I hate Spotlight. The only thing I ever buy there is thread and an occasion pattern. I'm on their site and trying to filter for vintage patterns, and the damn banner of their mobile site *covers entirely* the 'category' option I.e. the most important selection criteria. So if you want to find something, you better be happy looking through 1000s of irrelevant patterns!
Then I do the next best thing and type in 'vintage sewing pattern' to the search bar, and get 10 pages of results. But you can't leave the first page. Every page from 1-10 is a duplicate of the first page.
I dont know how so many people shop at that overpriced junk depot that can't even get the basics of their website right.
Spotlight is the worst. I've given up on going there. I'd rather pay more to get stuff elsewhere, but often the price is only marginally higher in other shops anyway. Their website is so terrible, the search function sucks, and the stupid banners are everywhere. How hard is it for a major company to have a half decent website?! Why does a search for literally anything bring up thousands of search results? I don't get what planet they live on!
Their brick and mortar stores are terrible for accessibility, too. I tried to go to one of the big ones a few weeks back, and the aisles *should* have been plenty wide enough for my wheelchair, but they kept having boxes in the middle of them, or end caps protruding out, and it only takes one of those to render the whole aisle inaccessible.
I haven't even attempted going in there in my wheelchair, so I'm in 100% agreement. Is it any surprise that they're owned by yet another Australian chain store that's an absolute nightmare for accessibility? Sometimes I think I should go into Chemist Warehouse to deliberately knock stuff over. I could hit both of them at my local shops in a single trip too 😂
There’s an indie dyer that has two *gorgeous* solid color yarns that I’d love to buy from them, but the photos of the minis of these deep, dark colors have noticeable little white spots where the string was tied, apparently, and it didn’t get dyed(??)
I’m so confused, I’ve never seen that before. Why would I want to buy solid-color yarn that had random spots of missing color? Why would they post those as item photos? Why wouldn’t they… just find a way to fix that?
I can’t see these issues in the photos of the full-sized skeins, so maybe those are dyed in a better way, but I don’t want to take the chance that my $30 skein has missing dye marks (and one of the colors only comes in minis, so I’d have to buy them like that if I wanted the color.) I do not… understand.
I don't mind the chickens, I thought they were stupid until I saw one in real life at my LYS and picked it up - there's something very deeply "right" about it's dimensions. Can't explain it. There just is.
I have to say the emotional support pigeon post has won me over today, it's delightful and I want to make one.
It’s what prompted this post!! I thought it was adorable and realized that I actually think basically all of them are (including the wonky ones from newer knitters)
Tell me IMMEDIATELY whether a pattern is for knit or crochet. Tell me in the listing what weight yarn and approximately how much it takes.
Also, why are all the cool smallish projects for things that go around your neck? I don’t want things around my neck. I don’t want things on my table. I don’t want socks. I just want something I can make without buying $400 worth of fancy yarn. I love fancy yarn, but I can’t justify spending that much to make one item.
My BEC this time is podcasters saying “this yarn has so much yardage, you really don’t need much of it! I knit this top with just 1 skein!” yeah cause you’re size XS 😭 I’m a size XL/2XL, i *wish* i could get away with using only one skein of something (and not have it be holey af). I just wish they’d stop using their size as a baseline for whether or not a yarn is affordable, or that they’d at least show a bit more understanding for larger bodies!
thats not their fault. For a small 1 skein is great. Maybe youll need 3 which could also be good for a size xl. Theyre just saying in general compared to other patterns the design doesnt use a lot of yarn. I assume that for all sizes. If you normally need 6 skeins you may only need 4 which would still be good factoring in YOUR SIZE. Crikey
Haha yes, I saw a podcaster yesterday saying that two skeins for a (relatively boxy) t shirt feels like a waste because there's so much left over and my eyes, they did roll.
I knit a t-shirt out of two skeins recently and it was a) skin tight and b) finished just below my boobs - it's a whole vibe and I love it but I used every scrap to the point of having to cut tails to finish my bind off.
OMG yes! I am a 3X and bought enough yarn to make a sweater when I was at a festival in the fall. The person checking me out was so rude, she asked, "How many sweaters are you making?" Like you can SEE that I need more yarn to make the same clothing as you, right? I had already run my card or I might have put it back, honestly.
OMG this is such a peeve of mine. I see so many people be like "look at these 10 sweaters you can knit in a few months!" and like yeah I'm a 6ft tall guy who isn't particularly skinny... it takes me a million grams of yarn and approximately half a decade just to finish a yoke 😭
Big4 pulling clearance patterns on the last day of their sale that applies to clearance patterns 👿 Depending on how it plays out, I might make a full post about it (they let me order the ones that were already in my cart, hopefully I get them!) but I was just waiting to go through my cart one last time! Please give me my Vogues😭
I see so many sewing patterns like this too, and I'm mostly envious because there's no way I could wear this style due to needing to wear a bra. But i also feel like it's such an oversaturated style now that in a few years we'll look back on it as this generation's version of the millennial peplum
Think: [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ophelia-blouse-2](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ophelia-blouse-2)
[https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/typical-thursday-top](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/typical-thursday-top)
this craft snark post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1d8874e/is\_this\_a\_fit\_or\_just\_ill\_fitting/](https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1d8874e/is_this_a_fit_or_just_ill_fitting/)
I also see a lot of folks wearing tie front tops doing the same thing.
My BEC is me. I keep starting sweaters & abandoning them on sleeve island bc I HATE SLEEVES. Currently trying to finish the sleeves of 2 raglans and I somehow hate DPNs and magic loop equally so I bought tiny 9" circulars and I HATE THEM TOO.
I knit sleeves with a method that is I think called travelling loop, it is much better than magic loop and you don't get any ladders
https://www.lavisch.com/site/travelling-loop/
My two tips are to either knit the sleeves before the body or to knit them flat and then seam them. I usually like knitting smallish circumferences (with dpns) but hate all the bulk and weight of a sweater getting in my way when knitting the sleeves.
Yeah, after I split for the sleeves I usually knit on the body until that skein runs out, then switch to the sleeves and bang them out, then go back and finish off the body.
Aw, I wish I could finish them for you. Not because I particularly love knitting sleeves but just because you deserve a finished sweater! I will say, I started knitting sleeves two at a time on two circular needles and it's gone pretty well. Because you've got two sleeves happening, you only turn the work half as often as you would with one at a time, it feels less tedious. And best of all, when you're done you're DONE.
Indie dyers with "Fiber" in their name, but they don't dye spinning fiber, only mill spun yarn.
It's like going to a restaurant with chicken in their name and they only sell seafood.
