Ravelry Alternative: Making New Opportunities --

 The last update was 26 April 2022

The most effective Ravelry alternatives for 2022 that are discussed in this article are:

•   Etsy
•   Lovecrafts

For a long time Ravelry is the most popular site for crocheters and knitters to make connections and buy patterns. It's an innovative blend of an online notebook, pattern database as well as social media and a the pattern marketplace. A lot of independent crochet and knit creators have established their business by using Ravelry as their foundation.

Change is fast on the internet. Websites are abruptly closed or are purchased by bigger firms, and eventually fall out of favor.

In the year 2020, Ravelry introduced a brand new design which members called NuRav. After a while, some users have reported that NuRav triggered headaches, vertigo, migraines and even seizures. A lot of long-time members complain that they can no longer access their library of patterns, or receive pattern support through the website.

NuRav isn't the sole surprise disruption that has occurred in the fiber community. In 2017 NBC/Universal bought the well-known site Craftsy changing its name to Blueprint. A lot of independent designers offered their work on the Craftsy/Blueprint platform. The summer of 2020 in a sudden and unexpected way, NBC/Universal decided to shutter the site. TN Marketing bought the video library and relaunched Craftsy later that year.

Because of sudden changes such as this, designers are asking whether it's a good idea to base their businesses on an online platform like Ravelry. If you're an independent designer seeking new strategies to sell your work, three strategies to consider include:

• Selling patterns through Ravelry and a parallel e-commerce store
• Make use of Ravelry to keep in touch via community forums and showcase your designs however, knitters who is looking to buy, they are taken to a different site.
• Create a new online store and then leave Ravelry completely

No matter which route you decide to take, selling your patterns via the alternative Ravelry website is an opportunity to develop a adaptable business that can withstand unexpected modifications.

Ideas for Designers who are Independent and Making the Right Choices Ravelry alternatives

Independent designers are more than write beautiful patterns for crochet and knit. Your job is to be a marketing department and customer service rep and chief financial officer. It is essential to have efficient online stores that let you spend your time developing and less time doing other things.

If you are looking at a Ravelry alternative, Important concerns designers must consider are:

• What does a knitter need to know about the work is there?
• Free patterns and discounts are a great way to attract new consumers. How simple is it to setup coupons? Does it allow BOGO and free patterns?
• Businesses need repeat customers. Branding is crucial. Does the knitter think of you when they recommend your knitting pattern? Or do they think of the site of a third party?
• Does the e-commerce site make it simpler to send the latest information to customers? Are you required to set up an email list to do this?
• Independent Knit and Crochet patterns are a worldwide market. Does the website manage VAT? US Sales Tax?
• What fees are there? What will you get paid?

E-commerce Options

There are two main types of online stores that cater to knitters who are independent and crochet designers to consider:

• Marketplaces like Ravelry where thousands - sometimes millions - of designers compete for interest from knitters and crocheters
• A personalized website and shopping cart that sells directly to crocheters and knitters.

Marketplace E-commerce

Theoretically, marketplace websites bring customers to you. Knitters and crocheters go to these websites with the intention of buying. As these marketplaces are large businesses, it often handles taxes on sales and VAT for you. This is a significant benefit.

Marketplace websites may help you entice a first time customer. But, can you turn the customer into a regular follower? The most common response is, "I bought it on Etsy." When your client is ready start their next project, will they come back to your store or do another Etsy search? Making your business stand out in the shadow of a massive web presence is an uphill task.

Still, if built-in foot traffic is what you are looking for, there are two big websites to consider: Etsy and Lovecrafts.

Etsy

Etsy is an incredibly well-known online marketplace website and makes it easy for designers, artists, and artisans to sell their works to a discerning audience. In 2019 over 45 million shoppers shopped Etsy. However, not all of the 45 million buyers on Etsy are looking for knit patterns or crochet patterns or even are fiber crafters.

