By Emily Carter, March 10, 2026

Victoria House Needlecraft

The platform you choose to sell your knitting patterns significantly influences your visibility, earnings, and the management of your business. For a designer, pinpointing the ideal platform involves understanding your audience, business goals, and the approach you intend to take in your crafting enterprise.

Notably, there is no universally “best” platform; rather, the most effective selling strategies are tailored to individual needs. Some designers flourish on a single platform, while others have found success through a blend of diverse channels. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the most popular options available for knitting designers, ensuring that you can make well-informed decisions regarding your time and resources.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Platform

Selecting the right platform goes beyond mere fees. It’s crucial to identify solutions that align with your objectives and operational style.

Fee Structures and Profit Margins

Different platforms operate on various fee structures. For instance, Ravelry charges no commission, thus maximizing your profit per sale. In contrast, Etsy’s multi-tiered fee system and LoveCrafts’ percentage-based fees can have a substantial impact on your earnings, particularly when your patterns are priced on the lower end.

To illustrate, let’s take a $6 pattern as an example. On Ravelry, after payment processing, you would generally net around $5.70. By comparison, an Etsy sale might yield about $5.10 post-fees, while LoveCrafts would provide approximately $4.20 after a 25% seller fee is applied. These variances mount when you consider numerous sales, making the platform’s fee structure a critical element of your decision-making process.

Ease of Use and Time Investment

Some platforms feature straightforward setups that might require ongoing maintenance. Others might have a steeper learning curve but offer time savings over the long run. Evaluate how much time you are willing to devote to managing each platform.

For example, Etsy often necessitates continuous SEO optimization and occasional paid advertising to maintain visibility. Engaging with the Ravelry community is essential, as is attracting external traffic. Managing your website involves technical upkeep and marketing on your part.

Built-In Audience vs. Marketing Control

Marketplaces such as Etsy and LoveCrafts come with an existing customer base that can help new designers make initial sales. However, you compete against numerous other designers for attention, and the marketplace dictates how customers are introduced to your work.

In contrast, your own website and Ravelry demand that you drive traffic to them, granting you control over the entire customer experience. This requires more upfront effort but can result in a more sustainable business model in the long run.

Customer Relationship Ownership

Ownership of customer relationships is a vital consideration. Marketplaces typically retain that relationship, limiting your ability to contact customers directly for updates on new releases or to cultivate connections.

Operating from your website or gathering email addresses through marketing allows you to nurture those relationships directly, transforming one-time purchasers into loyal patrons who look forward to your next pattern release. For example, designer Paty Lyons has effectively cultivated her newsletter audience via her GoSadi Designer Landing Page.

Technical Requirements and Support

Your comfort level with technology also plays a significant role. Platforms like Etsy and Ravelry handle most technicalities for you. Conversely, running your own website calls for additional technical knowledge or budgeting for professional assistance.

Consider the support available on each platform. In the event of an issue, how swiftly can you get assistance? Are there adequate resources for troubleshooting?

For More Insights

If you’re interested in exploring the distinctions between marketplaces and platforms, consider reading Victoria House Needlecraft’s insights on the topic. Additionally, GoSadi designer Snickerdoodle Knits provides an informative overview of various platform options worth examining.

Popular Platforms for Selling Knitting Patterns

GoSadi

GoSadi operates on an innovative model compared to traditional selling platforms. Instead of functioning merely as another marketplace for listing patterns, GoSadi serves as a centralized hub connecting all the places you already sell.

What Makes GoSadi Different

The platform’s Designer Landing Pages (DLPs) address a common challenge—customers often want to buy from different locations. Some might prefer Etsy’s checkout system, while others enjoy Ravelry’s pattern library, and many are eager to support designers directly through their personal websites. Rather than confining customers to a single channel, your GoSadi DLP links to every site where your pattern is available.

This enables knitters to select their preferred shopping experience while you establish a cohesive, professional online presence. You are not restricting your audience; you’re actually broadening it by meeting customers in their comfort zone.

Time-Saving Automation

GoSadi automates the often tedious task of updating pattern information across various platforms. For example, if you need to change a price or add a new photo, you only have to update it once in GoSadi rather than logging into multiple sites. This feature is particularly beneficial for designers with extensive catalogs of 20, 50, or even 100+ patterns, saving hours of work weekly.

