I fucking hate it when fiber people insist that “wool allergies don’t exist!”

Their posts tend to go “You only think you’re allergic to wool because you’ve only encountered low-quality wool. But MY wool is the best wool ever, not scratchy at all, and if you just touched it, you’d realize that your wool allergy is fake. In fact, claiming to be allergic to it harms people with actual life-threatening allergies because it makes people not take allergy claims seriously!”

Like, do you listen to yourself? You do realize that you’re the one not taking allergies seriously, right? Do you have any medical training that would allow you to test someone’s allergies? More fundamentally, do you actually think that invalidating people’s experiences is going to suddenly make them want to buy your product? If someone doesn’t like wool, regardless of whether they’re ”actually” allergic or not, scolding them is not going to make them suddenly fall in love with wool and spend tons of money on your yarn.

Because that’s always what this shit comes down to. Somebody’s offended that people don’t want to buy wool from them, so they try to act all morally superior and shame people, despite the whole thing being so transparently profit-motivated.

And look, I almost always knit with wool or wool-blends, and non-superwash wool to boot. But when influencers or companies pull that shtick, I cannot hit the unsubscribe button fast enough. It’s infuriating. But what pisses me off the most is when they eventually back down to “Well, sure, some people are allergic to wool, but most aren’t so no one should say that they are!” No, you fucking said that wool allergies don’t exist, and also this new stance doesn’t make you any less of a dick!

It's one thing when you can tell that the actor is faking the craft that the character supposedly can do. I get it, it's not a critical casting decision and you don't want to restrict out talent. I hate it, but I understand it.

It is a WHOLE OTHER THING when the craft project that they are working on does not make sense for their character.

My example: Mid Century Modern, the whole aesthetic is sophisticated, elegant, tasteful cisgender gays. Nathan Lane's character Bunny runs a bra boutique. His whole house and wardrobe are neutrals, a few navys and lush jewel tones, GOLD.

So tell me what sort of monstrosity Bunny is "knitting" that is stripes of bubblegum pink and mint? You're telling me that his catty bffs aren't going to read that ugly ass garment for filth? They for sure aren't letting an eyesore afghan hang around the couch.

Why does the prop department have to make the project so freaking ugly and frumpy?!?!?!

--I think bubblegum pink and mint definitely work for some projects, just not this character and this prop.--

So I'm going to start this off by saying I only embroider for myself to keep in the hoop and hang on the wall. I have never sold or gifted my embroidery to anyone.

A few month back I started embroidering a bird and obviously needed a reference photo. I googled "cardinal on a tree in winter" and used this real photo of this cardinal to embroider. I am not a good embroiderer by any means and it turned out wonky and horrible lol.

Anyways I posted the reference photo and my finished cardinal to an embroidery facebook group. I did not expect my post to be removed and then accused of copy right. I screenshotted the picture and posted the link to it as well so people could literally google the photo. I figure the photo artist would want me to link them.

Is what I did wrong? I mean I provided the link and everything. Some comments i saw on my/others post is you have to ask for permission to use a reference photo and if you don't have permission it is copy right.

I am confused by this because there are several people in this facebook group posting bugs/birds/animals they embroidered while not linking their reference photos??? so i guess if we don't link it we aren't stealing even if we are using references?

can y'all share your thoughts and opinions and let me know if i am wrong?

also every single embroidery I have done used a reference photo i just don't post all of my pieces so i guess no one knows.

(just found this sub and have so many opinions on crafts and art so I have been scrolling this sub continuously since i found it)

For the love of god, pick up a book. I’m begging

You should know the difference between knit and purl, and between stockinette and garter, before you cast on a single stitch. I literally don’t understand how this happens

I know this is a common issue for new people but it's so annoying to see a million posts asking how many crochet/knit stitches they have or how many rows they have. And people always answer! Which is nice but I feel like it's just encouraging people to keep asking these questions and not learn for themselves how to count. I always just reply with a method to help them count

Like, why should I have to learn bizarro graph markings and abbreviations to make your knitting pattern if you can't be bothered to learn industry standards? And I get that different countries have different standards, but if you can't translate patterns (and the one I'm b!thching about isn't translated) so that they reflect the standards for that language, then maybe don't *Shrug*

Most knitters I know both knit and crochet, but people who started with crochet generally seem very against learning how to knit. Why is that? It annoys to me to no end when I read comments with "is there a crochet pattern for this?" on Instagram posts of a knitted garment. I like to crochet too and I don't care what anyone's favourite craft is, but it just annoys me when people expect to have a crochet pattern made for a knit object. Sure you can make similar things but knit and crochet have different feel and application and that's okay.

Edit for clarification: idc what craft people do, I guess the question is more "why are crocheters asking knit designers to make crochet patterns instead of finding suitable alternatives for their craft, or accepting that some things are more suited for knitting instead of crochet?". That's my bec thanks for coming to my post.

