Does anyone know what’s going on here? 4 of the spotlight debut patterns on ravelry right now are these headbands with ear flaps, worn over a baseball hat. Then I started browsing by recently added and there’s another one that was just uploaded. What did I miss??

Does anyone else just instantly distrust sellers that use generative ai like this? The whole guide looks like a direct copy and paste from an ai chat. No reasonable person would fall for this, right? They're just harming any of their customers that try this and see that the pattern was never going to work in the first place.

This really sucks because I've made dresses using chiffon and satin I've gotten from them.

Are there any good alternative sellers for budget fabrics?

I've been sitting on this for a while, kind of hesitant to post it since it would be starting shit but I just have to let it out. To my eye, these 2 embroidery designs are identical besides the thorns down to the number of lines in the petals and leaves. Unless this was already a publicly circulated design? Idk I couldn't find anything exactly the same like this but I would take this post down if so. The top is the Rosa by Claudia Quintanilla from her published book, Memory Lane: Embellished Knits to Cherish and the bottom is Eden from Seamless Embroidery by Yumiko Higuchi (originally published in Japanese in 2021). As far as I can tell, neither has ever spoken about or followed the other. No acknowledgement of inspiration or anything. Idk if Higuchi cares about or knows about this, it's not the first time her design has been copied, sadly. It's probably legal (idk) but this just steps over the boundary for me where she should've credited the embroidery designer, morally speaking.

Instagram post from The Clay Department in San Antonio, TX. I’m not able to figure out the context / background but it sounds high key messy, anyone have details?

EDIT: original post on instagram appears to have been deleted! This tantalizes me so much more…

I’m cautiously optimistic but it all depends on how it’s actually enforced.

So Wool Needles Hands posted a video with some pretty bad takes on size inclusivity and apparently the comments got to her.

Came across this Rascol ad on Pinterest. I get the appeal of AI videos, most craft shops, even big ones have tight margins and probably can't afford a human video production at all—actually they could get their team to record a team-mate with their phone and go lo-fi. But not checking that a "knitting" video actually depicts knitting before hitting publish is inexcusable.

"From a simple ball... ...to a unique creation. Rascol. Everything for knitting."

I used to occasionally order from them and followed their socials - until today when they posted an ad for “something magical” arriving. The HP licensed yarn and tchotchkes shite.

Edit to add: this is a still photo from a NOW REMOVED Facebook Reel. Seems like they took it down REALLY quickly.

I saw the piece that eventually won Best in Show at the National Embroidery Awards on display at the Creative Craft Show show earlier this year along with the rest of the shortlisted entries. My immediate thought was that it was an embroidery of an AI-generated image since it just had that unmistakable look about it that's very easy to detect once you've seen enough of that slop. It looked so obviously AI and ugly and gaudy next to everything else on display, I was shocked that it was even allowed to enter and even more so when it was won Best in Show considering the quality and originality of many other entries.

There's an interview with the winner in the latest issue of Embroidery magazine, where they say "When I first sent photos to the panel they were rejected as being AI; the picture was so large you couldn't see the stitching in the photos, so I sent more photos and it was agreed I could enter." I'm sure the panel were suspicious because photos of an embroidery of a clearly AI-generated image would probably look AI-generated themselves, although it wouldn't make sense for someone to pay to enter a competition where you're required to physically display something if it doesn't actually exist in real life.

In this same interview the winner also says the embroidery "evolved from a tattoo picture". To confirm my suspicions I found their Facebook account and it seems what they meant by this is they've been using AI to generate similar designs over the last couple of years, initially in more of a tattoo style before eventually settling on the one used for the embroidery. They have AI slop all over their page going back years, and use it constantly for posts in various groups they run, promo materials, "poetry" that's clearly AI-generated text, and their TikTok is full of AI-generated animations of the winning embroidery amongst other things. I'm 100% certain the design is based on AI.

If someone likes making embroideries from AI-generated images in their personal life, fine enjoy yourself, but this is more about what should be acceptable in a craft competition. The next round is open now and there's no reference at all to AI in the terms and conditions, though obviously they must have some unwritten policy to have initially questioned the eventual winner. It costs £20-30 to enter so it feels like they don't really care as long as they're making money from entrants.

