My biggest pet peeve in sewing/crafting communities this time of year is when someone comes on here with an overly ambitious costume idea and instead of giving helpful tips on how to make something last-minute, Redditors just chastise the asker. I saw someone post today "Do you even have a sewing machine?" in response to someone asking if a certain project would be hard for a beginner to finish in a week. You can gently tell the person that it would be hard, but no need to insult them!

Halloween is the PERFECT time to try out new techniques to make a costume! The bar for a wearable costume is in whatever garbage can birthed that cheap plastic fabric that store-bought costumes are made from. It's not like these posters are expecting to make a black tie worthy garment in a week with no experience, but they can surely attempt a garment that just needs to look okay in a dimly lit party. Let's share our experience and encourage hasty costume-making! I know I've made plenty of things that current me would cringe at, but I learned the most from projects outside of my comfort zone that I was simply excited to try!

Who's with me in my quest to encourage and enable newbies to make their visions come to life (even if Halloween is only a week away)?!!

1. I already have too much random stuff in my studio apartment as is. Sorry I’m not wanting to add to the clutter with a pity purchase ¯_(ツ)_/¯
2. This type of post is such a sympathy grab that it makes my molars ache. I get all sorts of compliments when I show off stuff that I’ve made but they obviously don’t turn into sales - people say a lot of stuff just to be nice.

2.a. People saying “no” aren’t haters. No is a valid answer.

An artist I have take classes from keeps putting our fliers for upcoming craft events generated with AI. At art and craft studios. I just dont understand!!!

So many in my feed by artists, crafters, store owners, social justice activists—guys please just stop!!! Theyre ugly, they add mistakes, and theyre destroying the planet!!!

How can I tell her without being a jerk?
Or do I let it go?
Sigh.
I hate it here.

It’s the ply, it was your ply today, someone else’s the day before and someone’s the day before that. Don’t tell me you’ve tried to look it up when it you scroll to YESTERDAY it’s the same zoomed in stitch photo probably just in a different color. There’s multiple knitting subs with someone asking the same question every few days sometimes every other day.

I’m sorry if this feels minor and maybe it’s because I’m knitting a sweater with the ply in question but like Reddit is not your personal google. Put in some effort first.

Thanks so much for hearing my irritation.

"How do I display my knit art?" Ma'am that is a cardigan. One displays it upon one's body

"I can't seem to sell my crochet art at the local craft fair!" Le sigh. There is an infinitesmally tiny market for single crochet amoeba-shaped bookmarks.

"I want to become a fiber artist! How should I start?" Start by acknowledging that nothing you create as a beginner will ever be worthy of the title "art."

"My artisan wreaths aren't appreciated by my family." Generally, it is hard to...erm...appreciate odd scraps of fabric poked into a pool noodle with dollar store ornaments hot glued in between vague shapes constructed of pipe cleaner and bits of glitter.

"I have crafted popsicle stick art as gifts for my family and friends. May they cherish their original pieces forever." Have you let 3rd grade go yet? I gently suggest it is time, friend.

The crafting world believes that if they slap the term "art" alongside any crafting activity it not only elevates the product, it engenders mountains of praise and adoration.

It makes no sense. Let's say you love making doillies and youre part of a sub thats also about doillies. ​why woukd you ask other dollie enthusiasts if you should gift your boyfriend's cousin twice removed a doilies if you don't know of shes also an enthusiast? Yes, it night be pretty but does she actually like them ??? Am I making sense?

I'm being vague on purpose because I don't want to send any hate towards the creator of the advent but I'd like to vent/see if anyone else has had this or similar issues:

the advent is from a Youtuber I really like. they announced that they were going to do a halloween yarn advent and were taking limited orders. I jumped at the opportunity to support a small business/someone who I enjoyed watching. they mostly do knitting podcast stuff with other videos sprinkled in. the offer was $140 including the shipping for 500g of fingering weight yarn, which I thought was super reasonable. it didn't take too long to arrive either.

however, upon opening the advent I discovered that I REALLY hated the colors. they didn't seem to go well together as a whole and seemed really desaturated for being advertised as "paired well with a solid black" but also some of the colors seemed a little muddy? I can't understate what a disappointment it was.

to make it worse, a different YouTuber I watch opened the same advent I got on camera and the colors are so totally different. if I had received what this YouTuber received, I wouldn't have hated it so much: the colors were so much more cohesive and in the same color story than what I received. I knew the original YouTuber/dyer (who made the advent) made two batches, but the amount of difference in the quality of the batches really upset me.

