5 Great Places to Find Reputable Amigurumi Patterns

Amigurumi is on the rise and has been growing wildly in popularity for the last decade, but unfortunately we’ve also seen a rise in scam patterns. While just a few years ago the biggest problem was scraper sites stealing designers patterns, now there’s AI to contend with. The worst part is that AI is getting better and better every day, so it gets harder and harder to tell real designs from the fakes. Regardless of pattern thieves and AI scams, there are still easy ways to find real patterns. Let’s go over the 5 great places to find reputable amigurumi patterns!

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5 Great Places to Find Reputable Amigurumi Patterns

The places on this list are by no means the only places where you can find great patterns, but they definitely at the top of the pile.

1. Designer’s own Website

A lot of designers have their own websites or Shopify stores where you can purchase patterns directly. The shop will have consistent branding and all of the patterns will be in a similar style. For example, let’s look at my friend Lea’s website: KouziKrafts.com.

Purchasing directly from the designer ensures that you’re getting a real pattern of theirs. Plus it helps support the designer as the fees are often lower than when you purchase through marketplace sites like Etsy.

Even if a designer doesn’t have their own shop on their website (like me), you can often still find great things like free patterns. Did you know that just spending time on a designer’s website can help support them? If they have ads on their site, they earn a small commission based on the amount of time you spend scrolling.

Whether you’re on the lookout for free patterns or paid ones, checking a designer’s website is always a great first step!

2. Etsy

Etsy is one of the biggest marketplace platforms out there and likely the first one to come to mind when you’re thinking about buying a pattern. The vast majority of designers have an Etsy shop, after all. Unfortunately, this is also where we start to run into problems with scams. It may come in the form of a suspiciously new shop filled with AI-looking patterns or a ‘real’-looking shop with patterns that clearly were made by different people.

How to Vet a Pattern

If you come across a pattern on Etsy that you really like, but aren’t sure if the shop is reputable, there’s a few things you can do:

• Do a quick Google search on the designer. If you find established social media accounts or a YouTube channel or a website, chances are it’s real.
• Check the watermark. A lot of designers watermark their images with their name or business. If the watermark doesn’t match the shop, it’s likely a stolen pattern and there’s no guarantee on the quality.
• Look closely at the listing image. If the listing image looks suspiciously polished or the stitches don’t look real, it’s probably AI. If you’re not sure, maybe ask another crochet friend to look at it or pose the question in a Facebook group. Some designers are REALLY good at photography and their work has been mistaken for AI. If that’s the case other people may be able to vouch for the pattern.
• Check the reviews. Always take reviews with a grain of salt. Every single designer has gotten at least one unfairly negative review. However, a reputable designer with good quality patterns will have a ton more positive reviews than not. If you see that the shop has a LOT of negative reviews, especially if they’re saying the pattern is a scam, definitely steer clear.

As a test, I went onto Etsy and searched for ‘amigurumi patterns.’ Just scrolling through the first page I found 5 suspicious-looking listings that were either bundles of likely stolen patterns or AI generated fake patterns. It really sucks how prevalent this is, but with the tips I listed above, you’ll have the tools to spot the fakes next time you go searching for patterns.

3. Ravelry

Ravelry is another huge site in the fiber community and has a better reputation than Etsy for keeping the AI nonsense to a minimum. Plus designers are able to sell PDF patterns for free on this platform, which also makes it a great place to look if you’re in the market for free patterns.

There is a downside to Ravelry that I want to point out though. Some people my not be able to use Ravelry because the website design, motion graphics and colors have been shown to cause seizures, migraines, etc… It was a huge controversy a few years ago, with the people behind Ravelry not responding well. I won’t get into all that, but if you’re interested there are several articles and YouTube videos covering the topic.

Aside from accessibility issues, this is a great platform to find patterns on. Unlike Etsy, crocheters have the ability to link their projects to a pattern so you can see that real people have made the design before. However, if you don’t see any linked projects, that shouldn’t reflect badly on the pattern or the designer. Many crocheters just don’t use the project feature.

If you’re unsure about the authenticity of a pattern, use the previous tips to vet the pattern before you purchase.

4. Ribblr

Ribblr is a fairly new platform, but it’s quickly growing in popularity especially with crocheters in the younger demographic. You can get both free and paid patterns on this site. Unlike Etsy and Ravelry, when you purchase a pattern on Ribblr, you will NOT receive a printable PDF. Each purchased pattern gets added to your Ribblr library.

If you’re totally unfamiliar with this site, here’s a super quick breakdown of the pros and cons:

• Pros:
  • Patterns can be easily accessed on the website or through the app.
  • Helpful features like the ability to check off rows or make notes as you go.
  • When a designer updates the pattern, the copy in your library will automatically update.
• Cons:
  • No printable PDFs.
  • This site is geared toward younger crocheters with an emphasis on plush yarn makes.

There are more, especially from the designer side of things, but I’ll save that for another post. Back to the topic at hand though, this site does a great job of keeping AI patterns out. As a test, I searched for ‘amigurumi’ under the patterns section and didn’t spot a single listing that looked like AI. While stolen patterns may still be an issue, I personally haven’t come across that problem with Ribblr. Still, always check things out before you buy.

5. Big Yarn Brands

Did you know big yarn brands also sell patterns? This is just to name a few:

• Lovecrafts
• We Crochet – (affiliate link)
• Yarnspirations
• Lion Brand
• Hobbii

Often big yarn brands have designers on staff that create patterns with the company’s yarn. Or they have independent designers signed up through affiliate programs make patterns as well. For example, I’m an affiliate for We Crochet and I have my Freya the Fox pattern published on their site.

These patterns, whether from the company or independent designers, are run through an approval process so you know you’re getting something with quality. Plus this doesn’t just apply to paid patterns. You can also find lots of awesome free patterns on these sites too.

Summary

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and found it helpful! Where’s your favorite place to get patterns? Do you have any thoughts on the platforms listed in this article? I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Here’s a few more articles you might enjoy:

• How to Write Your Own Amigurumi Patterns
• 5 Tricks You Didn’t Know About Stuffing Amigurumi