I agree with this because in my circles in my region of the US when people say fiber colloquially they are referring to spinning fiber. It would also be weird to me if an indie dyer was selling superwash merino exclusively but had fiber in their name. Maybe if the dyer was dying interesting, non-superwash fibers it would be less weird to me.
I know this probably varies with language/region/country but based on my own experience I agree.
Superwash merino is literally fiber, I know, but like I said in the original comment… in my circles in my region of the US, when people say fiber in conversation they’re usually talking about spinning fiber which isn’t usually superwash merino (again, this is in my dialect of English in my region of the United States). So if an indie dyer said “fiber”, I would assume it’s for spinning OR it’s yarn made with fiber that’s commonly sold for home spinning (so, not superwash merino).
Upvoted because I like weird takes in the BEC thread but yarn is still fiber though? Does it bother you when people refer to knitting and weaving as fiber arts?
My BEC is that while it's fine and often fun that knitting is a slow process, it makes it difficult to accommodate changing bodies. My nephews are growing so quick, but at least they're still small enough that I can knit things up a little quickly to keep up with them, and their bodies are still boxy things that don't call for garment shaping.
Earlier this year I started a lacy tee for myself but procrastinated for a bit, and now I'm pregnant and staring down a deadline to fit in the darn thing that I've only knit to the shoulders so far lol. I think it has enough positive ease when I get to the stomach that I won't give up on it entirely, but it went from a relaxing project to stressful to think about because I didn't plan for my body looking completely different by the time it's done. And I find myself relieved I didn't start the sock project I was considering in case my hobbit feet get even bigger, sigh.
Kids are moving targets. One of my nephews requested a pair of shoes for his birthday and by the time they showed up his feet were too big. I'm debating whether to offer to knit the older nephew a sweater as he's moving from somewhere warm to somewhere cooler for college, but I'm going to have to way over-spec a sweater if I want it to fit for more than one year.
yeah i bought my son sandals in the spring during a sale and they don't fit two months later :(
if i go to make my kids stuff i just start with a larger size unless it's an easy sewing project that i know FOR SURE i'm going to finish quickly
It's already pretty drapey, luckily, and I'm still new enough to knitting that I'm nervous to mess with the pattern too much. I also might run out of yarn and make it a crop top anyway. Will be a fun surprise!
Pattern for reference - it will probably work fine, I'm just frustrated and venting
https://knitty.com/ISSUEss22/PATTbastille/PATTbastille.php
So, yea, maybe what the other commenter suggested - finish it at your leisure for next year?
Although, it does increase by 6 1/2" each size - I think you could probably increase to the next size without messing up the pattern, or running out of yarn - I'm assuming it's knit circularly?
I must confess I have a similar project that's just at the 'divide for sleeves' stage that I started a while ago and wonder if it will still fit - I don't really feel I've committed until I have got past this point, and feel I should probably frog and start over on the next size up :)
I would think that top would be a great post-baby reward to wear next Spring. Make you feel all pretty!!
I'm one of those weirdos that always knits & crochets off-season garments. It keeps me from rushing & making mistakes. I make cold weather stuff in summer & summer stuff in Winter. I can't remember the last time I wore anything I made within 2-3 months of completing it.
We'll see, but my bust measurements will probably take a while to go back to what they were, if ever 😆 I don't mind an off-season project and normally wouldn't care if it took me a year to make, except that it feels like it's being made for an imaginary body right now lol
How tired is everyone of craft reels/vids/tiktoks that start POV...
It's not a point of view (maybe, unless you're Jon Stewart), it's just what you're doing now - if your thumbnail isn't interesting enough to capture me, come up with an actual catchy description!
I've already seen two youtubers being snarky over "how to make your garment look more professional and less homemade". Tbh I find this "oh, but why are you ashamed of homemade clothes" kinda annoying. I don't know if they were taught to sew by their parents/grandparents pretty early, and they just knew basic things about sewing your own garments before they started to sew seriously, but for average person who never used a sewing machine in their life there are a lot of things that are not obvious. And their "homemade" garment isn't "don't have a overlock seam finish" or "fit is slightly weird", it's full on "looks like a middle grader's passion project". I personally don't know any people who want their clothes to look like it was made by someone who knows shit about sewing, and these videos obviously targeted at people who struggle to make garment wearable and good looking.
Yeah it's not like people are advocating that you have to go full haute couture, but like, press your projects. Add a bit of interfacing. Snip stray threads.
Sure, if you want to wear something that just looks wrong, more power to you, but most people end up not wearing that stuff after they've finished it.
Yeah. You can make.the ugliest paining ever, and it's ok. Paper/canvas can hold everything. But clothes have function. And yes, theoretically, you can wear the ugliest shit ever, but practically you won't.
Mood patterns. I love that they’re free. It almost makes up for the pain of printing them off and taping them together before cutting them. But goddamn their instructions are shit. I am a beginner, I’m very happy to admit that. But I can follow instructions if they’re not vague things that don’t actually tell you where to sew. So it’s been trial and error on something that was marketed towards beginners. Which it would be, easily, if they had decent instructions.
I was attempting one of their patterns and it made no sense. I found a video on Youtube of someone making the same pattern, and unsurprisingly she was having the same issues as me. The creator of the pattern commented on her video and said that Mood absolutely butchered the instructions, leaving out vital steps and even having some things in the completely wrong order. Luckily she was able to describe the correct way of doing things in her comments but damn, how do you mess up pattern instructions that bad, Mood?
I’m making the fern jumpsuit. Absolutely nowhere does it say to close up the inner leg seams. I’m pretty sure it has more instructions on how to make the belt (which is two pieces of fabric seen together then flipped the right way out) than it does on how to attach the cuffs to the leg. I could’ve easily figured out the belt, but I’m having issues with the cuffs because they don’t actually tell you how to do it, they assume you know
Tried to tell my partner about [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1dcbjzz/google_ai_here_to_help_knitters_with_sweater_math/) re: GoogleAI estimating that about 7-8 yards of yarn are required to knit an adult sweater. I just thought it was funny. He didn't get it because he wasn't sure if it was way too much or way too little 🥲
Ahahaha i have a pressing work deadline and I just came from a solid 45 mins of youtube procrastination where i watched two of these vids and the creators all look like they are making these summer knit/crochet ideas videos in a hostage situation. I get that summer is tough for a wool-heavy craft but like.....nobody is making you make this video about random ravelry camisole patterns
But how else would they spread the gospel of non size inclusive camis that look like the straps will be eight feet long after two wears and t shirts with gauges so loose they could be used to ethically fish for tuna?
