Are there online groups who share cross stitch patterns? where?

Question

Are there online groups who share cross stitch patterns? where?

Answer 1

There are different definitions of "sharing".

One person's idea of "sharing" may be copyright violation to another.

There are groups where the copyright'd charts are mailed (not e-mailed, physically mailed) from person to person (nothing is "copied").  I'm in one in several that don't allow discussion of sale or trade of charts, but folk can post a "Wish List" and may be pleasantly surprised some year or be able to pleasantly surprise someone else.  Such saves disappointment when things are lost in the Mail.

There are groups where URLs (internet web addresses) are shared, and folk download copyright'd designs directly from the designers.  That's designers "sharing".  Further sharing is often forbidden ... if a friend wants a copy, the friend will need to do a separate download.  There are several Internet Forums with message areas with alerts as soon as new Freebie becomes known somewhere.

As another example, there's a Yahoo Group for cross-stitchers who like to do Butterflies and/or Bunnies.  When a new Butterfly or Rabbit freebie becomes know, word goes to the members.  There may be hundreds of assorted Freebies each year, but they may only be a dozen or so with bunnies and/or butterflies.  They also share pictures of finished stitching, but not the for-sale patterns.  Just knowing the title of a piece and the designer's name can save enough hunt/quest labor to make paying retail a happy choice.

I've included a URL of a website with links to dozens of designers each of which provide at least 4 patterns for free download.  The designs range from simple to "fine art" with hundreds of thousands of stitches.  Some provide at least one new copyright'd Freebie each month.  The downloads are for individual use and hoarding, rather than sharing further with others.

Answer 2

Totally correct h_brida. To the asker: if what you're looking for involves copying a chart and sending it to someone, then that is a violation of copyright law and illegal. Same thing if you have purchased a chart in PDF form and want to send a copy of it to a friend. Illegal. Why does this matter? Technically, it's theft. The designer is not being paid for their work. Don't labor under the assumption that most cross stitch designers are rolling in money; they're not. Many of them MAY make $1 per chart sold, hardly enough to retire on. If a designer sees that his/her work is being passed around without getting paid, then why should he/she continue to design? Would you work for free? The only time you make legally copy a chart is for you to mark up as a working copy so that you don't damage the original. Once finished with the working copy, you should destroy it, not give it to someone else.