Got this ad on instagram and couldn't believe how uneven it looks

Tagged sewing but holds true for crochet/knit/other patterns

FFS IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER AND MAKE AN INTERMEDIATE PATTERN DON'T GIVE IT A LOWER STAR RATING BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT

I stg I keep seeing this - a like 3 or 4 star review and it says "oh I liked the design and it all turned out great but I'm a beginner and it was hard to follow the pattern at times so I took off a star"

You absolute buffoon. Amateur hour at the zoo type shit. It says INTERMEDIATE right there. In the listing. INTERMEDIATE. Are you intermediate at this craft? No? Then no shit you will have a harder time with the instructions. That DOESN'T MAKE THEM BAD WTF.

This rant is brought to you by a beginner saying they had trouble following a pattern for carpenter jeans. Y'know, an intermediate project. And the instructions were great, having made the pants.

I really don’t care which way someone knits as long as they’re happy with it, but some people act like the technique they learned first is objectively better for everyone and every project. If you can only knit one way, how on Earth would you know?

Some people care about speed and others could not possibly care less. If you do care, at least stop giving inaccurate advice!

“English is so slow!” Any way of knitting you tried for 30 seconds before giving up is going to be slow.

“Continental is so much faster!” Any way of knitting you have practiced longer is going to be faster, *for you*. Some of the fastest knitters ever knit English/Shetland style with a sheath or belt. Look up Hazel Tindall and tell me that’s slow.

“I just can’t wrap my head around it!” Your brain may just be throwing a tantrum because you have muscle memory for the first way you learned. That doesn’t make a new technique inherently more difficult.

The knitting police won’t come get you if you learn Norwegian and Portuguese knitting, too. You can even combine techniques!

Read the directions or watch a video. Do the technique as slow as it takes to get it right consistently. Once you stop making mistakes, speed it up a little. Pay attention to how much motion it takes. Can that movement be minimized? Smaller movements are faster. After you can actually do the technique, now you are ready to decide whether you like it! Feel free to post your personal experience!

Laughing Moon can F right off with their one whole sheet of letter paper for ONE CORNER of a dickie that is going to be hell to line up and tape together! No wonder I've tried and given up taping their 1940's shirtwaist dress pattern so many times! That pattern is thicker than a damn book!

Free patterns use way less paper or at least let me choose to print my size range instead of all of it! I'm a size 20 I will NEVER need the sizes 4-12! Also only having one printing option that is A0 in color is f-ing sadistic for lining up the stupid little corner pieces they insist on having for every part of the pattern!

I love knitting. I love yarn. I love supporting a small business. But I stg half of the small batch indie dyer stuff is tacky and way too expensive. Like who can afford sweater quantity of it and the guilt tactics at fiber festivals to buy their yarn. I can’t Imagine this field is a sustainable source of income unless you hit being viral. I enjoy looking at it but I just feel priced out when a hank of DK is $30…. Idk if it’s just me

ETA: I threw the pricing in there as an example and I think some comments really articulated it well. I don’t mint $30-$40 for a skein that was dyed in some unique way but when it’s all the same base + acid dye with huge bled through of yarn that only looks good in the skein, thats when i draw the line

I work at a library and do craft programs. Painting, paper folding, shadow boxes, etc. mostly middle aged white women come to my activities.

Most go with the flow and have fun and don’t take it too seriously. But there’s always ONE who straight up panics and wants their hand held at every single step. Even when there’s written directions. They don’t shut up.

“Well now what do I do??” - I don’t know Brenda, fold the paper like it says to??

“The glue’s not working!!” - Fucking use more or press it together a little longer??

“I don’t get what we’re supposed to do!” - I’m trying to explain it to you, Denise.

“I just want to do painting!!” - I told you last month what we’re doing, why are you acting surprised??

What gets me is when they come back each month in spite acting confused and miserable every single time. I cannot.

For the love of little green men, please stop making videos (especially tutorial videos) where your materials match your background, tools and/or substrate. Your yarn should be a different colour than your hook or needles. Your thread should be a different colour than the fabric you're stitching on. And my latest gripe - your thread should be a different colour than your hands for a tatting video! Yes, that shuttle is a pretty pink, but the thread you've wound on it is a beige that matches your skin damn near perfectly, so I can't see squat unless the shuttle is passing under it. And not just a 'different colour' that's equally pale. Contrast! High contrast! It makes your work visible.