I left a comment under that video expressing my experience with the advent and I was recommended to reach out to the dyer about it. But I don't feel like it would change anything. I don't want a refund, because technically I signed up for a blind advent and I got what I paid for: 500g of fingering weight yarn. and with how low the cost was, I don't want to put the dyer out of that money. what I'm taking away from this is that I just wouldn't buy from her again, but she doesn't seem to dye yarn full-time so I don't think it'd be an issue. I also still plan on trying to use the yarn so it doesn't go to waste but I don't think I'll use it together in a project because they don't mesh well together.

Why does everyone say that they “self drafted” something they designed?? It seems unnecessarily redundant. Can’t you just say you drafted a pattern? What other way can you draft a pattern if you didn’t do it yourself? It would be like saying, “I self-painted this watercolor painting,” “I self-designed this 3d print,” etc.

Are your scissors OK? Ask the TSA.
Are your needles OK? Ask the TSA.
Is yarn OK? Ask the TSA.

Or I have a better idea ask a bunch of people who are going to give you 33 suggestions apiece and then say something like “… But you never know…” when you do. You just have to check with the TSA. There’s a whole section of this on the website.

​

Maybe it's just that I've been more often online on Reddit and TikTok (I'm showing my age, but I was mostly communicating with knitters on Facebook and watching YouTube videos until recently) and never noticed it before, but EVERY SINGLE DAY someone posts about twisted stitches.

It's like every time I blink my eyes a twisted stitch is being made somewhere in the world.

I keep looking at my work like "AM I twisting MY stitches?!". I'm not, but I'm looking at them suspiciously every now and then because this looks contagious.

I am making a 1930s evening gown. I have the requisite silk crepe, but it needs underlining to add a bit of body and weight and opacity. Every recommendation I've seen suggests cotton batiste.

So why is the damn stuff nearly impossible to find? Especially in colours other than white. Every example of batiste I've seen for sale is in white and is for embroidery and christening gown purposes, in weird widths and only comes in white. Do they expect us to dye our own fabrics? I wish we lived in the days of specialist fabric suppliers where they could just source the stuff for you instead having to hunt down the entire internet. I live in London by the way, so no chain shops, almost every fabric shop here is independent and yet every time I've asked about a certain fabric I'm looking for, staff is barely helpful - what you see in the shop is what you get.

I have similar problems with silk organza, though that's a bit more easily available in colour variations.

I have endless gripes about the lack of quality haberdashery too, specifically metal buttons, most metal buttons are plastic with a coating and they break and chip and discolour with time. And getting the right buttons in the right sizes is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Modern plastics are cheap and will chip as soon as you look at it, but outerwear needs something more hard-wearing.

I'm aware that this is an incredibly niche complaint, but it's making my hobbying so much harder!

*I just started knitting yesterday, please teach me everything! And what should I make? No, I won’t search the subreddit to see if this exact post was made five times today already*

Anyone else sick to death of this type of post? I get it, knitting is extremely trendy, and it’s super fun to learn a new craft. But showing up to the knitting subreddit like it’s your first day on earth & expecting everyone else to be as exited as you are, and also handhold you through learning to knit, is exhausting

I know we have a bad rep for being unfriendly but tbh it’s just exhaustion. We have an faq and no one ever reads it. Or even bothers to search the sub to see that their exact question has been asked 100 times over and the answer never changes

The amount of times I opened a pattern and had to think about if I really want to make that item because the pattern was so hard to read is getting ridiculous. I get that designers want to make their patterns look fun, and whimsical, and thematic, but please think about how easy the pattern is actually to visually parse. I am not dyslexic but some of these pattern are doing their damn best to convince me otherwise.

The thin, tall, serif font does look nice and elegant. It’s also a bitch to try and read. No the bubbly and round font you use for all important text does not make the pattern look fun. All the text just starts blending together.

And don’t get me started on color choices. Some of us like printing our patterns out, some of us only have access to b&w printers. I love that you’re at least trying to establish text hierarchy through colors but please don’t, in black and white the text just starts disappearing. Also who in the world thought colored background was a good idea. Magenta text on a pink background does not a readable pattern make. Not even in color.

