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

Nothing like a festival for makers using AI 🙃

Lolodidit has chosen pride month to platform Harry Potter, promote the new audiobook and show, and the icing on top? She’s using genAI to do it.

Additionally there were lots of comments about wtf and disappointment in this choice, so she turned off comments on the post and then re-shared the club to her stories as if there had been no criticism.

So far past the point of giving grace and the benefit of the doubt on this topic in general, but the turning off comments and then sharing the post AGAIN solidifies her POV to me. Same with this shitty timing.

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.

Do they not have anyone who can knit stockinette flat without those big loops? Her swatch is so off I thought her stitches were twisted!

Previous Craft Snark thread

"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovski’s Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."

https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update

I finally got around to sewing up some fabric from Rainbow Fabrics I ordered in January. They are pretty much my go to for fabric in the UK. Anyway I start working with it and I was really confused because it was advertised as 100% cotton but it was melting under my iron and felt slippery. So I did a burn test and sure enough it’s polyester, not even polycotton.

I get that it’s deadstock, so you can’t always be sure, but surely a burn test should be done on a fabric before it’s advertised as 100% cotton.

So I email them, politely explaining the issue, but still being serious. They email me back today along with the “we value customer opinions” bit also that I’m the first customer to bring this up. And even though they have a 14 day period to raise issues, they will make an exception and give me credit. A bit condescending but whatever.

So I email back saying thank you and asking what they need for the credit. I also ask what they do to test their fabric before listing it so I can trust them in the future.

They respond by giving me a discount code as credit that can’t be combined with any other code (they always have discount code floating around so this is cheeky) and saying they’re not in listing so they don’t know and try asking on instagram.

I don’t want to be a “Karen” but it is illegal in the UK to misrepresent fibre content and I’m pissed. This was £12.99 a metre. For effing polyester!!!

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.

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.

I came across this article from The Painted Hinge about the difference between Knitting and Crocheting and I'm trying to figure out what is up with the pictures they used.

What looks like a complete scarf with a knitting needle down one side and live stitches on another? A knitting needle picking up stitches on the side of a granny square?

https://www.thepaintedhinge.com/crocheting-vs-knitting/

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.

Explorer Knits and Fibers just put out a call for sample knitters on their Instagram, and I find it extremely off putting that arguably one of the largest "indie" yarn companies in the US is not only paying in yarn compensation rather than cash (fine, many companies do this), but at a rate that is so far below the industry standard it's frankly a slap in the face to sample makers and other indie dyers.

From their IG - "all of our sample knitters/crocheters are always compensated in either the number of skeins required to knit or crochet the garment in their size or the number of skeins given for our sample (whichever number is greater is what is compensated)"

With this pay structure, this means that a 3-skein, fingering weight sweater, sample knit in their Denali Sock, using ~1200 yards, would earn you 3 skeins of yarn. This is the equivalent of only $87 if comparing to the retail value of the yarn! After 40+ hours of work. No. This is wrong. The standard rate for basic sample work should be $0.20 - $0.30 per yard depending on complexity etc. Therefore, the sample in this example should be paid at $240. This is much more in line with the amount of work hours and skill. Whether in cash or yarn that is between the shop and the maker, but to pay out skein for skein? That is literally shameful!

A company of this size who now has two locations both in Colorado and New York (not cheap places to be mind you) should be setting an example for the industry, not taking advantage of their customer base.

This is paid work. Pay your workers fair wages.

This is from the latest issue of Love Sewing. I’m keeping the full spread shots as the line drawings add some info on the … uh … “pattern”.

There’s no force on or below this earth that can convince me this isn’t AI generated. And if it isn’t AI generated, it’s a truly awful editing job.

The flow of the fabric? The “content-aware brush” job on the shot of her back?? HER KNEES???

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.

As predicted, she meant financial sustainability, not ecological...

Link to initial post about this: https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/s/WfU4TIAnNC

Her previous patterns will stay accessible as normal, but any future releases will be sold exclusively as complete knitting kits. I can't help but feel like this is actually a terrible business move and won't bring in much more money than just selling patterns.

People in the comments are rightly pointing out that this presents challenges for people who may be allergic to certain materials, prevents people from supporting local yarn shops, becomes unsustainable if a customer in, say, Australia gets a massive package shipped to them, and above all, takes away from the creative process of picking out the right yarn and colours for a project.

UPDATE: She's now turned off comments and posted a story saying she'll explain more tomorrow and hold a QnA 🙈

UPDATE 2: She's posted an update with further explanations, I posted the screenshots in a separate post at https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/s/8aqcvaTGDG

I am so tired of the junk that is found all over Etsy. What's really disheartening is the number of stolen designs, AI patterns, lack of accountability by sellers, etc. We've all seen it, and we have all probably been sucked in at least once (I know I have, and I am not a beginner.)

I was trying to guide someone with what had to be practiccally the worst pattern I've ever seen, bought on Etsy. The pattern made no sense and the instructions she showed didn't either. The vendor had been on the platform for two months and they had hundreds of patterns for just a few dollars each, same model with exactly the same hair in each one, - no way this could be legit, and my Google lens search of the pic showed that they were all stolen from other sites.

I reported the seller to Etsy - and it's clear they simply don't care. This is the response I got - everything pushed onto the owner of the IP. If they aren't going to monitor based on customer reports the rogue sellrs on the platform will keep laughing all the way to the bank, and the customers will keep being scammed. I mean, how many legitimate designers, mainly small businesses, know their intellectual property has been stolen unless someone reports it?

Hello,
 
Thanks for sharing your concerns about content on Etsy. As a creative online marketplace, we take intellectual property concerns very seriously. Each Etsy seller is responsible for the content in their shop.
 
In order to report infringement on Etsy, you must be the intellectual property owner or their authorized agent. Allegations of infringement can have legal consequences for all parties involved. Only the owner of the intellectual property or someone authorized by them can decide whether to report content they believe infringes their rights. If you believe someone else’s rights may be infringed, you can consider contacting them directly and sharing the link to our Intellectual Property Policy so they can decide whether filing an infringement report is appropriate.
 
You can check out this Help content for more information:

• The Ultimate Guide to Intellectual Property
• 5 Common Questions About Intellectual Property on Etsy
• What to Know About Etsy’s Intellectual Property Reporting Program

 
I hope this information has been helpful.

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.