How to use Ravelry crochet patterns, step by step

Ravelry lists far more crochet patterns than anyone could browse, and its search treats a beginner's first hat and a lace shawl from an out-of-print magazine the same way. The useful information is all there, but it is spread across search filters, a sidebar of terse labels, the designer's notes and other makers' project pages. Read those in the right order and you know, before you buy yarn, whether a pattern uses US or UK stitch names, how much yarn it takes, which hook and gauge the designer worked to, and whether the file will still be available next month. Skip them and the first sign of trouble is a hat that doesn't fit or a link that leads nowhere.

Ravelry is a free website for knitters, crocheters and fiber artists. To use one of its crochet patterns, sign in, filter the advanced search to crochet, check the pattern page's gauge, hook size, yardage and stitch terminology against your yarn, then download the file or follow its link and save the pattern to your queue.

Create a free account and set your location

Go to the Ravelry home page and click Sign Up. The account costs nothing, and you'll need one: guests can view pattern pages and even buy paid patterns, but free downloads, the queue and favorites work only after you sign in. Paid patterns are priced by the designers who sell them.

Add your location to your profile first. With a location set, Ravelry shows a currency conversion next to the price of paid patterns, so a pattern priced in euros or pounds also displays an estimate in US dollars.

Then find the notebook tab at the top of the site. It holds everything you save: your projects, your library of downloaded patterns, your queue and your favorites. Downloaded files wait there on any device you sign in from.

Run an advanced pattern search for crochet

A plain keyword search mixes knitting and crochet, free and paid patterns, and designs printed in books you don't own. The advanced search fixes that. From the Patterns tab, choose "pattern browser & advanced search," then stack filters in the left-hand column. Each filter you pick appears above the results, where you can clear it.

1. Set the craft to crochet. This single filter removes every knitting pattern from the results.
2. In the availability filter, check free, then the option for patterns downloadable from Ravelry itself. That drops free patterns hosted on outside sites, which can move or vanish.
3. In the category filter, open Accessories > Hat, for example, to narrow further.
4. Choose the weight of the yarn you already own. Ravelry names weights more finely than the Craft Yarn Council's 0-7 yarn weight system: it lists Worsted and Aran separately, for example, while the Craft Yarn Council's #4 medium category covers both. If your skein says #4, try Worsted first, then Aran.
5. Set a yardage range that matches your stash. A hat that needs 150 yards (137 m) is a safe bet if you own one 200-yard (183 m) skein; a blanket that needs 1,400 yards (1,280 m) is not.
6. Add a difficulty filter. Members rate difficulty from 1 (easiest) to 10; keep the filter at the low end.
7. Sort the results with the sort menu above them: best match, most popular, recently published and other orders.
8. Save the search under a name. Saved searches stay in the search menu, so you don't have to rebuild the filters next time.

Sorting by popularity doubles as a quality check: with the free and difficulty filters on, it surfaces crochet patterns for beginners that many people have already made and written up.

Read the pattern page line by line

The details sidebar on each pattern page uses these labels: Craft, Category, Suggested yarn, Yarn weight, Gauge, Hook size, Yardage, Sizes available, Crochet terminology and Languages. Together they tell you whether the pattern fits the yarn you own, the hooks you have and the stitch names you know.

• Yarn weight shows Ravelry's weight name, often with wraps per inch in parentheses, as in "Worsted (9 wpi)."
• Gauge is often given over 4 inches (10 cm), with the stitch used to measure it, as in "14 stitches and 16 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) in single crochet." That's single crochet in US terms (UK: double crochet). Some designers add "Achieving exact gauge is not critical to the success of this project," typical of blankets and shawls. For hats and garments, crochet a swatch and match the stitch count before you start.
• Hook size appears in millimeters, sometimes with the US letter: "2.75 mm (C)."
• Yardage may be a single figure, a range such as "100 - 150 yards," or a list by size. Buy for the size you will make, plus a margin if your gauge runs loose.
• Crochet terminology reads US or UK. UK patterns use the same abbreviations for different stitches, so working a UK pattern in US stitches makes every stitch one step taller than intended. If the line is missing, check the abbreviations list in the PDF.

Below the sidebar sit the designer's notes. Read them to the end: designers put extra materials, special stitches and corrections there, sometimes under an "Errata" heading that fixes a stitch count or a gauge figure. If the notes call for a textured stitch you haven't worked before, practice it on a swatch first with a waffle stitch tutorial or a bobble stitch walkthrough.