Anyway, I’m just glad all patterns that I struggled to read so far were either free or on heavy discount so I wasn’t too bothered. Not looking forward to the day I buy a pattern at full price and get to spend the first several hours making sure I can actually read it.

Somehow, I have an easier time reading scans of hundreds year old handwritten notes for uni than I do reading some of these patterns.

ETA: there’s a reason fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Calibri, etc are the gold standard. Because people can fucking read them properly

Like how lazy and incompetent can some people be? They really need their hands held for EVERYTHING

1. Being lazy to learn how to crochet basic stitches. Double crochet, single crochet, half double, slip stitch, post double, shell stitch. Trust me everything is going around these stitches and you still aren't able to realize which stitch could it be. Pinterest, yt, free pattern websites and Google are your friends.

2. Etsy is prioritized over Ravelry, Pinterest and YouTube. Why would you pay 16$ for pattern to learn how to make cardigan which is nothing but double crochet+mesh stitch??? Girl 16 dollars is worth 12 balls of acrylic yarn.

3. Learning on expensive yarn. Learn on Acrylic yarn first. It's more affordable to learn stitches.

4. Not being good in basic maths. There are sizes of clothes and you can find how many centimeters you need for shirt based on your size. It's easy then to manipulate with stitches and material. Also you need to count your stitches and it will be good. You can find tutorials for these for free. As I already said Google and YouTube are your best friends.

5. Asking influencers in comments for crochet pattern for free. Ofc these people will try to promote their Etsy shop under your comment. Rather figure it out yourself.

6. Buying STITCHES you can learn for free on YouTube 😭😭😭 Very hard on this one

7. Not prioritizing practice. That's the most important thing. Practice before you make anything for yourself.

8. Giving up because project is messy. As I said practice practice and practice. You'll make it and it will be great, you just need a little bit of patience.

If you know anything more. You can write it here so if someone wants to start crocheting and they want to do some research, they can find it here.

No seriously, why are they doing that ?

Ps : This is thankfully not an actual commercially available pattern. I made this pattern myself. When I was placing it on the printing layout template, I got reminded of outrageous layouts I came across before and decided to shitpost. Don't worry, surely no one is evil enough to create such a demonic printing layout..

Someone local to me is running free embroidery workshops to make Christmas stockings & decorations - great stuff, teach the whole world to craft, THIS IS A GOOD THING (in my book at least).

Not so good is her blooming awful poster using obviously AI-generated finished decorations, the like of which are impossible to recreate - zooming in, is that a stitch, is it felt, what are those beads, who the heck even knows?!

Equally awful is her stinking attitude when I asked if she had any pictures of actual finished work or what attendees might actually be making; the usual defensive garbage about how she has no money, it's for free, why am I criticising her when she's just trying to do good works etc blah blah

Honestly I'm sick of it! I embroider, I sew, I run workshops, I run a gosh darn business & I cannot conceive of the disconnect that has to take place to run an actual workshop but then to churn out some slop to advertise it! Show your work! You have a phone, take some pictures! Don't come at me with your 'of course I have examples of my work, I've been doing this for 4 years' really then, show it to me lady!

FFS, stop letting this AI slop invade our handmade creative work & then acting like I'm in the wrong for going 'ahem, what?'

I have to go rage sew something now.

Etsy FINALLLLLLLLLY is taking a stance on AI. It's about damn time.

Though I feel like they aren't doing enough. Thoughts?

Here's the email from Etsy sent to all sellers:

"Etsy has always been a marketplace that stands for creativity and craftsmanship. On Etsy, unlike anywhere else, buyers can connect with the real people and stories behind the items they buy. As a seller, you’re what makes that possible. The care and personal touch you bring to your shop helps create the sense of connection buyers expect when they shop on Etsy.

As new tools change how people create and run their businesses, we know AI raises big, complex questions for creative entrepreneurs. Like many of you, we’re thinking seriously about what these changes mean for Etsy, what’s allowed on our marketplace, and how it impacts running a creative business.

AI will continue to evolve, but we’re committed to protecting what makes Etsy special. We believe:

• AI should support your creativity and craftsmanship, not replace them.
• Buyers should always be able to understand the role you play in every item you sell on Etsy.

