There are plenty, of what I call, department store sites. These are large sites where they curate content from around the web. In no way am I bashing these sites, I am a frequent visitor of Ravelry and Lion Brand, just to name a few, However, when I want to find that special pattern, I go to smaller, independent designer sites, i.e. Boutiques.
These designers share their free patterns with us. Some patterns might be confusing to you and others just didn’t meet your expectations. But, there are sooooo many that are exceptional so I ask that if you use a free pattern and you are thrilled with the finished product, support them by going back to see if they have a paid ad-free version of the pattern (quite often they do and very inexpensive).
Without further adieu, my favorite crochet pattern designers.
