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I've been a member of Ravelry since 2008. I accidentally stumbled upon it during a quick search, and consider myself lucky to have found it.
With the amazing pattern databases, diverse discussion threads, lots of learning opportunities, my knitting and crocheting skills have flourished.
And some literal Nazis were banned, too. How fricking great is that?
I was a member of Ravelry for over a decade. When it was in dire need of funding to start up I donated; and they did not ask for my race, political views, sexual preference, religion or any of the other alphabet subgroups they support. Casey took my money in a flash without an acknowledgement or a thank you. Now that Casey has made his millions he has decided that a large group of people that supported Ravelry are hateful and should not have an opinion that he does not agree with and should be banned. Yes it is a private company, but their policy on group participation and 'group think' should have been stated in the beginning before I bought patterns and supported the advertisers. How selfish Casey is now that he has his millions to make a decision that negatively impacts the lives and financial well being of designers and advertisers. Designers and advertisers are being boycotted, new web sites are being created to fill this void; and though in their infancy they are thriving. Tyson A. Says that it is the best social media site in the world, but I thought was that Ravelry was a free site for people that knit or crochet, not a social media site for a specific and non-inclusive group of people. Casey boasts that Ravelry has 8 million members, but why every time I sign in to download my patterns (before I am banned) there are less than 1,800 people signed in? Should it not be millions online supporting designers, advertisers and each other as they enjoy their craft? Where are the other 7,800,000 people, or they just bots that were created to falsely inflate the number of members?
I don't know where to start... I'm one of the "white supremacists" that Ravelry's owners decided needed to be silenced. If things were reversed and it were people of color being silenced, the world would burn.
I just don't get it, I guess if you're hate-filled, Ravelry would be perfect.
Well designed, easy to use, brilliant staff and policies. Combines knitting with a respectful social media platform.
While I didn't particularly care for their blanket labeling of certain people or their choice of political discrimination, my biggest ongoing concern with Ravelry has been the rampant pattern theft and distribution. This repeatedly harms designers like myself who create and sell unique knitting patterns. It has been an ongoing struggle for years of our designs being copied and shared as free patterns and the admins do nothing to properly penalize the repeat offenders. And the process to get our stolen patterns removed is very difficult and a slow process, sometimes impossible. This is completely unacceptable from a site who claims to support makers and designers, especially since they have no problem accepting the revenue from from site traffic, advertising, and our sales.
Inclusive of all crafts and crafters. Bottomless well of information, inspiration, and patterns. So many users that there is a constant swell of new and innovative patterns and techniques.
Great resource for patterns and ideas. I've been a member for a number of years and visit frequently to purchase patterns, read through the forums, and enjoy seeing the various projects that people are working on. Ravelry is a wonderful resource for fiber artists.
Ravelry is a shining of example of how to do internet community right, and excellent database design. I'm constantly impressed by their features, and their tools, which absolutely anticipate my needs as a crafter. Without tools like Ravelry, I probably would have given up on knitting, but instead I am on their site every single day and have a half dozen projects going at once. And it's free!
Ravelry imposed a discriminatory rule on members and libeled thousands in their pitiful excuse for the new rule.
I have no respect for the owners or the members who remain active.
Ravelry proclaimed itself "inclusive" even as it excluded Conservative members.
Being called a "white supremacist" by the owners of the site is, in itself, racist, intolerant, exclusive, despicable, and demented.
Ravelry has been my go-to for knitting patterns for nine years. I often get lost in perusing this site and so appreciate the talented designers and their patterns (I have purchased many). However, I have never engaged in the "social" side of Ravelry. I have never made comments to other "Ravelers", (other than a question about a pattern, perhaps). It was so upsetting to see their announcement three weeks ago. To me, it was filled with hatred and the absolute OPPOSITE of what they were claiming to do. Just because one supports a president and an administration that they don't agree with, they are called White Supremicists? The hypocrisy of their "tolerance" astounds me. Should "hate-speech" be allowed? Absolutely not! So ban the perpetrators and hateful patterns (on BOTH sides!) and move on!
I feel rather foolish that this bothered me SO much, but Ravelry was one of my "Happy Places". Not anymore. I can live without their brand of tolerance. If I could give them zero stars, I would. They have hurt so many people through this, the least being me - this won't affect me financially at all. There are spinners and disigners that will have their livelihood endangered, I wonder how that makes them feel.
Adieu, Ravelry. I will really miss you.
I've been a Ravelry member since 2011, when I decided to teach myself to knit, Ravelry has taken me from basic baby hats to my first sweater, to cable stitches and lace patterns and even intarsia! I have bought a few patterns over the years, but there are so many free ones that I can usually pick up a hat or scarf pattern that is perfect. I've learned so much about yarns, about techniques, and about the sheer joy of creativity g something beautiful with my own hands.
I've included a photo of my latest project - an angora knit cabled hat - look closely, and you can see the cable pattern is actually an owl. It only took me one evening to make. How cool is that?
Take the plunge. You will not regret it.
Once my go to place. I was willing to look past a lot of one political side representation as I didn't use forums. The latest calling people white supremacist is uncalled for. If someone offers a pattern I go to Craftsy, Etsy or personal web pages.
You support all? Some current patterns are offensive but if complaints happen I am a snowflake and told it I should a private company and shut up.
Not a good business
Not a supportive business
Thankful there are other alternatives out there.
No site better for fiber arts - thousands of patterns, groups, forums, and resources. I've made many wonderful friends in my area because of this site - we get together weekly and support each other not only through our projects but through our lives.
Hypocrites by saying they are inclusive of everyone but throw out anyone that publicly supports Trump.
As a conservative, I have never felt welcome there. Not even 10 yrs ago, WAY before Trump. They have an awesome library of patterns, that is true. But it isn't worth being told to Shut Up and Stay out of the forums. AND I didn't know that I was a White Supremacist, thank you for telling me that.
Putting out a blanket insult to anyone who approves of our President is 'deplorable'... Owners of businesses are foolish to put their PERSONAL politics ahead of their business. Replacements are forming now and no one will care about this racist craft site...
They called anyone who doesn't agree with them a white supremacist.
Even the non-white ones.
Hypocritical. Stay in your lane and stop politicizing arts and crafts. It's stupid.
I have been using Ravelry for a number of years now as they have such an extensive list of patterns, both free and paid and somewhere to keep them stored if I ever loose one. There are significant filter options when searching patterns but I rarely use them as I often find things that I'm not looking for but might use later! There are also some forums but I only use a few, there is a great one for pattern testers that I found is a great way to learn new stitches and make new friends. I also love the fact that the patterns and yarn are from all over the world.
They labeled me and everyone supporting President Trump's as white supremacists. I had spent money there and enjoyed the place but I never participated in their forums. I knew they leaned left but I didn't hold it against them. Now I know they don't only lean left, but also have insanity.
Ravelry is supposed to be a site about crafting. They should have stuck to that platform. Instead they took a 'stand', against our President, his administration, and his supporters. They say this did this to be 'all inclusive', but they lied. All inclusive for them means all inclusive, as long as you agree with them. If you don't, you get banned.
Oh, you can still get access to the patterns you purchased, and if you posted patterns that don't support Trump, or the US, others can still purchase your patterns. Which means Ravelry can still make money off of you, while they have stolen your voice.
Last time I checked, I lived in a Democratic Repubic, not a Tyrannical dictatorship. Don't waste your time on these people, and more importantly, don't waste your money on them. They don't deserve your business.