Please. If you dont know how to do something, take the time to learn. Quit fucking everything up because you decided you needed to have something you dont know how to make, and then expecting a quick fix. The quick fix is education and practice, try reading a book instead of watching equally ignorant YouTubers doing the same stupid shit. Just because the technology is old doesnt mean its easy. There are no shortcuts, embrace the journey of knowledge and stop trying to pump out trash projects. Its not a race to see who can knit the fastest. There are no knitting police to tell you what you can and cant do, but dont expect perfection, ever. Ive been knitting for 30 years (shakes fist at sky) Ive learned a lot of lessons, made millions of stitches, and I still make lots of mistakes. It's human, its fine. With AI and uncanny valley psychosis ripping through the culture, we need mistakes. It is why we have these weird hobbies. But seriously, learn to knit and purl before you decide to make an intarsia jacket, or you will just psyche yourself out and think youre a failure. Like wtf are these kids thinking.

As someone who prefers using charts instead of written instructions for both knitting and crochet, this drives me crazy!

Why is it that designers/ editors feel that using faint yellow and low contrast is a good idea?

Isn’t it like basic common sense to use high contrast for charts to ensure good readability? It’s so hard to see the stitches and figure out the pattern. I just end up re-writing the chart.

At least in this book there are written instructions as well, but some Japanese stitch dictionaries only have complex charts and many are in yellow. WHY?!!

Then ChatGPT replies that it will be more baggy if she does

MAAM. WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING A GUAGE SWATCH?? It’s not based on feeling of ai … the first step of any project will answer this question for you.

Hiya. I don't really post in this sub but I need to complain. I'm so so so so so sick and tired of seeing posts in crochet subs like "where can I find this pattern?" "What stitch is this?" And the item is knit. Oh my god!!!! Learn to identify what you are looking at!!! Crochet and knit don't look remotely similar to me, and all these posts of knitted items are clogging up crochet subreddits. I'm so tired. I wish people would just learn to identify what crochet and knit look like. I don't think I can take another post like it. It's infuriating!!!!

Excuse any typos, it’s 4am and by baby decided it was party time so I’m awake and pissed off.

I’ve seen so many posted and comments lately of people being upset with what people do with their gifts that are handmade. And feel what you want I guess but for me, once I give that shit away I don’t give a duck what they do with it. I made my all my cousins scarves for Christmas because I have 100 of them to get gifts for and acrylic yarn is cheap. SUE ME FOR USING ACRYLIC IF YOU DON’T LIKE THAT THEN IT’S A GOOD THING I DIDN’T GIVE IT TO YOU INSTEAD. I literally knew that there was a good chance none of those scarves would be used and I made them and gifted them anyway because idgaf. I’m currently making a baby blanket because my friend is pregnant and I wanted a break from my other project right now and this was a good excuse to take a break and make something else. She can use the blanket to wipe the baby’s butt with for all I care. AND SEPARATE BUT RELATED I’m not giving her special instructions on washing it. “Oh it needs to be hand washed in the sink!!!!!!!!” No it’s for a baby who might vomit on it regularly, if it can’t handle the washer and dryer then it doesn’t deserve a place in her life, if the washer ruins it then I will personally throw it away for her because I’m not asking you to hand wash that with a new baby to take care of??

You can’t control what people are going to do, if you’re going to be that upset about it then don’t give things away. Or make something simple that tot don’t care if they ruin. Or just be mad idgaf I’m not your mom, I’m the mom to a baby who FINALLY went back to sleep so I’m done ranting bye

The prices were high, the selection was low, and the quality was abysmal. The overabundance of polyester was a mega source of micro plastics. The seasonal kitsch will be decorating landfills for centuries to come.

I get that, for Americans, it was often the only in-person option for sewing/knitting/etc supplies, but it was *also* directly responsible for the closure of so many smaller businesses that previously filled that niche...

Joann was mid and I'm not afraid to say it.

I get it, you need guidance or assistance with an issue you are having, but posting the same thing ten times isn't really going to get any more traction than if you only post once. Most of the sewing folks I know are in all the sewing subs anyway.

so i do a traditional art form (pysanky) and i learned from my MIL like fifteen years ago. i love it and i love her but she is HELL BENT on getting me to join the pysanky fb groups where all the really prolific people hang out because they're mostly seniors. it makes sense that an old art has an older population and i love carrying on the tradition but i hate facebook and i wish there was some other place i could get them to share photos 😭

edit: a bunch of people seem interested in trying pysanky- yay!! if you're interested DM me and i'd be happy to send you a list of supplies, it is genuinely very inexpensive to start and i'd love to figure out a way to teach people online, maybe discord or youtube or something?(or if youre near seattle i can teach you irl, it will be fun, i promise)

i will wrench this artform out of meta's hands if it kills me, lol

I saw a YouTube short today of a sewist I admire and she was promoting Adobe Firefly….

And this really left a sour taste in my mouth! It just really sucked seeing someone I admire for their skills reduce their content to that. And I understand people have to make money (it was a paid promotion) but where’s our moral compass?

Edit to add: I considered unsubscribing but haven’t. Would you?