To Subscribe or Not To Subscribe, That Is the Question: Craftsy Unlimited

craftsy unlimited

I've borrowed a bit from Shakespeare's Hamlet for the title from the famous soliloquy “to be or not to be“.  But that is indeed the question I've received from many, many readers regarding the new Craftsy Unlimited subscription product.

Craftsy is by far the favorite video tutorial site for the majority of our readers.  In past articles, we've compared Craftsy to other providers like Creativebug and the consensus amongst our readers was always a strong preference for Craftsy.  The videos are extremely high quality and readers really liked the buy-it-once, own-it-forever model that Craftsy has stuck with longer than most of its competitors.

A few weeks ago, however, Craftsy launched a new, all-you-can-eat or I guess better said, all-you-can-view, subscription package where for one monthly price, you can get unlimited access to their entire video tutorial catalog.  This includes not only sewing and quilting but also all the other topics like knitting, crochet, painting, cooking, baking, etc.

Love them or hate them, subscriptions are here to stay.  Whether it's traditional products like mobile phones and cable TV or recently revived services like diaper delivery.  Subscriptions are only going to become more and more common.

Still, I struggled to provide readers with a specific and definitive recommendation on this important question.  There are arguments for both why you may want to subscribe as well as why you may not want to subscribe.  Here's my thinking:

Why Not To Subscribe To Craftsy Unlimited

You may have already purchased the key classes you’re interested in and according to Craftsy's policy, you’ll be able to keep and use them forever.  You can still purchase new, individual classes specifically on the topics you like.

And perhaps you’re not interested in learning other creative skills and only have time for what you've bought already.  Afterall, you don’t have all the time in the world to spend on hobbies.  

If you do actually subscribe, you won’t really own any of the individual videos that you don't own already, so when you stop subscribing, you’ll lose access to everything.  You can of course still buy those later to keep access to your favorites forever.  Some subscriptions like Creativebug mentioned above let you keep one class forever for each month you maintain your subscription, but not Craftsy Unlimited, unfortunately.  

craftsy unlimited

Why Subscribe To Craftsy Unlimited

Subscribing to Craftsy Unlimited will give you 24/7 unlimited access to thousands of hours of high-quality video tutorials in crafting categories including sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, baking, cooking and more.  The Craftsy Unlimited library includes over 1,300 video tutorials, which is quite a lot.

You'll have the chance to explore all kinds of new crafting subjects like jewelry making or photography in addition to all those listed above.  You may find that some of these creative topics really click with you and you'll discover something new about your creative side.  Without a subscription, you're unlikely to pay the $20-60+ to explore these new topics, are you?

Craftsy charges $14.99/month or only $120/year for this subscription.  If you bought only two or three of the more expensive classes per year, like Startup Library: Sewing which retails for $69.99 or Full Bust Adjustment for any Pattern which sells for $40.00, you’d easily pay for the annual subscription.  And you have access to hundreds of more videos to boot.

Conclusion, at Least Try the FREE Trial

On balance, I think it’s definitely worth considering Craftsy Unlimited, especially because you can start with a 7 Day FREE trial.  You can cancel anytime before the trial ends and you can even cancel within 24 hours of the first time they charge you and they’ll give you a free refund. 

If you go with the month-to-month subscription option, you can cancel at any time in the future and pay only the current month.  At $14.99, if you only view one class per month, it is still cheaper than buying any one class outright.  

If you want to give it a try, please follow the link below to start your FREE trial.

craftsy unlimited

Get 7 Day FREE Trial

So what do you think?  Is it worth giving Craftsy Unlimited a try?  Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Cathy Ferrin
Cathy Ferrin

I also bought the year subscription to Craftsy Unlimited/Bluprint and am happy with it. I am able to watch some of the cooking programs that I didn’t want to spend the money to buy. Another big advantage is Free Shipping on purchases of supplies. I bought “lots” of fabric during the holiday sale period and it all was shipped for free. It was really nice not to worry about a minimum purchase amount to get the free shipping (I had boxes coming every week during December :-> ). The range of classes has expanded–exercise classes are included along with several of the Great Courses offered by the Teaching Co, So, yes I have embraced the idea of paying for a subscription.

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[…] To Subscribe or Not To Subscribe, That Is the Question: Craftsy Unlimited […]

myladyparis
myladyparis

You mentioned Bluprint in your article above. I subscribe to it because I was told they purchased Craftsy…

Andrea Goodison
Andrea Goodison
Reply to  myladyparis

The classes that I already hacve will I keepnthen if I don,t join the new version thank you

Pamela Forsberg
Pamela Forsberg

I just love it. Signed up before the coupons and kits. It is well worth the money. I can listen to the classes over and over. The materials list are an excellent reference to the c lass.