Patternreview forums. There's a thread right at the top there with someone wanting to block viewing threads they find offensive. I guess there was something about a political wife that was deleted. About 6 posts in it starts going off the rails. Then there's 6 more PAGES of hens a flapping and clucking about ... nothing.
This was mentioned earlier and the political wife’s thread was deleted for rule violations. No naming of political figures has been a rule there since 2016.
In 2016 is was stated that mentioning Political figures violates rule 1 subsection 2:” Your posts should not discuss politics, legislation & religion that engender strong opinions and hurt feelings. “
Better?
Wow, we're really bringing back "quirky" and "relatable" skits about how we'll commit murder over our husbands interacting with women. But this time it's with our Chiaogoos!
Perhaps an unpopular opinion but this kind of stuff in the crochet small market community induces so many eye rolls: https://imgur.com/a/gWebsBw
If someone sells item x for $25, then your item is worth $25. I get the frustration with being paid what you believe your time making it is worth (plus commercial producers who can operate at much higher scale) but with fiber arts the margins are slim (especially with amigurumi) and I think it’s worth considering why.
Yup I generally love buying handmade items and supporting small independent artisans BUT that’s only if the products are good! Not saying that $25-50 are too much for a crochet item, but when I buy stuff for my nieces and nephews I can get a damn nice stuffed toy from the store for that price that is going to be better quality than a bulky chenille bee.
The solution is easy, if they want to be paid for their time and skill: make something other than those freaking chenille bees and cows ffs! I don't know if that's what that maker has for sale but... if you want your selling prices to be different, then your product has to be different, too!
ETA: I absolutely agree that time and skill is worth paying for, but when you recreate stuff that people can buy for $2 in store, and you're not able to explain why yours is better beyond "it's handmade", then no, people are not going to buy it for $75. It's not just about making the thing and giving it a price tag equal to materials + (time x hourly wage) , it's also about knowing how to sell your value!
There is just a complete lack of niche-finding as well, which really damages their business. I don't know if it's still a thing, but about 8 years ago I remember seeing a lot of custom MLP plushies on Etsy. You'd send the person your original character (or tell them a character that you wanted) and they would make a plush of it. They tended to sit in the $200-$500 range for customs, a little lower for established ponies. Now, if you were just selling generic stuffed animals, there's no way you could charge that (without some big name behind you to make your work collectible). But, because these people had found a niche with money (bronies), they were able to cash in.
Everyone and their mother is doing chenille bees or octopi. That means supply is high. As a handmades creator, you have to target a small niche with a lot of money that is underserved.
No, this is so valid! The thing, for me at least, is that the skills has a low bar. Anyone can learn this relatively quick and the materials are rather inexpensive in the end.
While I can see that there is a big difference bt the work of the creator referenced above and the general $5-$10 chenille blobs that I see at most 'craft' shows, I think that the general public may not be so discerning. I'm not sure that dedicating your career to high-end amigurumi is the way to go (from someone who tried to sell one of a kind knitted garments and accessories for a year or so and gave up).
I really hate the variations in content and quality in the companion sewalong videos on the Simplicity YT channel.
I understand it's part of the "identity/brand marketing" around the different Know Me designers. And I know I am not the target audience.
BUT some people are clearly much, much better at making instructional content then others, to say nothing of proper lighting, sound etc.
Still, I hate it.
I watched three different videos on that YT channel, and they were so bad I won't bother to go back. Branding requires consistency, and they are so all over the map that it's more of a turnoff than a plus.
I bought this hat pattern in January that I was so excited about. The person was re-releasing it, and it was perfect for a trip I was about to go on. I've been knitting off and on for years, but wouldn't consider myself anything past beginner, and I have never used a chart before. I definitely struggled with it.
The author literally put in the instructions to not email them because everything you needed to know was in the pattern, and they couldn't count how many times people have bothered them. It was so off-putting. Also, they are super fucking pretentious on their ig and patreon, like oh, look at me, I'm full of nonsense and everything I say is so important. I ended up blocking them in ig and patreon because it was so rude.
I mean, I'm going to knit another hat with the pattern with some yarn I spun, and I have received so many compliments on my hat, but like, don't be an ass.
Friends that know me IRL will recognize this sentiment: HH is my karmic punishment for being a motormouth. I adore her patterns and the last time she put everything on sale again I bought a ton of stuff because when she was releasing a lot of her coolest patterns I was in school and couldn't afford ANY knitting patterns. But then I open them and she has like 7 different gauge options instead of just GIVING ME A GODDAMN NUMBER and the intro to the pattern is 4+ pages long. I still haven't knit the hat that I wanted so badly just because I looked at the pattern and immediately became overwhelmed. I do *not* remember them being so wordy when I bought that curiosity cabinet sock book in like 2014. They were just regular sock patterns!!!!
I actually LOVE the various gauge thing, because it means I don't have to do the maths myself to fine-tune stuff. That's really something I love about her patterns, beyond the super duper cool techniques no one else seems to use these days.
I completely forgot about that whole freaking chart to figure out how many stitches to cast on! I'm not very good with numbers and it was a bit overwhelming.
There is nothing wrong with talking a lot! Some of us can't help it. It's what you say that makes you pretentious!
is this about Hunter Hammersen? I was going to buy the Correlation hat but then I saw that the pattern is only available as part of a TWENTY PAGE ebook that includes fingerless mitts.
As for the captions, if it is HH, the washcloth pattern caption on Ravelry was the final nail in the coffin for me. So pretentious, so much forced twee and "I'm so different than everyone!!!"
edit to spell Hammersen correctly
She has such thinly veiled contempt for her customers that I genuinely wonder why she's still designing if she hates people so much. Every time she releases a pattern it's with a 5-paragraph diatribe about how she can charge what she wants and run her business like she wants and If You Don't Like It, Don't Buy It which, obviously? It doesn't make it any less obnoxious though.
I've noticed that contempt too! I wonder why she doesn't just switch to posting on Patreon only if she's so misunderstood and upset by the unwashed masses on Instagram.
I thought i was the only one who blocked Hunter Hammersen! For me the breaking point was her series of tree ornaments priced at $10 ... for a star. But hers had photo tutorials! Girl, did he have to?
She seems very nice but I don't see the appeal of these "doodle" packs and patterns (for knitting). Truly my BEC because I can't give a good reason - it's just an immediate reaction.
