 1, 2022

i use ravelry for knitting and - as much as i hate it - instagram for crochet. i do not participate in either really just watch and follow those whose designs/designers i like.

i do find that instagram is my go to for inspiration - what shall i crochet next? i want to do an afghan. i need a fresh color scheme.. i need some new ideas, etc.

ravelry is far more handy if i know more of what i want. top down, cardigan, etc.

Ii don't do any facebook and have never found much on reddit but that's probably more because i don't dig hard enough)
posted by susandennis at 3:54 PM on August 1, 2022

In my experience as someone who uses Instagram, FB, and Ravelry and who follows a lot of fiber artists, I see their posts when they publish new patterns* but I nearly always have to sign up for their newsletter to get a coupon code. I would suggest doing that or following the Ravelry thread mentioned above.

*or a couple days after the fact, since I never seem to get posts chronologically anymore
posted by hetobeto at 5:04 PM on August 1, 2022