Gerrie Carol Bell
Gerrie Carol Bell

I subscribed to Craftsy Unlimited for $14.99 a month. I was already spending at least $20 every time Craftsy had a $20 special, which was almost every month. So I decided to try it, figuring if I didn’t like it, I could cancel and go back to what I already owned. I love it, because it’s an opportunity to view a class or pieces of a class and get ideas, and ‘taste” a craft to see if I would like to do that craft. I am also subscribed to Creativebug– but that’s very different — but it’s got a lot of great classes too… pattern drafting, sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, art, calligraphy, etc. I don’t watch a lot of TV; I prefer learning:)

Carol Blaha

after you wrote this, I signed up! Yes, you don’t “own” the classes– but you can download the materials. I also find that classes I was hesitant to purchase because I was only interested in a couple segments are now in reach. I love it and am sure I’ll renew next year.

Debbie L Larkins
Debbie L Larkins

My daughter and I make and sell handbags. I subscribed to Craftsy Unlimited at the time they were offering a bonus quilting kit and a coupon. The quilting kit is very nice, haven’t used it yet. The coupon I used to buy Olfa blades, which made them a very good price. The classes have taught us a lot of new techniques, and I am very happy with the value.

Ellen Horning
Ellen Horning

Ok, while most of the negative comments are THEORETICAL – ( i.e. listing all the reasons why you distrust Craftsy or don’t think that subscribing to “unlimited” would be worthwhile), & I have to say, I’ve had those thoughts also, & didn’t plan to sign up – someone GAVE me a Craftsy Unlimited 1 year subscription as a GIFT. And I LOVE IT!! I already own about a dozen classes, & always use the occasional unlimited day or 2 of streaming to “preview” lots of classes to see which ones I would be interested in purchasing when they go on sale. Now I can do that anytime I want to, with no pressure to watch a whole multi hour class from start to finish. There are lots of great free patterns you can download! I am a quilter & therefore always watch/preview/purchase quilting category videos – but now I can also check out all the other great cooking/photography/craft etc. classes as well. There are bonus tutorials to boot, & videos that clue you in to what exactly is NEW, just been added, etc. In conclusion, even though I did not pay for this personally, at $10./month, even if you just watched one class, it’s still cheaper than the best sale price you will ever get to buy one class. And lets face it, although there is an occasional class in my library that I go back to multiple times, most of them I only watch once. If you pay for an actual (live, in person) course, you only get to attend once; the fact that regular Craftsy lets you view your purchased classes over & over forever is simply a huge bonus. Nice, but I still love that “unlimited” lets me watch whatever I want 24/7 365, as many times as I want, at my leisure. If I found a truly amazing class that I would want in my library after my year was up ( if I didn’t renew ) – I would wait for a sale & buy that ONE. As for there being a variety of different offers/prices for “unlimited” – ALL vendors do this! I buy my friend a “Quick Quilts” subscription every year for her birthday; if I go to McCalls website, or take an order form out of a magazine, or choose to “renew” the gift – it costs a LOT more than if I order it through a quilting website, (i.e. Keepsake Quilting). You just have to “google it”, let your fingers do the walking, & find the best deal. Last comment: I DO have both a laptop & desktop, with X-finity X-1 high speed internet / 150mbps download speed ( included with my community’s quarterly maintenance), so I do not have the “streaming” issues that others have mentioned. Again, this was a great gift & I am truly enjoying it:)

Ruth
Ruth

I watched the free weekend and then took advantage of their $1 for two week trial. I loved it. I found so many classes that I enjoyed and watched a few new things (breadmaking). I didn’t choose to continue after the two weeks because I still have so many classes that I have purchased that I need to watch, but if I ever get caught up, Unlimited is definitely a good option. It’s also a little like the library – I can get a taste of something to see how I like it, then I could purchase it for myself to keep forever if it really clicks.

Betty ross
Betty ross

I inadvertently purchased the yearly subscription. BUT I can’t figure out how to access my classes. When I click on a class it takes me to the screen to buy it. I’ve requested help a couple of times but haven’t received an answer. Thanks Betty bettyross49@comcast.net

Mayra Cecilia
Admin
Noble Member
Reply to  Betty ross

Sadly I have no answers either, but I will try to find out what is going on. I am not a yearly Subscriber so I do not know if you have a membership code or number. Can you call customer service perhaps a phone call is worthwhile?

Nella
Nella
Reply to  Betty ross

Hi. Just to check – are you using the Crafty app or the Crafty Unlimited app? Because there is a difference

Ellen Horning
Ellen Horning
Reply to  Betty ross

Just a thought, but maybe you do not realize that “Craftsy Unlimited” is a totally DIFFERENT website than original “Craftsy”. Once you access through “unlimited” one time, if you log in to original Craftsy, there will be a link at the top “go to Craftsy unlimited”. Hope this helps:)

Barbara Johnson
Reply to  Betty ross

You have to go to the Craftsy Unlimited site to see all the classes for free.
I bought a subscription when they had a special. I especially like the search feature, because you can jump right to the segment that has the topic that you are interested in. So you don’t have to watch to whole thing to get the information you want.

Gillian BC
Gillian BC

I subscribed to the unlimited and I’ve been hooked for weeks. I’ve watched all sorts of things that I didn’t know I’d be interested in. I’ve let go of my Netflix subscription! For me, it’s been very good value considering the hours and hours that I’ve watched so far. I like that I can cancel any time as that suits my nature – I get obsessed with crafts for a few months, then do something else and then get inspired again, so this subscription model suits me just fine.