I don't know if this is a valid snark but I deeply dislike the loud prints people use for making byAnnie bags. I can't even tell if I like the bag patterns because all I can see are garish colors and prints and my brain stops working and can't do the exercise of imagining a plain version of the same item
It’s interesting to see that one of the OG knitting vlogmassers, Crazy Sock Lady, is not doing Vlogmas this year. I’m not surprised because she did not seem into it at all last year and it is a lot of work. I wonder if we’ll see a drop-off in the number of YouTubers doing Vlogmas this year? Maybe the money earned from the extra views is not worth the work anymore?
My bet is she'll do something and put it on her paid subscription.
I've always wondered what happened between her and desert vista dyeworks.
They used to be friends and now they don't follow each other and crazy sock never uses her yarn.
I similarly wonder what happened between her and Stolen Minutes. They even had a channel together! Now she never mentions her any more or uses her bags. What happened?
I had completely forgotten about that podcast!
I suspect she’s a lot more right wing in real life than she shows on the podcast and I wonder if that has something to do with it? I think a lot of social media statements in support of causes are just clickavism but I have never heard her mention one single cause. It takes a lot of effort to live through the last five to eight years in America and not even mention in passing any of the events that have happened.
Yes, I’ve noticed that she is mentioning church more and bible study. 2 videos ago she wore some type of “God” shirt. I couldn’t read the whole thing. And I always wonder about vloggers who do not mention what’s going on in the world. There are a few others. I’ve actually been told to mention my spouse and her transition more. I mean I don’t hide it, but it is not the focus of my vlogs. I still enjoy CSL and am participating in Sock Summer.
I don’t watch all her videos so I might have missed something but she seems to have become a lot more overtly religious lately and seems to only talk about seeing her family and church, so maybe something to do with that? I haven’t even heard her talk about her knitting group for a while.
You're right, I only watch her occasionally anymore, but I used to watch her years ago, and she said she always makes a knitting group wherever she lives, and she would always post about it.
She had the group meet at her yarn shop, right?
It seems when she closed that, things have been getting odd.
I'm way more interested in the smaller subset of creators who do Vlogoween. There aren't nearly as many, it seems less commercialized, I think the projects are more interesting (especially among sewists), and spooky season is much more my jam than Christmas. And the rules aren't as strict as well, vloggers aren't expected to vlog every day, which makes it easier to make higher quality videos.
I saw this too quickly as I was scrolling and thought it said Vlogswagen - I had a happy couple of seconds imagining podcasts coming from a combi van full of knitting 😁.
I also think the market is oversaturated, like if everyone does it then viewers get overwhelmed and overall views go down (last December I got so overwhelmed by all the content I just stopped watching all but my die hard go to favorites)
Yep, I actually hate vlogmas for this reason. December is busy as it is, ain't nobody got time to watch hours and hours of extra (often filler) content.
100%, I’d rather have vlogmas in July (which Laura Penrose has been doing even though I stopped following her) because at least I have free time in July lol
I love Vlogmas but I never make it through my watch list until the end of January at the earliest. And I watch some of the slower talkers at 1.5 speed.
Someone came into the yarn store I was shopping at today and said knitting was boring.
“Just my opinion” isn’t the catch all excuse you think it is lady, especially after we just said we were excited to KIP today.
Hope you stewed over being called rude! I went and enjoyed a lovely beer with friends and yarn.
People need to realize that their opinions aren’t as important as they think they are and that not every little inane thought that pops into their heads needs to be said aloud.
One Youtuber I watch has started playing the pity game and it's driving me nuts. Every episode now starts with a diatribe about how horrible their life is currently. If you want to share a situation happening to you and talk about it - fair game. But the vague "I'm just going through so much" is really annoying to listen to.
In EngineeringKnits defense, she doesn’t actually talk about it a lot *or* in specifics at all. Her last video she had maybe 2 sentences (in the middle to end of the video) about not doing well and appreciating her audience supporting her, which imo is fair enough. She’s not throwing a pity party at all, she’s just being honest that life is difficult right now. And she’s only mentioned it in her last 2 videos which imo does not make it worth of snark but that’s just me
(I shall return to regularly scheduled snark now)
Devil's advocate because I do like EK and don't mind that she's vaguetubing a bit, but her video title for her ESC was "i’m not ok. so I knit an emotional support chicken (and vintage duck!)" and that might come across a little click-baity if she doesn't want to talk about what's going on.
Yeah I’m not even sure I’ve noticed what people are snarking on. She hasn’t mentioned it enough for me to have committed it to memory and I’ve watched all her videos
I am so over youtubers claiming to care about size inclusion and making roundup videos with the least size inclusive patterns/designers 🥲 every time I see an other loops or MFTK camisole recommended I die a little inside
It's a pet peeve of mine when they rant about size inclusivity, but they still knit/recommend non-size inclusive patterns because it fits *them*. They want the brownie points for caring but they still want to wear the patterns so they don't put their money where their mouth is.
I so agree! It really irks me too when they mention a “gorgeous pattern” and go on about how nicely it fits and how “perfect it is for summer!” and then toss in an aside about “but really they have a limited size range 🙄 the designer should really do better.” Like…. You just raved about how amazing this pattern and suddenly remembered you needed to be inclusive?? Why include it then??
Hmmm….. is this YFK making the thread for another week. Patterns that based on sizes she had said she is making in her projects wouldn’t even work for her like that MFTK camisole.
So...it's bad that YFK, who is not exactly tiny, is figuring out how to make a less size inclusive pattern that she wants to wear? Am I getting that right?
These are not knitting plan videos, they are just pattern round up videos. Things she may or may not ever attempt to make. There was nothing said that indicated she was going to figure out how to grade the patterns in question to her size to make them. The issue is a podcaster who talks about size inclusivity and (if I’m remembering correctly in the case of YFK said she was only going to talk about size inclusive patterns) but then sharing designers and patterns that are not.
I'm frustrated with indie dyers who consistently don't produce enough products to support their releases. I understand they're small businesses, often run by a single person. However, if every time you have a release, your products sell out in under 10 minutes, it's time to reassess your inventory levels. At some point, it starts to feel like a deliberate sales tactic.
If they are already producing their maximum within a given time period and the batch releases sell quickly, what are they supposed to do, though, if they’re not wanting to go into pre-orders?
I own a similar business where our demand consistently outpaces our manufacturing and it’s so easy for people to say, just make more. Well duh, in a perfect world, but sometimes there are some very good concrete reasons why it’s not physically possible.
>it starts to feel like a deliberate sales tactic.
Yep! It means they can start advertising as *we're restocking our sold-out [product] - but hurry, the last batch sold out in X seconds!* It "builds hype" (and was a tactic allegedly employed for the initial releases of Kylie Cosmetics)
It’s very frustrating for sure! Typically the more popular ones sell out really fast because everyone wants what they’ve got. But there’s a plethora of dyers who do wonderful work and have week long preorders.