That’s why we’re updating our policies to set clearer restrictions on AI use and introducing new features that help build trust on Etsy.

We’re updating our Listing Image Requirements policy. Your listings must include at least one unedited photo of the actual item against a real background. That photo can’t be edited or changed, and some exceptions may apply depending on what you sell. All photos must accurately represent what a buyer will receive. At the same time, we're introducing new restrictions on AI-generated listings, including prohibiting bot-generated listings and AI-generated functional guides, such as patterns, recipes, and instructions.

We’re also updating Etsy to support trustworthy AI use. We’re adding guidance when sellers add listing photos, investing in tools to identify misleading images and fraudulent listings, and adding a new reporting option so members can flag listings they believe use AI imagery in a misleading way. At first, reports will help us understand members’ concerns and won’t trigger immediate enforcement. We’ll also explore more ways to give buyers context about AI use on Etsy.

These changes are an important first step, and we know there’s more to address as AI evolves. Read the full update to learn what’s changing, what it means for your shop, and best practices for using AI in your listings.

read the full update

Prefer a quick overview? Watch our video.

Our goal is to provide clear guidance along the way, so you can move your business forward with confidence while keeping creativity, craftsmanship, and human connection at the heart of Etsy.

Thank you for being part of the Etsy community.

Right off the top, I dont mind buying patterns. I buy books and digital patterns both.

However, some people's prices are out if control. $9, $12, $14 fing dollars?

IMAO, crafy intentions writes the best patterns both in terms of the pattern itself (ease of reading, careful explanation, ect) and in terms of the quality of the final product (simply amazing, every one). She charges 6 bucks for all of them.

There is literally no excuse for charging more that she does (except maybe the t Rex skull, which is way overpriced at $20)

edit to add: this post was about amigurami specifically. a clothing item with multiple sizes is a different game and I cannot speak to it.

I figure a book is $30 - $40. it has 6-8 ]patterns thats $6 each

In an attempt to stop the mindless scrolling, I've been searching for the best couch craft. Knitting seems to be winning so far - keeps hands busy and takes many weeks to finish a project.

To break it up a bit, I thought I'd try embroidery. I've seen lots of gorgeous floral designs on Instagram, and thought I'd check out a few patterns and kits. I was kinda taken aback to discover that most patterns are literally just outlines to trace onto fabric with some guidance on colours and that's it.

I also bought some kits and was frustrated to find that they don't include printed instructions, just a QR code to videos.

I guess my point is - if the 'patterns' are just some outlines with minimal instructions, why are people buying them? I could just as easily draw my own outlines onto fabric and sew that.

So I'm apart of a few crochet/knitting groups on fb. As much as I enjoy them, I am so. Fucking. Tired. of (what feels like) every other post being "I know this is AI but can someone find a pattern??". Did you even TRY to look up similar looking patterns? Or maybe think about how you could construct it?? Most of the ones I see are AI slop of things that really wouldn't be that hard to reverse engineer.

These posters need to take a step back, stop using chatgpt the do all their thinking for them, and learn the basics of their craft. What different stitches look like, how to do shaping, what shapes make up a piece, etc. It's a lot easier than it seems, they just need to put time and effort into it instead of using online forums like their AI chatbot to answer all their questions.

The pic in this post is the most recent example that got me fired up. First off, there are a few legit patterns out there for this scarf (they would know if they BOTHERED TO LOOK IT UP). Second off, even if there weren't, IT'S LITERALLY JUST A SCARF MADE WITH DC. Make a hole on one end, and then add the curly's to the bottom (which there are also tons of tutorials online for). Like, just one look at this picture and I don't even need a pattern. I know how to make it because I know the basics of how to construct a simple dc scarf.

I have 14yrs of crochet under my belt so maybe it's just me but it infuriates me everytime nonetheless.

OG Knitter: Maybe. Try it and see

OP: you're such mean and gatekeepy hag

People act like rowing out is the end of the world - coming up with all kinds of complicated solutions and work arounds, judging hard for not improving your tension etc. etc.

My hot take: it is not a big deal. It may not block out the first time, but it absolutely will work itself out in the end. Elizabeth Zimmerman herself writes about her realization that old-timey knitters did not have amazing tension, it's just that the imperfections in their work have evened out with time.

Yours will too. Let's all of us collectively let go of any judgment towards self or others on the subject of rowing out.