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The article title isn't really a question. So here are some questions to go with it and I think they are fair questions to ask both teacher and student. Is a Material or Supply List really necessary when selling or buying a tutorial? How do you decide?

In my experience it isn't important to have the Materials list. I am however interested in the Tools list because tools tend to be more expensive or harder to acquire, for example a pasta machine. Although most projects for polymer clay call for pasta machines as it is one of the major tools, a beginner is more likely to choose a tutorial without a pasta machine. A beginner will want to try polymer clay before taking the 'dive'.

Of course the pro of disclosing both the material and tools lists, is that it lets a crafter decide beforehand if they already have all the necessary Materials to complete a Tutorial. If, however, someone really WANTS to know how to do achieve a certain look or technique, they will just purchase it, whether they have the list or not. And sometimes a crafter just wants to 'know' and not necessarily 'do'. Personally I have purchased tutorials with and without lists, some for pure curiosity and never actually made the project. I'm willing to pay for the knowledge and for what someone has worked for because I as a teacher myself appreciate it.

So what major pitfall is there with giving a materials list along with a submission? Someone with enough claying experience will be able to reverse engineer the item. Ok...by just seeing the list alone this would be difficult, but add a photo to that list and that someone with enough skill sees both and goes 'aha...here are the magic key ingredients' and what the finished piece should look like.

The ever diligent 'make aware and to give credit where credit is due' is pounded into us over and over. Is it enough? There are those of us with the ethics to do the right thing, even thank the teacher by leaving a note and thank you, but when someone actually emails and says they were able to do your tutorial with just the 'ingredients' list, that is disturbing.

In the end, with list and photos in hand, with reverse engineering accomplished, the originator never receives credit and is lost in translation. The how-to and technique then ends up getting passed along as if it is a common jelly roll cane.

I feel that listing 'materials' should be an option ...since the actual tutorial does have the list and if someone really wanted to know, they could email the teacher and ask what materials were necessary. In big classes and workshops, including Bead&Button classes, a write up will say Tools required are "A B C..." and Supply list will be provided (via email and usually after class registration).

Besides, isn't a material list because it is part of a tutorial just as much copyright protected as the tutorial itself?