Ravelry

I will start with the positives. A huge library of both pay for patterns and free patterns. I place to store your project notes. Forums to communicate with groups of people who have the same interests.
I will now move on to the negatives. Over the years, Ravelry has practiced its free speech by posting very polarizing content. I believe this encouraged strife, though most (not all) stayed silent. Ravelry then decided that it could dish it out but could not take it. Ravelry updated their policy. It basically said that if you are not on their side then you either keep your mouth shut or be banned. Though many had kept their mouth shut, for the sake of peace, have decided that this was going too far. I deleted my account.

I used to buy a ton of patterns and buy from Amazon through their link. Now I don't. Their supposed motto is "Be excellent to each other" but if you dare ask a question, be prepared to be attacked and possibly become fodder for a bunch of horrible, mean people with zero lives. Some of these "mean girls" will follow everything you do on Ravelry and make nasty comments. Ravelry lost all the money I was sending their way because apparently only a few people should be excellent; everyone else gets a free pass to be nasty and mean. Until it cleans house of all of the constant bullying and negativity, they won't see another penny from me.

I was part of the Ravelry community for years. While there, I overlooked groups, statements, projects, and profile pictures that I found offensive or vulgar. Choosing instead to utilize their pattern database and mind my own business. Unfortunately, their move to censor and ban certain groups who did not agree with their ideology, while ignoring the vitriol of those who did was too much. Therein lies a slippery slope that I want no part of. Of note: This site claims to be inclusive but they have a management staff that is 100% white. How is that "inclusive"?

While Ravelry is a great resource for patterns and information concerning knitting and crocheting, the owners have allowed multiple cases of bullying to go on within the site and have not done anything to stop it. If you are Liberal, then you will find it welcoming. If you are Conservative, you will not. While hiding behind a statement of inclusiveness, the owners have allowed their cult-like followers to bully and harass the more conservative people. Even going so far as to take down forums and block any USA related icons. In one such instance, they removed a hat pattern that said "God Is Love" on it and branded it as hate speech.

They recently released a statement that support for President Trump and his administration would not be welcome as they felt that it was support for white supremacy. While they did not say that anyone who supported is a white supremacist, their followers decided that's what it meant and the owners of the site have yet to correct that.

Ravelry is welcoming and open, and their policy banning support for white supremacy is not new.

For those who say, "but politics doesn't belong here!" I say that the arts have been political since there were artists. Pay attention.

That said, it's really pretty easy to avoid political discussions, if you're careful about the groups you join. And there are thousands of groups, for just about anything you can name. I suspect at least some of the bad reviews are coming from non-members, despite the rules against it.

Come check us out. Ravelry is, hands down, the best fiber arts community on the internet.

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.

Let's focus on what ravelry is there for. Yarn arts! It has, since its inception, been THE site to find patterns, many free, to sell patterns of your own design, to research yarns, and to find literally any information you could ask for about yarn, knitting, and crochet. The site is as politically neutral as you will ever find. Been on it for about eight years and never bumped into anything political. Not one time. Enjoy Ravelry 100% and completely support their enforcement of their longstanding rules against hate. <3.

I think you can tell by reading the recent rash of one star reviews that it's just a bunch of disgruntled people who did not like being restricted from expressing support of white supremacy.

If you're wondering, I suggest you go to ravelry and read the part where they have expressly completely welcomed everyone of any and all political persuasions as long as they simply don't post their hate. Seems a small and abundantly fair ask.

This site is an amazing place to meet friends and learn about fiber arts. It has some pretty great patterns, both free and paid. The forums can give you a place to find help when you are having trouble with a pattern. As well the project page is a wonderful resource to keep track of your fiber arts projects. You can list what pattern you used, needles or hooks, yarn and there is a section for pictures and your own notes. You can search other peoples projects and see what trouble they ran across on a patter, as well as what yarn they used and how it looks in that pattern. I've found this site to be very helpful.

For a long time now their political affiliation has been evident but not until this past few weeks had it been an unsafe place for anyone except, now, anyone of a slightly conservative bent who believes in free speech. Sure, it had potential with a good library of patterns - may one say pretty much a monopoly of online pattern sales which many designers have found to their cost. It also had the capacity for users to log their projects, insert photographs and keep track of their stash. Fortunately, nothing that can't be done better on new, more user friendly platforms. It's interesting that there had been a culling of one star reviews by this host site. Are we to expect that only the prevailing meme will be accepted? I'm not American but as a conservative thinker this was an unsafe site for me.

Ravelry is a fantastic site. Thousands of patterns, groups for every interest under the sun, forums where you can get help with projects, and chat, and make friends... Ravelry is excellent. Please don't let the recent barrage of negative "reviews" sway you -- a white supremacist Facebook group has directed their users to harass the site's owners Hopefully these false reviews will be deleted soon, but in the meantime, I will be spending more time on Ravelry!

Once my go-to site for all things knitting and crochet... now an unwelcoming and even hostile site to anyone who does not agree with the political leanings of the owners. Anti-America projects are allowed to remain and be prominently displayed on the front page. While Christian and Pro-America items are labeled and removed as Hate Speech. It is from my personal experience and from their own publicly published statements that this review has been written.