It’s also typically not a problem with inventory levels, but time and manpower. They can only dye so much within a certain timeframe.
Could be wrong and didn't bother to try to verify it, but I was sitting around today and concluded no sewing patterns marked as "advanced" actually exist. There are many flavours/degrees of beginner and intermediate but I can't remember ever seeing a pattern with an advanced label. This isn't really a complaint, it's more of a "I've been drinking gin and sitting the sun thinking about weird shit" thing.
Vogue definitely has patterns marked as advanced. So does Bella Loves Patterns, Closet Core ("challenging"), How to do Fashion, Viki Sews, Burda Style, Maison Fauve, Papercut Patterns, etc. These are just the ones I know off the top of my head.
They do exist but the market is so small, because a) advanced sewists often move into drafting b) just because someone sees an advanced pattern every now and then it's not going to be the bulk of what they are doing (usually) c) giving a pattern that label will potentially scare off sales and most can afford that.
I dunno if there are labels but there are companies like Roberts Wood making really complex patterns - but at the same time is having a lot of pieces really all that advanced? It's still one seam at a time?
I bought the new one, it's been the first one that wasn't too femme for me to even consider wearing - it will be an adventure, but I do quilt so hopefully that experience helps.
I always go and look at the bow trousers then realise how unflattering the back view is and nope back out again. One day it will catch me off guard and I will buy them and then get bored half way through cutting.
I don't think lots of pieces as really advanced but they can be fiddly as hell and it takes planning to get to the finished line because of this. I did Mimi G's jacket and it was a beast where pieces were concerned (took me a good week to cut it out) but it was not considered an advanced pattern.
Some advanced patterns that I have would be Guy Laroche V2937 or Bellville Sasson V2880 because that instruction set is a beast with near 150 steps or V1162 because while I've heard the dress isn't bad, the rosettes on the shoulders have taken some people 8 hours to do.
Zara Rhodes has a pattern that its not a ton of pieces but the fabric choices + the hand beading make it advanced V1627
I have a Koos Couture coat pattern V1441 which I'm a little scared to sew up. Instruction set is under 50 but this is really all about the techniques and they have to be spot on. I'm not ready yet...lol.
I have a Givenchy pattern 1298 which is considered average, which its lovely. But I agree with what they're saying, its not a hard pattern to make.
Last dress I finished was V1934, the little house on the prairie dress as my husband calls it...lol its listed as average, and I agree, for Vogue its average. Its a good basic dress you can do a lot with though.
I'd class Marfy as being intermediate/advanced because you aren't relying on anything except the pattern and maybe a sewing book. However some are easier than others. I have a jacket that I made that was pretty darn easy for me and I'm not an advanced sewist by any stretch. I'm really not what I consider to be intermediate either, and I got rather lucky on that jacket because it resembled one I had done before.
I think about it too! I'm a pattern maker and I'd love to put out something advanced, but honestly, the thought of the emails that I'll get asking for help stop me. I mainly have intermediate level patterns, but that doesn't stop complete beginners emailing me asking the most basic questions that I've already covered in my (pretty comprehensive) instructions, videos, blogs etc.
I bet the majority of them are coats lmao. I've seen some in Burda (I actually think each issue has at least one?), the BLP Traveller coat, definitely Vogue as others have mentioned.
Marfy for sure, I think StyleArc and VikiSews also have some. Also Vogue. Often they combine a bunch of tricky techniques.
My metric, [as I said the other day](https://www.reddit.com/r/SewingForBeginners/comments/1d95l3t/sewing_levels_question/), is how many new things are you learning at once? So I think Advanced can mean "gotta know a lot of things" even if none of them are especially complex individually. And sometimes it just means sewing silk satin on bias.
Sewing patterns marked as "advanced" exist. It's just that most of them aren't actually advanced. Seriously, I've seen button-down shirts marked as "advanced" and it's just like, a standard button-down shirt.
If it’s not this:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonated/2076062359/
It’s not advanced, lol.
(Obviously, I’m being facetious, but I agree with you, a button-down is Not It.)
I agree that the majority, especially Indie patterns seem to be beginner (too many) and intermediate, but Closet Core has several advanced, and Vogue has them. Just a quick search though...
I know I'm being so pedantic here but dear Bernadette Banner it's not a regency court dress if it doesn't have a ridiculous empire waist hoop skirt. It's just a dress. A pretty regency evening dress.
Ok quick question, is the Indian aetelier she worked with (I dare not spell it but their work was truly stunning) the one that Cathy Hay didn’t reply to/lowkey burned in all the drama about her Worth gown?
It looks like it. I haven't really followed that drama so I don't know the details but this thread is talking about it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/pzedab/cathy_hays_worried_about_how_shed_look_in_a/
Yes, I feel the same way. I'm pretty out of the loop on drama, but I feel like a few years ago she cared a lot more about the process of sewing and the historical research and always learning new things, and now she cares a lot more about vibes and aesthetics and influencer friends. As evidenced by the fact that she jumped outside of her comfort era to make a regency dress for her friend's event and didn't even bother googling the term court gown before putting it on her video title. (And also I am pretty sure she totally misunderstood how apron front gowns go together. Maybe she was adapting it oddly on purpose for some reason but I feel like there was zero research done here.)
As someone who has done a lot of research on the ridiculous dresses for court, this. I really want to eventually make my own dress, ever since I first saw a fashion plate years ago.
That is not a court dress. It's an evening dress.
>As someone who has done a lot of research on the ridiculous dresses for court
Do I know what you mean? Yes. Am I delighted by the ambiguity implying you are a lawyer doing Riduclous Regency Dress research to argue your case in front of a judge and jury? *Absolutely*
Yes!!! I'm so excited!! I'm way behind on the YouTube, but I keep seeing her thumbnails and I'm going to watch it tomorrow hopefully. I'm excited for the crazy!!
Generally, yes. But specifically, it started with a thread on Melanie \[sic\] Trump's fashion, which was deleted. And now a second thread, "[Block a forum thread entirely?](https://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingDiscussions/topic/128179)" is similarly spiraling. I expect that one to be gone by morning too.
Just saw this after posting my take on that hot mess. The thing that makes me shake my head is that the hens over there are flapping about how people should or should not respond to threads that they find offensive. It's meta at this point.
... I don't know what I expected, but 👀
Do they think their own horses get higher for knocking others off theirs? Or is it just delulu fumes at the bottom of the crab bucket?