The platform efficiently manages pattern catalog synchronization across selling channels and upholds your professional digital footprint, freeing up your time to focus on design and customer relationship building.

What to Consider

While GoSadi doesn’t handle payment processing or direct pattern sales, it simplifies the use of existing selling channels without replacing them. Currently in beta, the platform is actively evolving based on designer feedback.

Best For: Designers who sell across multiple platforms and want to streamline their workflow while providing customers with flexibility. This service is particularly valuable for established designers managing growing pattern catalogs and seeking to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks.

Ravelry

Ravelry has earned its reputation as the fiber arts community’s core, where enthusiastic makers converge to share projects, inspirations, and discover new patterns. It remains an essential platform for knitting designers.

Why Ravelry Matters

Ravelry charges zero commission on pattern sales, ensuring that you retain 100% of your earnings, minus payment processing costs (around 2.9% + $0.30). This structure makes it one of the most lucrative platforms per sale for pattern designers.

The community features—project pages, pattern queues, and social elements—facilitate organic pattern discovery as makers showcase their finished projects and favorite patterns. This word-of-mouth promotion is incredibly valuable and occurs naturally within the community.

Ravelry’s advanced search capabilities help makers find precisely what they need, while its comprehensive pattern database invites users to engage deeply with the craft, often spending hours browsing and planning projects.

What to Consider

As a forum-based platform, Ravelry relies on detailed filtering and search functions for pattern discovery. While this arrangement provides a robust database for makers who know what they’re after, newer crafters increasingly favor algorithm-based solutions like Instagram and TikTok for initial pattern discovery before finally purchasing on Ravelry.

New designers may struggle to gain traction right away; hence, promoting your Ravelry shop via other channels and active community engagement is crucial.

Getting Started

Ready to establish your Ravelry shop? Refer to our guide: Get Started Selling on Ravelry.

Best For: Every serious knitting pattern designer. Ravelry’s zero-commission structure and active community make it indispensable. Use it in conjunction with other platforms instead of relying on it as your sole presence.

Etsy

Etsy continues to be a favored platform for selling digital knitting patterns, thanks to immediate access to millions of crafters actively seeking their next project.

The Etsy Advantage

Setting up an Etsy shop is relatively straightforward, with user-friendly tools that enable quick sales initiation. The platform’s vast customer base ensures your patterns receive instant visibility among eager shoppers. Moreover, customers generally trust Etsy’s established reputation, and the platform offers reliable customer service for both buyers and sellers.

Etsy’s digital storefront features allow you to develop your brand identity within the site through customizable sections, announcements, and policies. The platform also manages payment processing, digital file delivery, and customer communications all in one place.

What to Consider

The competition on Etsy is intense, with countless pattern designers vying for attention. To stand out, it’s crucial to understand SEO, create striking photography, and oftentimes, invest in paid advertising.

The fee structure significantly affects profit margins: as of 2025, you should anticipate paying $0.20 USD per listing (valid for four months), in addition to transaction and processing fees. These costs can accumulate rapidly, especially for lower-priced patterns.

Selling on Etsy involves crafting your business in a “rented storefront”—the platform owns customer relationships and could modify rules, fees, or algorithms at any moment. Recent shifts in policies and fee increases have left some sellers uncertain about the platform’s long-term viability for their businesses.

Next Steps for Etsy

Learn more about optimizing your presence on Etsy by reading about Navigating Etsy’s Optimized Pricing Tool.

Best For: Designers just starting out who seek immediate access to an active buyer base, or established designers who incorporate Etsy as part of a multi-platform approach.

LoveCrafts

LoveCrafts has positioned itself as a one-stop shop for yarn and patterns, appealing to makers who prefer to find everything in a single location.

What to Consider

LoveCrafts attracts customers actively shopping for both yarn and patterns, increasing the likelihood of impulse purchases when customers are already in a buying mindset. This offers an additional revenue stream for designers using LoveCrafts affiliate links to generate traffic. The platform manages all customer service, payment processing, and digital delivery.

Your patterns benefit from international exposure through LoveCrafts’ extensive reach. Furthermore, the site’s well-curated appearance enhances credibility, especially for newer designers.