However, having access to over 45 million potential customers, with sales tax taken care of, and ease to list your business is a plus. This comes with a price tag. Set up of the Etsy shop is free, posting your designs isn't.

• The listing fee is $0.20 (USD) per listing.
• You pay this fee if your work sells or does not sell.
• Listings expire after four months. It costs $0.60 a year to keep one list active.

If you sell a pattern with their Pattern Tool, you'll notice an entirely different format:

• Free trial for 30 days, then you'll pay a monthly subscription fee of $15.00 USD for a month.
• 6.5 Percent Transaction Fee for all transactions
• Processing Fee is charged if you sign up to use Etsy payment. This fee varies by country.
• Advertising Fees: Sellers will be enrolled automatically in Etsy Offsite advertisements. There will be additional charges if Etsy assigns a sale to an offsite Ad. Sellers earning less than $10,000 in a year may opt out.

My site isn't big enough, so I can't save money hosting my own site. Additionally, I receive traffic on Etsy] I wouldn't on my own site. If I had better name recognition/sales volume I'd make my own siteto increase sales. They are continually getting higher AND it's really no longer handmade only.

- Laura Designs, Spinner, and Laura
 The Corner of Knit & Tea

Lovecrafts

Lovecrafts is one stop shop for crocheters and knitters to buy yarn and patterns. There are a few features that separate it from Etsy.

Community Pages: Members have the option to share photos of their finished products. They are extremely helpful for inspiring knitters to purchase a pattern.

Imports listings directly from Ravelry: You will have submit additional information however, this could be a time saver. However, Lovecrafts does approve each listing prior to it being posted to the site. It may take 3 to 5 working days for your listing to be cleared.

The Pattern Library is similar to Ravelry users, members can access an online pattern library, and are notified of periodic updates

Customer Service Lovecrafts provides all customer service to you, which includes the support for patterns.

If you are an individual designer, your heart may have skipped one beat. The support for pattern design eats away at your precious time. But, Lovecrafts acting as a constantly-on intermediary may hinder building customer loyalty. Crocheters and knitters can visit your page's community on Lovecrafts however, there's little opportunity to build your email list or steer customers to your website.

Charges for Lovecraft are like Ravelry, and more straight forward as compared to Etsy.

• Creating your shop and listing is absolutely free.
• You can offer free patterns to entice new followers.
• Transaction Fee of 4% plus $/PS/EUR0.35 for all sales
• A selling fee of 5% will be charged when you are selling monthly between $40 - $1500 (USD)

Simple. But there are some disadvantages. There are community forums that can be useful however, there aren't any forums online. There's not much opportunity for interaction with crocheters and knitters, and it is hard to build your email list or promote an membership program.

A New Generation of Kids on the Block

After the uproar around NuRav, people see an opportunity to create Ravelry alternatives. The one currently under development is Fiber.Club. However, there are a few in the dark:

• What is the function of these sites?
• What is the fee arrangement?
• What is the best way to handle sales tax?

When Fiber.Club or any other website goes live it will be interesting to see how it develops and become an effective Ravelry alternative.

You can create a website of your Own

A website can be an opportunity to fully control pricing advertising, branding, and pattern support. Additionally, you can using your website to establish membership programs and generate additional income streams.

Most of you currently have an online presence. Many designers use their website to drive designers to their Ravelry stores for sales. So why not convert these links into website store listings instead? Selling your pattern directly to your customers can make your business more flexible , and capable of weathering any disruption that occurs when a marketplace website goes out of business, buys outor is thrown out of fashion.

It is an online store designed for digital downloads that permits you to transform your website into a retail store. Two ways to use it could use it :

• Integrate listings onto your current website
• You can set up an e-commerce hosted site in less than a minute

I've discovered their system extremely easy to master. Its open-page to fill in details is such a treat. I don't have to be concerned about my pattern "romance" fitting and still being able to make sense...I am awestruck by how simple it is to set up with my blog [with embedding]. I would like my blog to be my main hub, and having my pattern in the right place helps to create this feeling. Once I've learned how to set up things it will be much easier whenever a new pattern is released. out.

