the value of a well-written pattern

Through my last couple years of knitting the respect I have for pattern designers has really deepened. Designing a simple dishcloth provided first hand experience of how much is involved in preparing a pattern publication - swatching and adjusting, writing and charting, knitting and reknitting, oh my! And how nice it is when the pattern is nicely formatted - well organized, clearly written and well photographed. A pleasure to knit - no worries and no surprises. I see a lot of value in that!

Mostly knitting patterns seem reasonably priced. I don't hesitate to shell out a few bucks at a coffee shop, or ten bucks or more at the movies, so what's a few bucks for a well written pattern? So this morning I was shocked to read a Ravelry post complaining that a designer asked $10 for a lace shawl pattern, fully written and charted, with short row shaping creating a unique collar and fitted shoulder area. How many hours of work went into that, do you think? Good grief, don't buy the pattern if you think it's too expensive.

Actually, I lie. Many patterns do not seem reasonably priced. Seems to me, many pattern designers value their work too cheaply. There's an interesting article here about selling yourself short. Okay, end rant. I'm going to go back to minding my own stitches. And to admiring the printed pattern for this Montague shelf liner, day dreaming about different ways I could knit this pattern: place mats, a table runner, a counter pane ...

Then there are the other nine patterns in this booklet to consider.