Tag: crochet-pattern

I went to Etsy to find a dragon pattern to crochet. I looked over the photo; it was adorable. As a long-time crochet artist who has spent the last three years making and selling amigurumi figures, I felt confident that I could make this beauty. I normally fall into the ADVANCED CROCHETER category.

Don’t get me wrong. Etsy is my selling platform for my crocheted pieces and where I go to find things like yarn, crafting supplies, and even patterns. I don’t mind paying for new crochet patterns. I know the creator has worked hard to produce the pattern, and giving them a few dollars to own the pattern is okay by me. Most are available for digital download, making the transaction even easier.

So what is the problem? I purchased a pattern for a dragon to make for my daughter-in-law who loves everything about dragons. The picture for the dragon is here:

The Awful Truth Revealed

So, hook in hand, I dove into the pattern and discovered, first of all, that the body of the pattern I was using was much smaller than the picture indicated. The head and muzzle were a totally different configuration. The legs in the pattern didn’t match. In other words, the pattern I paid for wasn’t anything like the pattern I thought I purchased.

So, I looked for a second pattern and a third. All had the same story.

I ended up doing every part of the body at least twice. The dragon I ended up with is, in my opinion, much cuter.

This image is not finished. There are the decorative elements to add… Horns, claws, back feet, and a crown of flowers. But this little guy is looking very cute so far.

Back to my rant. To find a pattern that matched the photo, I set out to explore Etsy and found that MOST digital patterns are created by AI. There are a couple of problems with this.

• The photo does not match the pattern
• The photos are AI-created, and the pattern is, too, making it nearly impossible to match the two.

AI does not crochet, so the patterns are sorely lacking to the extent that even a seasoned crochet artist cannot make heads or tails of what is going on. I looked at how long the seller had been on Etsy and found time after time that the seller had been on Etsy only a few days to a few weeks at best. Plus, they were selling hundreds of patterns, all AI-created and all useless.

Creating a pattern is a different art than making the items. I am a lousy pattern creator, but a great crocheter. In the case of my little dragon, I will probably create a pattern to match what I have created, so at least ONE person on Etsy is an honest seller.

I know there are lots of honest sellers on Etsy and I applaud every one. This rant is not aimed at them.