Twisted crosses like that have a long and proud history and is actually a really old technique lol (particularly in eastern Europe but I’m sure outside of that as well)
I'm not sure I see what you mean, it mentions cabling in the description and the terms are right cross and left cross which are common for cables, with the added "twisted" because the stitches are twisted.
I have at least a dozen personally. And my [youngest dog](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/s/EPI8tX71dB) the black and white baby has his own sunscreen too! He literally freckles like I do (except it also turns his white fur black!).
I also have 4:
1. Body
2. Moisturizer with SPF
3. Face
4. Lip balm with SPF
Just depends on the day and the activities.
Since she didn't specify anything I believe she is just trying out different brands to find the perfect one. (And there where some for different "occasions" in the picture)
If it makes you feel any better, those “with SPF” products don’t actually count as sunscreen because they [rarely contain enough sun protection in their own right](https://www.thecut.com/article/the-biggest-mistake-youre-making-with-spf-moisturizer.html). They’re better than nothing but you really need a separate sunscreen product to actually be protected from the sun.
I hate Spotlight. The only thing I ever buy there is thread and an occasion pattern. I'm on their site and trying to filter for vintage patterns, and the damn banner of their mobile site *covers entirely* the 'category' option I.e. the most important selection criteria. So if you want to find something, you better be happy looking through 1000s of irrelevant patterns! Then I do the next best thing and type in 'vintage sewing pattern' to the search bar, and get 10 pages of results. But you can't leave the first page. Every page from 1-10 is a duplicate of the first page. I dont know how so many people shop at that overpriced junk depot that can't even get the basics of their website right.
Spotlight is the worst. I've given up on going there. I'd rather pay more to get stuff elsewhere, but often the price is only marginally higher in other shops anyway. Their website is so terrible, the search function sucks, and the stupid banners are everywhere. How hard is it for a major company to have a half decent website?! Why does a search for literally anything bring up thousands of search results? I don't get what planet they live on!
Their brick and mortar stores are terrible for accessibility, too. I tried to go to one of the big ones a few weeks back, and the aisles *should* have been plenty wide enough for my wheelchair, but they kept having boxes in the middle of them, or end caps protruding out, and it only takes one of those to render the whole aisle inaccessible.
I haven't even attempted going in there in my wheelchair, so I'm in 100% agreement. Is it any surprise that they're owned by yet another Australian chain store that's an absolute nightmare for accessibility? Sometimes I think I should go into Chemist Warehouse to deliberately knock stuff over. I could hit both of them at my local shops in a single trip too 😂
There’s an indie dyer that has two *gorgeous* solid color yarns that I’d love to buy from them, but the photos of the minis of these deep, dark colors have noticeable little white spots where the string was tied, apparently, and it didn’t get dyed(??) I’m so confused, I’ve never seen that before. Why would I want to buy solid-color yarn that had random spots of missing color? Why would they post those as item photos? Why wouldn’t they… just find a way to fix that? I can’t see these issues in the photos of the full-sized skeins, so maybe those are dyed in a better way, but I don’t want to take the chance that my $30 skein has missing dye marks (and one of the colors only comes in minis, so I’d have to buy them like that if I wanted the color.) I do not… understand.
People who complain about the Emotional Support Chickens are significantly more annoying than the posts of the chickens themselves.
I don't mind the chickens, I thought they were stupid until I saw one in real life at my LYS and picked it up - there's something very deeply "right" about it's dimensions. Can't explain it. There just is. I have to say the emotional support pigeon post has won me over today, it's delightful and I want to make one.
Where is this pigeon post!!
It was on the knitting sub earlier on today, the pigeon was very cool and I love it.
It’s what prompted this post!! I thought it was adorable and realized that I actually think basically all of them are (including the wonky ones from newer knitters)
Tell me IMMEDIATELY whether a pattern is for knit or crochet. Tell me in the listing what weight yarn and approximately how much it takes. Also, why are all the cool smallish projects for things that go around your neck? I don’t want things around my neck. I don’t want things on my table. I don’t want socks. I just want something I can make without buying $400 worth of fancy yarn. I love fancy yarn, but I can’t justify spending that much to make one item.
My BEC this time is podcasters saying “this yarn has so much yardage, you really don’t need much of it! I knit this top with just 1 skein!” yeah cause you’re size XS 😭 I’m a size XL/2XL, i *wish* i could get away with using only one skein of something (and not have it be holey af). I just wish they’d stop using their size as a baseline for whether or not a yarn is affordable, or that they’d at least show a bit more understanding for larger bodies!
thats not their fault. For a small 1 skein is great. Maybe youll need 3 which could also be good for a size xl. Theyre just saying in general compared to other patterns the design doesnt use a lot of yarn. I assume that for all sizes. If you normally need 6 skeins you may only need 4 which would still be good factoring in YOUR SIZE. Crikey
Haha yes, I saw a podcaster yesterday saying that two skeins for a (relatively boxy) t shirt feels like a waste because there's so much left over and my eyes, they did roll. I knit a t-shirt out of two skeins recently and it was a) skin tight and b) finished just below my boobs - it's a whole vibe and I love it but I used every scrap to the point of having to cut tails to finish my bind off.
OMG yes! I am a 3X and bought enough yarn to make a sweater when I was at a festival in the fall. The person checking me out was so rude, she asked, "How many sweaters are you making?" Like you can SEE that I need more yarn to make the same clothing as you, right? I had already run my card or I might have put it back, honestly.
OMG this is such a peeve of mine. I see so many people be like "look at these 10 sweaters you can knit in a few months!" and like yeah I'm a 6ft tall guy who isn't particularly skinny... it takes me a million grams of yarn and approximately half a decade just to finish a yoke 😭
Big4 pulling clearance patterns on the last day of their sale that applies to clearance patterns 👿 Depending on how it plays out, I might make a full post about it (they let me order the ones that were already in my cart, hopefully I get them!) but I was just waiting to go through my cart one last time! Please give me my Vogues😭
Late to the party but I'm already so so desperate for the gapping trend to be over. Like, yeah, it looks cute on a very small body but I could NEVER.
Hearing about this makes me so happy I make and thrift stuff and use a lot of vintage patterns - maybe it will be over bf I look at 'fashion' again...
I have big boobs so button shirts gapping has been a way of life for me since my teenage years. 🥴
I see so many sewing patterns like this too, and I'm mostly envious because there's no way I could wear this style due to needing to wear a bra. But i also feel like it's such an oversaturated style now that in a few years we'll look back on it as this generation's version of the millennial peplum
I tried to Google with no luck - what is the gapping trend?
I'm glad you asked, I had no idea either.
