I look for patterns that have good bones but I hate it when I have to figure out the direction to press my seams.

That's not a term I am familiar with... what does it mean?

I want a pattern that has choices of sizes : wall, throw, twin, queen, king.

I like to know what size the finished quilt will be before I order the pattern. (ordering online) I know that isn't part of the instructions, but it is important to me. I took a chance on the last two I ordered, and it turned out they were for queen-sized. I can do the math to make a different size, but it is so much easier to not have to... I also like the instructions to be sort of like a recipe....listing the fabric requirements first and then breaking the rest down into parts. Illustrations are always good.

Dina

I want to see the instructions and measurements for a single block, as well as for the entire quilt in various sizes. I don't want to read, "Cut 56 4" blocks" if I only want to make a baby blanket instead of a queen-sized quilt, for instance. I want to wrap my head around the block, and then if I want to make many blocks, then I will look for cutting instructions and directions for that.

I rarely use patterns so I can't help much. I just wanted to say it's the design that sells the pattern. You, as the author, can go any way you want with conveying how to make up your quilt design. But people will buy your pattern if they love your design, regardless.

Bonnie Hunter has lots of free patterns on her Quiltville.com site. She has written tons of books and is a very, very popular author and teacher. I'd look at her pattern formats just as a learning experience. Also other places such as the Moda site.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/free-patterns.html

http://blog.modafabrics.com/funfree/free-patterns/

Did you know there is a Yahoo group for quilt pattern designers? I would check that out.
I like to see the completed quilt in alternate colorways. Also, I like it if multiple finished sizes are included in the pattern: crib, twin, queen & king.

When I started quilting, and even sewing, I didn't start with beginner patterns. If I saw something I really wanted to make, I read the directions and dove in. What makes a good pattern is if the one reading it can go through it and clearly understand every step before tackling it. I have found advanced and 'expert' patterns that are easily mastered turn into very easily done mainly because the directions were clearly understandable. Pictures are always a huge plus. If there is a section of the pattern that may have been tricky for you to master, then that would be a good area to make sure there are diagrams or better yet, a clear picture of the exact steps. Not too difficult to figure something out if a beginning picture, middle picture(s), and especially an ending picture of a section were included with the pattern (tutorial).
Ever said to yourself, "why can't I do it this way?" If there is a part of the pattern that would raise that question, clearly stating the answer helps make a pattern make perfect sense.

i agree with all the suggestions....... I like also if a pattern would give some idea on what kind of quilting designs to use, i find after i followed all the directions and have the quilt done i'm always stumped as how to quilt it and trying to decide takes me longer then it did to sew the quilt together,usually the pattern will say quilt as desired, but a few hints and suggestions would be nice..........

I agree with all of the above, but would like to add that I've always been completely satisfied with any/all of the Eleanor Burns' patterns, whether in books, online, etc. Occasionally, I've thought that there was way more explanation and diagram than really needed, but then I remember the confidence I developed early on a I used her patterns. They always, ALWAYS turned out just as they should have. She is tops.