Listing patterns on LoveCrafts is free, though you will incur a payment transaction fee along with a 25% seller fee when your monthly sales lie between £30/€35/$40 and £1,500/€1,800/$1,900. Beyond that threshold, the seller fee is waived. LoveCrafts also ensures compliance for sales tax on international transactions.

Best For: Designers who are willing to trade off fees and some pricing control in exchange for reduced customer service duties or those trying out international markets without the hassle of overseas shipping and tax compliance.

Your Own Website

Establishing a store on your own website grants you complete control over your brand, customer connections, and profit margins.

The Website Advantage

By managing your website, you retain the largest share of earnings for each sale, typically paying only for payment processing (around 2.9% + $0.30 via processors like Stripe or PayPal). This autonomy enables you to own your customer list, allowing for direct marketing efforts and relationship building.

When you establish control over your branding, pricing, and promotional schedules, you have the freedom to run sales as organically fits your business, rather than conforming to a marketplace’s whims. You can bundle patterns, provide memberships, curate exclusive collections, or experiment with varied business models of your choosing.

What to Consider

Developing and maintaining a website demands either technical knowledge or a financial investment in platforms such as Shopify, Squarespace, or WordPress with WooCommerce. Ongoing costs including monthly fees, domain registration, and potential custom developments can accumulate.

Driving traffic to your website relies entirely on your efforts—through content marketing, social media, email campaigns, and, if necessary, paid advertising. Without built-in marketplace traffic, attracting new customers might prove challenging.

On your own, you’ll manage customer service, technical issues, and digital delivery systems. These responsibilities can become time-consuming, especially as your business expands.

Best For: Established designers with a solid audience, recognizable brand, and active marketing strategies. It is also ideal for designers looking to use GoSadi’s Designer Landing Page and the “More Info URL” feature to connect their website with marketplace options, offering customers a choice while maintaining a professional brand identity.

Find Your Perfect Platform and Start Selling!

The most triumphant knitting pattern designers adopt a multi-channel strategy that optimally balances reach, profitability, and time investment.

Why Multi-Platform Selling Works

Different knitters possess varying platform preferences. While some may exclusively shop on Ravelry, others might discover inspiration through Etsy, and many appreciate the option to purchase directly from designers’ websites. Through a diversified approach, capturing customers at the platforms they prefer becomes feasible.

This strategy also mitigates risks associated with relying heavily on one channel. If a platform alters its policies or algorithms—something that happens frequently—your business isn’t left vulnerable.

How GoSadi Makes Multi-Platform Selling Sustainable

The challenge with multi-platform selling has traditionally involved administrative burdens. Updating prices, descriptions, and photos across multiple sites can be exhausting and time-consuming.

GoSadi addresses this by consolidating all pattern catalog information into one hub while linking the various selling channels via Designer Landing Pages. This enables you to offer customers choices without overextending yourself. With a single update in GoSadi, synchronization across platforms is seamless.

Consequently, you can maintain profitable sales on Ravelry, capture Etsy traffic, and develop customer relationships on your website, all without the burdensome administrative workload that often accompanies a multi-channel approach.

Start Where You Are

If you are just launching into the world of knitting pattern sales, it’s wise to begin with one or two platforms. Ravelry is essential due to its zero fees and engaged community, whereas Etsy provides immediate marketplace traffic. Alternatively, if you’re open to a long-term strategy, consider investing in your website.

As your pattern catalog grows and you expand your sales channels, GoSadi will increasingly prove valuable. The time saved on administrative tasks will grant you the freedom to focus on what truly cultivates growth in your business: designing stunning patterns and engaging with your community.

What’s Next

With your platforms chosen, it’s now time to put your patterns in front of eager knitters. Consider exploring strategies like Marketing & Promoting Knitting Patterns.

Keep Learning:

• Pricing Your Knitting Patterns: Strategies & Considerations
• SEO for Knit & Crochet Pattern Sales: Boost Visibility While Maintaining Your Brand Voice
• Best Practices for Building an Email List, Growing a Community, and Keeping People Engaged
• Technical Aspects of Successful Knitting Design: Swatching, Grading, Tech Editing, and More
• Casting on a Business: Getting Started as a Knitwear Designer