The short answer is : nothing.  There is nothing wrong with free corset patterns.  As long as you understand that nothing worth having, is really cost free and literally everything (even free things) come at a price - that price may not be obvious, but there will be a price if the content is of any value. 

I think free content is a great thing.  It almost without exception, acts as a gateway to bigger and better things, new skills, new passions, even new careers.  My whole business is built on a foundation of free content - in every section of this website, from the product descriptions to the free tutorials, to the links to other free tutorials, there is an abundance of free content.  

The 'catch' - becuase there always is a catch, is that hopefully the free content inspires you and then persuades you to buy things from me :)  Other examples of exchange for free content might be where the content creator saves the real juicy info for their patreon, paid for subscription website, official course, or soon to be published book.

Free Corset making tutorials are everywhere on this website. Click HEREfor an index

There are lots of free corset patterns available to download on the internet - If you use one of them  - HURRAY!  Get your supplies here and everyone is happy.

However, there is something to be said for value.

Just SOME of the students, models and clients who have passed through my doors over the years

Whilst I do not think that free corset patterns necessarily de-value the work of others, I do have a strong feeling of kinship within the small corset making community in general, and I do have respect for both myself and my skilled collegues and friends.  Respect in small communities is important. 

I earn a living from corsetry and it's hard.  I have to do lots of different things, to earn less money that I would in the 'rat race' doing things I am qualified to do, like managing events and working as a board level executive assistant.  But I choose to teach, educate, help, and make corsets and corsetry.  I have lots of friends and colleges who do the same and we all have exactly the same thing in common - we are all driven by our passion for corsetry.  Some of us focus on embellshements and shinies, some focus on technical details, some focus on shape, some on structure ... we're all different and we all specialise in something.

If you come to me for free advice on a project you're working on, you better be one of my customers or students because I generally don't work for absolutely nothing, and that is because I value what I do and I like to give value to those who seek to invest in their skills. 

If I do not value my own work, nobody else will.  If you do not value your work, or your time, or anything else that you have, why should anybody else?  I learned a long time ago, when I was an event manager in Oxford, that people who waste their own time, are more than happy to waste everyone else's time too.  And that applies to most other things - replace the word time, with anything else - money, food, whatever. Again, it all boils down to respect - for yourself mostly..

When things cost money - our ultimate measure of 'value', the cost includes not only the physical end product but also the years of experience that went into creating them.  My patterns include that cost and also the hours and hours of sitting at a computer working out the most comprehensive instructions so that they can easily be read, understood and actioned.  They include the years I spent teaching with those patterns, honing all aspects of fit and comfort on many many many different body types, so that they don't just fit one type of body perfectly.  Any corset pattern or course that costs money is going to be better than the free version.  Every Single Time.  

Sew Curvy patterns have been tested on literally hundreds of women of all shapes, sizes and ages.  And it is that experience that you are paying for when you buy a Sew Curvy Corset Pattern or when you purchase any corset pattern from any other maker who is trying to earn a living in this world.  

I have been a grateful and enthusiastic member of the corsetry community for nearly 15 years during which time, I have learned far more than I have ever taught, and I have made good friends, and some enemies - well... you know you've made it when you have haters.  But even so, I would never EVER disrespect any fellow creative in public, because whether I like what they do or not, doesn't matter.  It's their right to run their business how they see fit, for their own reasons, and make whatever money they can.  

Spot the difference:  This comment from THIS blog post took my comment deliberatley out of context with the  specific intention of ridiculing me to other corrset makers

On the one occassion when a high profile collegue deliberately quoted from my blog in order to riducle me on their personal facebook page, they were admonished by mutual friends and they made a very public apology to me.  That's the proper way to behave in a room full of adults. Accept responsibility, apologise and move on.  We don't all have to like eachother to be respectful.

On the same token, and separately from the aforementioned incident, trying to destroy someone's business because they set their own mental health boundaries which conflicted with your own vanity,  is spiteful, hateful, and frankly quite unhinged!  

Always remember, there's a reason that some things are free - either the thing is of no value whatsoever, or there is a hidden cost and the free thing is a honey pot designed to make you part with your cash eventually.  The top and bottom in any case is, that if you don't invest properly in something, then you cannot expect good results.  If you want to make a good corset, then invest in a good corset pattern, and good corset making materials and support independant artisans by supporting their work.  You wouldn't go to your day job and expect to work for free, so why should artists be expected to continually give out free resources?