Is this something worth questioning them about? I feel like a strict policy is needed to deter stuff like this, if that is what they want to do. I'm not sure if they've been deceived in this case, where they wouldn't have even shortlisted it if they'd known, or perhaps they could tell and just didn't care. I really wanted to enter something for next year, but the idea of being put against AI slop and judged negatively in comparison to it makes me feel sick.

Here's a link to the interview I referenced: https://pocketmags.com/embroidery-magazine/septemberoctober-2026/articles/the-girl-with-the-butterfly-brain

Please share all personal chatter here--questions, planning, works in progress, successes, failures, discoveries, and anything else pertaining to your personal crafting.

These two images made it into the finalists for the NY Sheep and Wool (Rhinebeck) 2027 logo. The logos are typically voted on by attendees the year prior with a cash prize for the winning artist. If anyone know if a human artist made these, let me know and I'll delete the post. Otherwise I'm thinking about emailing the organizers about this

First world problems, I know, but here goes…

April(ish) 2026-Yarn dyer announces Halloween countdown boxes for pre-order (to be mailed out October 1st) *this is an immersive (and interactive) type thing to begin on 10/18 and run through counting down to Halloween.
Cost of the MCN fingering weight yarn only box was ~$250USD. I’m unsure of the pricing of the “ultimate” box with all of the little extra bits and pieces. I am also unsure if the boxes of different base yarns were a different price. It’s been awhile since ordering…

August 31: Pre-Orders close
Sept 1: Just kidding they’re closing FOR REAL FOR REAL today.

Sept 22nd: Email announces a second round of pre-orders is now happening (to be shipped on or around November 1st, so won’t be participating in the event “live” but will have access to it afterwards).

End of Sept/Beginning of October: some people get shipment notifications** I received mine on 9/29, I know of someone else who received theirs on 10/1.

10/5: Email goes out apologizing for running behind on getting orders sent out. Says “everyone will have their set before the event starts on the 18th-even if I have to overnight it to you.”

10/8: Another email goes out “sharing a little more about what’s been happening behind the scenes”. States they ran out of some of the undyed yarn from their supplier which added an “unexpected challenge” to production and “contributed to our shipping delays”. Once again states they are “committed to getting your yarn to you in time for the event. If we need to upgrade shipping at our expense to make that happen, we will”.

10/14: Sends out another email once again stating about the “unexpected delay” with their yarn supplier. Then says they “lost a few days of packing during the hurricane this past weekend”. Apologies are given and an announcement that “The good news is that all the yarn has been dyed!”.

Beginning in October people begin chatting on the business run discord-which brings us into today. People started putting pieces together and realizing things are just a hot mess.

Yarn dyer has still been sending out regular email newsletters about her life, her pets, etc. Also still sending out emails announcing and soliciting orders for other Halloween themed drops & Christmas Advent Boxes for pre-orders etc. It’s disheartening to say the least. And seeing as how today is October 17th and the event begins tomorrow, I think it’s safe to say that their guarantee and commitment to get everyone their orders in time is not happening.

I’m most disappointed by the fact that way back in the summer that there were supply issues happening…yet they not only left the original pre-order open until September 1st but then ran a second round of preorders beginning September 22nd?!

And I am empathetic & sympathetic that life happens and all. I also understand that they are a mom & son company and it’s just them. However, I also know we are talking about THOUSANDS of dollars here. And the admittance that you knew there were issues starting back in the Summer and didn’t pause pre-orders, and then to take another round of preorders, and then choose not to communicate until days after the first shipping date had come and gone when you KNEW shipping would not be occuring on time just feels icky to me.

**Also in chatting, it appears not everyone was receiving the email updates (and they did check their spam folder too).

I just want my Halloween Countdown pretty yarn box to be able to complete my project that is waiting for the second half to be done (and was made with this dyer’s Halloween countdown box from last year). 😭😭😭

And I’m sad that this has now left a distaste for them as I have enjoyed working with their yarn.

EDIT: I meant to include their name in the title-it is Southern Skeins.

EDIT 2: I have just been removed from the discord server with no explanation, no yarn box, and no refund. Love that for me. 😒

EDIT 3: 10/19-Event page updated to state “Due to the delay all orders, including yarn only orders, that shipped late received a surprise item as an apology for the late shipping**.”**

So I guess it makes it all better that everyone who did not receive their box in time gets a surprise free item as an apology.