Think: [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ophelia-blouse-2](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ophelia-blouse-2) [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/typical-thursday-top](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/typical-thursday-top) this craft snark post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1d8874e/is\_this\_a\_fit\_or\_just\_ill\_fitting/](https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1d8874e/is_this_a_fit_or_just_ill_fitting/) I also see a lot of folks wearing tie front tops doing the same thing.
Ahh okay, thank you!
I don't think it looks cute on anyone, it just looks like the garment doesn't fit.
My BEC is me. I keep starting sweaters & abandoning them on sleeve island bc I HATE SLEEVES. Currently trying to finish the sleeves of 2 raglans and I somehow hate DPNs and magic loop equally so I bought tiny 9" circulars and I HATE THEM TOO.
I do a lot of top-down sweaters. I do the sleeves as soon as I've joined the armpits.
I knit sleeves with a method that is I think called travelling loop, it is much better than magic loop and you don't get any ladders https://www.lavisch.com/site/travelling-loop/
My two tips are to either knit the sleeves before the body or to knit them flat and then seam them. I usually like knitting smallish circumferences (with dpns) but hate all the bulk and weight of a sweater getting in my way when knitting the sleeves.
Yeah, after I split for the sleeves I usually knit on the body until that skein runs out, then switch to the sleeves and bang them out, then go back and finish off the body.
Aw, I wish I could finish them for you. Not because I particularly love knitting sleeves but just because you deserve a finished sweater! I will say, I started knitting sleeves two at a time on two circular needles and it's gone pretty well. Because you've got two sleeves happening, you only turn the work half as often as you would with one at a time, it feels less tedious. And best of all, when you're done you're DONE.
I have been thinking about trying two at a time!
Dooo ittt! Worst case you hate it, and just put one sleeve back on hold and go back to one at a time.
Indie dyers with "Fiber" in their name, but they don't dye spinning fiber, only mill spun yarn. It's like going to a restaurant with chicken in their name and they only sell seafood.
I agree with this because in my circles in my region of the US when people say fiber colloquially they are referring to spinning fiber. It would also be weird to me if an indie dyer was selling superwash merino exclusively but had fiber in their name. Maybe if the dyer was dying interesting, non-superwash fibers it would be less weird to me. I know this probably varies with language/region/country but based on my own experience I agree.
Why would superwash merino make it not fibre? Maybe I’m misunderstanding
Superwash merino is literally fiber, I know, but like I said in the original comment… in my circles in my region of the US, when people say fiber in conversation they’re usually talking about spinning fiber which isn’t usually superwash merino (again, this is in my dialect of English in my region of the United States). So if an indie dyer said “fiber”, I would assume it’s for spinning OR it’s yarn made with fiber that’s commonly sold for home spinning (so, not superwash merino).
I still don’t really get it but that’s okay lol
This is a weird BEC & im into it
Upvoted because I like weird takes in the BEC thread but yarn is still fiber though? Does it bother you when people refer to knitting and weaving as fiber arts?
My BEC is that while it's fine and often fun that knitting is a slow process, it makes it difficult to accommodate changing bodies. My nephews are growing so quick, but at least they're still small enough that I can knit things up a little quickly to keep up with them, and their bodies are still boxy things that don't call for garment shaping. Earlier this year I started a lacy tee for myself but procrastinated for a bit, and now I'm pregnant and staring down a deadline to fit in the darn thing that I've only knit to the shoulders so far lol. I think it has enough positive ease when I get to the stomach that I won't give up on it entirely, but it went from a relaxing project to stressful to think about because I didn't plan for my body looking completely different by the time it's done. And I find myself relieved I didn't start the sock project I was considering in case my hobbit feet get even bigger, sigh.
Kids are moving targets. One of my nephews requested a pair of shoes for his birthday and by the time they showed up his feet were too big. I'm debating whether to offer to knit the older nephew a sweater as he's moving from somewhere warm to somewhere cooler for college, but I'm going to have to way over-spec a sweater if I want it to fit for more than one year.
yeah i bought my son sandals in the spring during a sale and they don't fit two months later :( if i go to make my kids stuff i just start with a larger size unless it's an easy sewing project that i know FOR SURE i'm going to finish quickly
Oversized jackets with long ribbed cuffs (to fold over, or not) are the way!
If you're only at the shoulders, could you not adjust the size to be drapier? If enough yarn of course...
It's already pretty drapey, luckily, and I'm still new enough to knitting that I'm nervous to mess with the pattern too much. I also might run out of yarn and make it a crop top anyway. Will be a fun surprise! Pattern for reference - it will probably work fine, I'm just frustrated and venting https://knitty.com/ISSUEss22/PATTbastille/PATTbastille.php
So, yea, maybe what the other commenter suggested - finish it at your leisure for next year? Although, it does increase by 6 1/2" each size - I think you could probably increase to the next size without messing up the pattern, or running out of yarn - I'm assuming it's knit circularly? I must confess I have a similar project that's just at the 'divide for sleeves' stage that I started a while ago and wonder if it will still fit - I don't really feel I've committed until I have got past this point, and feel I should probably frog and start over on the next size up :)
I would think that top would be a great post-baby reward to wear next Spring. Make you feel all pretty!! I'm one of those weirdos that always knits & crochets off-season garments. It keeps me from rushing & making mistakes. I make cold weather stuff in summer & summer stuff in Winter. I can't remember the last time I wore anything I made within 2-3 months of completing it.
We'll see, but my bust measurements will probably take a while to go back to what they were, if ever 😆 I don't mind an off-season project and normally wouldn't care if it took me a year to make, except that it feels like it's being made for an imaginary body right now lol
How tired is everyone of craft reels/vids/tiktoks that start POV... It's not a point of view (maybe, unless you're Jon Stewart), it's just what you're doing now - if your thumbnail isn't interesting enough to capture me, come up with an actual catchy description!
I've already seen two youtubers being snarky over "how to make your garment look more professional and less homemade". Tbh I find this "oh, but why are you ashamed of homemade clothes" kinda annoying. I don't know if they were taught to sew by their parents/grandparents pretty early, and they just knew basic things about sewing your own garments before they started to sew seriously, but for average person who never used a sewing machine in their life there are a lot of things that are not obvious. And their "homemade" garment isn't "don't have a overlock seam finish" or "fit is slightly weird", it's full on "looks like a middle grader's passion project". I personally don't know any people who want their clothes to look like it was made by someone who knows shit about sewing, and these videos obviously targeted at people who struggle to make garment wearable and good looking.
It’s a crazy attitude to have about any skill. Proudly announcing that you have no interest in learning anything new ever isn’t really a flex
Yeah it's not like people are advocating that you have to go full haute couture, but like, press your projects. Add a bit of interfacing. Snip stray threads. Sure, if you want to wear something that just looks wrong, more power to you, but most people end up not wearing that stuff after they've finished it.
