Ravelry

Ravelry is a community-driven website and social networking platform launched in May 2007 by Cassidy and Jessica Forbes. It serves as a comprehensive database for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers to organize their yarn stashes, patterns, and projects. While not a physical manufactured good, the service is hosted and maintained primarily in the United States.

The platform revolutionized the fiber arts world by providing a centralized marketplace for independent designers to sell PDF patterns and for users to share project notes and photos. It remains an independent entity owned by its original founders, maintaining its status as a niche but highly influential social network dedicated specifically to textile crafts.

Ownership of Ravelry has remained private and independent since its inception. The company operates as Ravelry LLC, and unlike many social platforms of its size, it has not been acquired by a larger technology conglomerate, allowing it to maintain a community-focused business model funded by advertising and pattern sales commissions.