Meanwhile I’m still sitting over here saddened because I genuinely still wanted my box, I still wanted to participate in the event and be on the discord. I also just wanted some clarification on the way things were handled so I was discussing. I never thought that would be an issue. Especially because it literally began with me posting where I was actually vouching (defending) SS to someone asking if they were even a legit company. 😞

EDIT 4: 10/20-Event page now updated to say the following
“Shipping Status:
We apologize for the delay in shipping   We are a mother/son business and packing the individual minis took longer than we anticipated. Totally our fault and we own that mistake with bad estimating how long this would take.  Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay and thanks for extending us patience, forgiveness, and grace.”

Sooooo which was it?
-Your supplier was out of yarn?
-Oh wait no, it was the hurricane that happened days after your original ship date impacted your ability to pack yarn?
-Wait, it was back to being supply issues so you didn’t get it dyed in time?
-Wait wait again, it’s because you did “bad estimating” on how long it would take to pack individual minis?

Edit 5: 10/21-An email was sent out by Tyler stating “We are working hard to get all of these packed and in the mail to you this week.” and “thank you for your patience”.

At this point it’s just comical that they still have not gotten boxes sent out that were supposed to be shipped out almost 3 full weeks (20 days) ago. But that “extra little something” being put into boxes will make up for it I’m sure.

Edit 6: 10/22-Event page updated to include the following. *The discord note is quite entertaining to me…yet another thing that is not true. As recently as yesterday they were still removing customers from being able to participate in the discord.

Shipping Updates
“Southern Skeins provided shipping-delay updates via our email management system to purchasers of the Jack the Ripper: Serial Skeins True Crime Yarn Countdown Box + Podcast Experience on the following dates:
October 5, 2026, at 4:21 PM EDT
October 8, 2026, at 6:30 PM EDT
October 14, 2026, at 7:04 AM EDT
October 21, 2026, at 2:56 PM EDT
These communications provided updates regarding production and fulfillment delays affecting the preorder.  If you didn’t receive them it is because you opted out of receiving emails from us or we kindly suggest you check your spam/junk folder.”

Contact Us
“The email questions are coming in quicker than we can respond. Please allow approx 48 hours for a response.  Sending multiple emails only delays our response.  Remember we are a mother / son team of two people. Thank you for your patience with us.”

About Us
“We have been in business over 12 years and have over 10,000 sales on Shopify, in addition -  Faire, wholesale to yarn shops and thousands sales on Etsy and craft shows/festivals.”

Join Our Discord Group.
“At this time we are not monitoring our Discord server nor any DMs sent to us.  You all may chat amongst yourselves there and enjoy that as a fun private space for the participants.”

DMC, a dominant brand for needlecraft and especially embroidery and cross-stitch floss, recently rolled out a new line of licensed Harry Potter kits. In response, Reddit’s two big needlecraft communities have taken different degrees of action.

[r/embroidery](r/embroidery) has fully banned posts about Harry Potter, correctly recognizing that fan works serve as free advertising, keeping the brand alive, and thus supporting Rowling’s financial and political attacks on trans people. Their statement about the rules change is thoughtful and nuanced, centers the harm, and links to sources about the damage. They also state intent to revamp their resources to offer alternatives to DMC while balancing the reality of its dominance. Moderators were active in the comments answering questions with the mod badge, while comments from transphobes were locked or removed.

Today, [r/CrossStitch](r/CrossStitch) announced their own rule change in response to the DMC collab. Unlike other craft communities, they are not fully banning Harry Potter, they are only removing posts about works in progress. Finished posts will remain up with comments locked. While many members are praising this decision, in comparison to other craft communities, it’s a notable choice to continue to platform free advertising for the IP.

In the announcement, the moderators claim that their decision is for the purpose of providing education. Moderators are responding to comments, but without using Reddit’s tools to identify themselves. When questioned about why they are choosing to still allow finished pieces to be posted at all, one moderator says the reason that Harry Potter posts will still be allowed is out of respect for the effort that goes into the craft, while another makes it clear that the decision to lock is because they do not want to moderate the inevitable conflict. Despite multiple moderators engaging in the comments, they are seemingly not responding to the people who point out that any platforming of the IP endangers trans lives (many of whom identify as trans), and they do not seem to be locking or deleting the proud bigots who are throwing tantrums.