Finally, open the projects tab and the comments tab. Other makers' project pages show the pattern in real yarns, and their notes flag the row where people get lost or the size that runs small. The yarn ideas tab lists other yarns people have used, useful when the suggested yarn is discontinued.

Ravelry downloads versus patterns hosted elsewhere

The availability line near the price tells you where the pattern file lives. "This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download" means the PDF is stored on Ravelry, with a Download button on the page. "This pattern is available for free" with a link means it sits on another website, usually a designer's blog or a yarn company.

Paid Ravelry downloads have one practical advantage: updates. When a designer fixes an error in a pattern you bought, an "update available" button appears under the pattern image in your library, and clicking through replaces the old version with the new one. For a free download, check the pattern notes for the date of the last update and download it again.

Linked patterns need more care. Ravelry's own blog points out that a pattern downloaded from an outside site is not stored in your Ravelry library, and blog pages move or disappear. Save a copy for your own use the day you find it, if the site offers a PDF or a printable version.

Queue, favorites and project pages

Three tools save a pattern in different ways. "Save in favorites" is a bookmark for patterns you like. "Add to queue" is a to-make list you can reorder. A project page records something you're actually making: the pattern, your hook, your yarn and your changes. Use all three, for different stages.

Keep favorites wide and the queue short: what you'll start this season, in order. You can link a queued pattern to yarn in your stash, the part of the notebook where you record the yarn you own, so you know which skeins are already spoken for.

Start a project page on the day you make your first chain. Record the hook size you used after swatching, the yarn and color, and every change you make, such as an extra round on a hat or a different border. Months later, those notes show exactly what you did. If the queue is empty and you want an easy first make, our list of simple beginner crochet projects and our hat, scarf and granny square patterns give you projects to queue.

What the license lets you do with a pattern

Ravelry's terms of service state: "You may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on any pattern that you do not own unless you have been explicitly granted a license to do so by the owner of that pattern." Sellers must grant buyers at least "a non-commercial, perpetual license for personal use of the pattern."

Free doesn't mean public domain, and personal use means the file is for you. Don't email the PDF to a friend, post it in a group chat or upload its text elsewhere, even for a free pattern. Share the link to the Ravelry pattern page instead, so your friend downloads it under their own account. For a paid pattern, the "send as gift" button on the pattern page lets you buy a copy for another member.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Ravelry app?

No. Ravelry's app directory states plainly that there's no official Ravelry app. The apps it lists, such as knitCompanion, Stash2Go II and Row Counter, were built by Ravelry members and independent developers and connect to your account.

How do I convert a UK crochet pattern to US terms?

Shift every stitch name down one step. UK double crochet (dc) is US single crochet (sc), UK half treble (htr) is US half double crochet (hdc), UK treble (tr) is US double crochet (dc), and UK double treble (dtr) is US treble (tr). Chain and slip stitch keep the same names. Mark the changes on your printed copy before you start.

What does wpi mean next to the yarn weight?

Wpi stands for wraps per inch: the number of times the yarn wraps side by side around a ruler or dowel to fill 1 inch (2.5 cm). Thicker yarn gives fewer wraps. Counting wraps helps you match an unlabeled skein to a Ravelry weight, such as Jumbo at 0-4 wpi.

How do I ask a designer about a pattern?

Start with the comments tab on the pattern page, where another maker may have asked already. Many designers also print a contact email or website inside the PDF. Give the pattern name, the size you're making, and the exact row or round number where you are stuck.

Can I search Ravelry patterns by technique or construction?

Yes. The attributes filter in the advanced search covers construction (seamless, for example), fabric characteristics, colorwork and design elements such as edgings. On any pattern page, the "search patterns with these attributes" link runs a search for designs tagged the same way, a quick route to alternatives when a pattern you like is out of print.

Put the method to work on one search. Sign in, open the advanced search, and set the craft to crochet, availability to free, the category to hats and the weight to match a skein you already own. Sort by most popular and open the first three pattern pages. Compare their gauge, hook size, yardage and crochet terminology against your skein and hooks, and read each designer's notes. Add the best fit to your queue and crochet a gauge swatch with the hook it calls for. When your swatch matches, open a project page, record the hook and yarn, and make your foundation chain.