Looking for something special? The search engine is a handy tool that helps you find exactly what you want. If, for instance, you'd like to find all patterns for our homespun yarn, you can simply type the term 'homespun yarn' above, click 'search' and you'll see everything we have. If you wanted to see all the downloadable patterns, you can just type 'downloadable pattern', click search and you'll see just the downloadable patterns. You can also combine terms. If you'd like to see the downloadable homespun patterns, you can key 'downloadable homespun pattern' and you'll get just those. If you are searching for patterns in a particular size, ones that are specifically knitting or crochet or even of a certain type of garment ('sweater'), you can do all those things!

Use a plus sign (+) to require a keyword:
When you use several keywords in your search, the search looks for pages containing at least one of these keywords. If you want to be sure that a keyword will appear in the search results, add a plus sign (+) before the keyword, without any space. For example: If you want to search for all Homespun sweater patterns, type: +homespun +sweater +pattern. This will return a list of categories containing all words in the description.  Note that its best to not use plurals.  Searching for 'sweater' will find you cases of 'sweaters' as well as 'sweater'

Use a minus sign (-) to exclude a keyword:
Add a minus sign (-) just before the first letter of a keyword, without any space, to exclude a word from your search. For example: If you want sweater patterns but do not want the results to include homespun, type in: +sweater -homespun. This will exclude any Homespun sweater patterns from the search results.

Don't use "generic" words
For example, don't use of or and in the search field. If you use the search phrase hat and scarf set, the above query might not produce the desired results. Instead try +hat +scarf +set.

Use quotes for multi-word phrases:
The search will find your keywords anywhere in the category, title and description. When you put double quotes (" ") around several keywords, the search will retrieve only those pages where your keywords appear next to each other, and in the order typed. You can use the double quotes when searching for a precise set of words that will always be found together. For example: Typing "homespun sweater" will retrieve pages where these words appear next to each other.

Use the asterisk as a wild card:
Used at the end of a word, the asterisk (*) is like a wild card and can replace up to 5 characters. It allows you to broaden your search by including plurals, adjectives, adverbs and conjugated words. For example: typing hand* will make sure you are able to retrieve items that are listed as hand as well as handknitted and handpainted. You need to have at least 3 letters before the '*'.

When in doubt, use lowercase text in your searches.
When you use lowercase text, the search service finds both upper and lowercase results--but when you use upper case text, the search service finds only upper case. For example: If you search for homespun, the search results will include homespun, Homespun, and HOMESPUN. However, if you search for Homespun, the search results will only include Homespun.