This has been a very interesting discussion to read through. I have to say that I have only ever shared one pattern, and it wasn't one I designed--it was just from a dismantled Blackberry holster--so I don't have any experience to really take part in this thread. I don't do too much with patterns myself--I do mostly belts and knife sheaths, and I don't do any Sheridan or any of those other fancy kinds of tooling you folks can do. Belts don't require a pattern, really--a hole template, perhaps--and sheaths have to be made to fit each knife, so while I do draw up a pattern for them, they aren't something that is going to be very likely to be used again, as most of the knives I make sheaths for are customs.
Now, that said, if I did have a pattern for something that would benefit others to have, rather than trying to slog through making their own, I would probably post it up here free of charge (not that I would mind the donation idea ).
~Noah