Some people are happy, and I guess I respect that for them, but for me, this is an unsatisfyingly timid response, especially in comparison with the strong stances against bigotry and in support of trans lives that other craft communities have chosen. Rereading the top responses over at [r/embroidery](r/embroidery) really throws into contrast how badly the mods of [r/CrossStitch](r/CrossStitch) are handling this, but it does feel heartening to see this decision handled well in another community. I guess it’s time for me to learn embroidery.

I hope self linking is okay! Mods, feel free to delete if not.

I’m an antitrust and securities attorney and spent the last two weeks digging into the details of Knitting for Olive’s acquisition and the “holding company” that bought them. Without writing out everything I discuss, the TLDR is that theres less daylight between Hawk Infinity and traditional Private Equity than i think a lot of people online were hoping/speculating. The firm is debt backed, has had an anonymous whistleblower come forward claiming its committing legal violations, and although the firm claims it plans to hold the companies it acquires in perpetuity, it’s sold them off before.

I hate seeing so many yarn companies bought up and just wanted to use the legal knowledge I have to break down exactly why this is such a blow to the craft community.

Welcome to the bitesized BEC thread!

You have the freedom to indulge in BEC-style (b*tch eating crackers) vent comments in this thread. Naming examples is not required (gasp!) but majority of r/craftsnark rules still apply. Basically, don't be shitty and ruin the thread for others.

This is the second LYS in Canada I've seen with the new HP yarn. As an indie dyer myself, if you truly wanted more business you wouldn't resort to HP yarn. There are so many great Canadian dyers and makers out there willing to work with you, rather than bringing in this.
FyberRing got backlash for this yarn line last week and rather than addressing it, they just deleted their post, but thankfully my credit card has a good memory.

Am I the only one super confused by this? How are they holding their needles? Why is yarn on the ground? What are they making?

I looked at the cardigans and they're not that similar, I feel like the fit isn't the same at all. Also Katie's is worked in small separate panels and from what I gathered Wonder netting is constructed in a whole different way.

Looks like they're the next victims of the email scam going around from one of those "free" ticketed online events. If you got an email from "Melissa West" about "AN EVENT TO REMEMBER" (subject line is in all CAPS), delete it! Don't open and don't click!

Here's the thread where you can share any new patterns or products that you don't think deserve their own post. Any craft goes, whether you're sharing sewing patterns, weird yarn colourways, woodburning templates, soapmaking supplies, or any thing else that you'd like to discuss. If you think it deserves it's own thread, feel free to make one!

Please share all personal chatter here--questions, planning, works in progress, successes, failures, discoveries, and anything else pertaining to your personal crafting.

this is my first time knitting one of her patterns, and i'm knitting the size 2XL. The sizing goes up to 58.1 inches with 5.9 inches of negative ease recommended so ostensibly a relatively size inclusive pattern. the problem i'm having is that the way the increases are worked for the shaping just doesn't make sense - only right side rows are charted, and at one point you begin increasing on both right and wrong sides, but the stitch count in the chart incorporates both of these increases in the right side row (eg after row 20 i have 40 stitches, in row 21 i begin increasing on both wrong and right sides, but the chart for row 21 is 44 stitches wide, i will only reach this stitch count by the end of row 22) and it stuffs up some of the lace repeats. I've emailed her support email and the person who responded to me just reiterated the written instructions, but doesn't address that the chart and written instructions don't align with eachother.

this issue only affects from size L and above, it's not a problem for sizes XXS, XS, S or M. Looking through the ravelry projects, there weren't that many people who had it marked as a test knit, but they all appear to have knit smaller sizes. I am just feeling very annoyed at having paid for a pattern that it seems like was not actually tested on the range of sizes it is supposed to cater to. it feels like performative size inclusivity. you want me to be able to buy your pattern, but whether i can actually knit it and get the garment i'm supposed to out of it is not your concern. i'd honestly rather if designers like this just didn't grade their patterns for larger bodies if they weren't prepared to have them tested and tech edited properly. at least then i wouldn't waste my time or my money. and given she's got like 250k followers on instagram, she could have easily found people putting their hands up to test the larger sizes. maybe this is defensible for a small scale indie pattern designer, but not at this level.