Getting Started On

To get started, it's just as easy as entering your email and creating an account with a password.

After setting your account, you can create your first website. You can choose customers to be able to pay via Paypal and Stripe. After your initial listing is live, you are able to modify your store's appearance to align it to your company's branding. Select the colors of your buttons, fonts as well as a CSS.

Similar to Etsy and Lovecrafts, they handle VAT for you. In the case of US Sales Tax will report the tax on sales and add it with the purchase price. It is still your responsibility to remitting the taxes to the appropriate state agencies. (Sales Taxes differ according to the state. It is recommended to consult the tax expert.)

Other Ways to Sell Yourself as well as Your Work

Every online store has the option of giving your users coupon codes and sales. But, has an added shopping cart feature that can help customers buy several patterns at once: cross-selling or upselling.

• Once a user includes a new pattern in your cart, you are able to automatically offer a discount for the second pattern.
• Have you got patterns for hats that have the same glove design? Create the cart so that it will automatically recommend the pattern.

We Are Fiber Family

A shared passion in crochet and knitting creates more than just a customer relationship between makers and creators. It's like having a social network. A tool many designers use to maintain a long-lasting friendship with craftspeople is an email newsletter and list of subscribers.

By using this feature, you are able to have the email address of a client directly added to your mailing list when they purchase your design. In the event that you use to host your store the follow Button can be found at the top of the webpage.

I wanted to know from Kristin Jancuk about how quickly she was able to create her email lists:

"I was happy to see that I could link my newsletter with checkout this is something that I've always wanted on Ravelry...I believe that getting my new designs immediately in front of the eyes of those already interested in my patterns is the most important thing, but I also offer my subscribers the most attractive discounts which gives them a reason to stick around as well.

However, there's more you can do through the creation of your own email list. Crocheters and knitters love to show their finished items to others. We are the best marketing team. Encourage your followers to recommend your designs to their friends through a the referral program.

Etsy, Lovecrafts, even Ravelry offer a way to earn revenue: pattern sales. A lot of designers are using Patreon to create fresh revenue streams. It is a lot to handle an account on Patreon, an Etsy Store, a Ravelry page, etc. Imagine eliminating one of them with the help of establishing your Membership program through . Yes, you can have an e-commerce and membership website all at once with .

Fees

There are three levels of membership with each offering all the features. There is only one difference: the fee for transactions.

• Forever Free 5 percent transaction fee
• Additional: $29.00/ month 2% transaction fee
• Pro: $99.00/month 0% transaction fee

If I construct it, will they come?

Selling your product on your site has one disadvantage that there's no built-in customer traffic like Etsy, Ravelry, or Lovecrafts. The only way to get customers who knit and crochet to your site. I asked Sile Thiels if it is difficult to sell her knitting patterns for knitters. She said:

Somewhat slightly, but I'm sure that I'm not any worse than I did before when I was only selling on Ravelry. I've always relied upon promoting myself on my twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook page. The patterns I've created still show on Ravelry search results, but they redirect to Ravelry for sales.

-- Sile Thiels Independent Knit Designer
 Knit Dance Repeat

If you think it is time to build your store either on your website or else you'll need to advertise yourself. However, as Sile Thiels suggests you can utilize Ravelry to promote your project. However, you may choose to utilize Ravelry later on, by combining e-commerce websites, you can establish a reputation on and off Ravelry. Most importantly, your success will not depend on the performance of another site's the failure of another website.

Comparison Table

Below is a short comparison chart. Fees are not inclusive of additional processing fees from Paypal or Stripe. All fees are calculated in US Dollars.

 It is always advisable to consult a Tax Professional

Conclusion

Recent problems with Ravelry are prompting designers to consider new alternatives to e-commerce options. The creation of a website, whether instead of, or in addition to sites like Ravelry, Etsy, and Lovecrafts, allows you to build a business that is able to withstand sudden changes.