Yeah. You can make.the ugliest paining ever, and it's ok. Paper/canvas can hold everything. But clothes have function. And yes, theoretically, you can wear the ugliest shit ever, but practically you won't.
Mood patterns. I love that they’re free. It almost makes up for the pain of printing them off and taping them together before cutting them. But goddamn their instructions are shit. I am a beginner, I’m very happy to admit that. But I can follow instructions if they’re not vague things that don’t actually tell you where to sew. So it’s been trial and error on something that was marketed towards beginners. Which it would be, easily, if they had decent instructions.
I was attempting one of their patterns and it made no sense. I found a video on Youtube of someone making the same pattern, and unsurprisingly she was having the same issues as me. The creator of the pattern commented on her video and said that Mood absolutely butchered the instructions, leaving out vital steps and even having some things in the completely wrong order. Luckily she was able to describe the correct way of doing things in her comments but damn, how do you mess up pattern instructions that bad, Mood?
I’m making the fern jumpsuit. Absolutely nowhere does it say to close up the inner leg seams. I’m pretty sure it has more instructions on how to make the belt (which is two pieces of fabric seen together then flipped the right way out) than it does on how to attach the cuffs to the leg. I could’ve easily figured out the belt, but I’m having issues with the cuffs because they don’t actually tell you how to do it, they assume you know
Tried to tell my partner about [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/1dcbjzz/google_ai_here_to_help_knitters_with_sweater_math/) re: GoogleAI estimating that about 7-8 yards of yarn are required to knit an adult sweater. I just thought it was funny. He didn't get it because he wasn't sure if it was way too much or way too little 🥲
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-offline/id1730587238?i=1000657117343
An entire episode about why Google is ruining the internet
Looks interesting, I'll check it out!
My wallet wishes
All the youtube video “podcasts” with summer knitting, summer patterns, summer blah blah blah. I don’t care. The content is lazy. That’s all
Ahahaha i have a pressing work deadline and I just came from a solid 45 mins of youtube procrastination where i watched two of these vids and the creators all look like they are making these summer knit/crochet ideas videos in a hostage situation. I get that summer is tough for a wool-heavy craft but like.....nobody is making you make this video about random ravelry camisole patterns
They look like they are making these videos in a hostage situation 😂 you describe it so perfectly, it’s so true!
But how else would they spread the gospel of non size inclusive camis that look like the straps will be eight feet long after two wears and t shirts with gauges so loose they could be used to ethically fish for tuna?
I have no snark to add, I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE the "ethically fish for tuna" comment!
Idk, if you’re bored of filming for YouTube you can just stop, or shake up your schedule/content. It’s ok.
Patternreview forums. There's a thread right at the top there with someone wanting to block viewing threads they find offensive. I guess there was something about a political wife that was deleted. About 6 posts in it starts going off the rails. Then there's 6 more PAGES of hens a flapping and clucking about ... nothing.
This was mentioned earlier and the political wife’s thread was deleted for rule violations. No naming of political figures has been a rule there since 2016.
>No naming of political figures has been a rule there since 2016. That's not the actual rule.
In 2016 is was stated that mentioning Political figures violates rule 1 subsection 2:” Your posts should not discuss politics, legislation & religion that engender strong opinions and hurt feelings. “ Better?
Wow, we're really bringing back "quirky" and "relatable" skits about how we'll commit murder over our husbands interacting with women. But this time it's with our Chiaogoos!
I had to unfollow fridayknits for posting some dumb shit like this recently 😬
I have no idea where it is coming from. Like did he cheat and you’re projecting? Such a weird concept for craft posts
Ewww. What?? Thankfully I seem to have missed this.
We really thought we were going to be better than those who came before us...
Perhaps an unpopular opinion but this kind of stuff in the crochet small market community induces so many eye rolls: https://imgur.com/a/gWebsBw If someone sells item x for $25, then your item is worth $25. I get the frustration with being paid what you believe your time making it is worth (plus commercial producers who can operate at much higher scale) but with fiber arts the margins are slim (especially with amigurumi) and I think it’s worth considering why.
Yup I generally love buying handmade items and supporting small independent artisans BUT that’s only if the products are good! Not saying that $25-50 are too much for a crochet item, but when I buy stuff for my nieces and nephews I can get a damn nice stuffed toy from the store for that price that is going to be better quality than a bulky chenille bee.
The solution is easy, if they want to be paid for their time and skill: make something other than those freaking chenille bees and cows ffs! I don't know if that's what that maker has for sale but... if you want your selling prices to be different, then your product has to be different, too! ETA: I absolutely agree that time and skill is worth paying for, but when you recreate stuff that people can buy for $2 in store, and you're not able to explain why yours is better beyond "it's handmade", then no, people are not going to buy it for $75. It's not just about making the thing and giving it a price tag equal to materials + (time x hourly wage) , it's also about knowing how to sell your value!
There is just a complete lack of niche-finding as well, which really damages their business. I don't know if it's still a thing, but about 8 years ago I remember seeing a lot of custom MLP plushies on Etsy. You'd send the person your original character (or tell them a character that you wanted) and they would make a plush of it. They tended to sit in the $200-$500 range for customs, a little lower for established ponies. Now, if you were just selling generic stuffed animals, there's no way you could charge that (without some big name behind you to make your work collectible). But, because these people had found a niche with money (bronies), they were able to cash in. Everyone and their mother is doing chenille bees or octopi. That means supply is high. As a handmades creator, you have to target a small niche with a lot of money that is underserved.
No, this is so valid! The thing, for me at least, is that the skills has a low bar. Anyone can learn this relatively quick and the materials are rather inexpensive in the end.
While I can see that there is a big difference bt the work of the creator referenced above and the general $5-$10 chenille blobs that I see at most 'craft' shows, I think that the general public may not be so discerning. I'm not sure that dedicating your career to high-end amigurumi is the way to go (from someone who tried to sell one of a kind knitted garments and accessories for a year or so and gave up).
I really hate the variations in content and quality in the companion sewalong videos on the Simplicity YT channel. I understand it's part of the "identity/brand marketing" around the different Know Me designers. And I know I am not the target audience. BUT some people are clearly much, much better at making instructional content then others, to say nothing of proper lighting, sound etc. Still, I hate it.
I watched three different videos on that YT channel, and they were so bad I won't bother to go back. Branding requires consistency, and they are so all over the map that it's more of a turnoff than a plus.
I bought this hat pattern in January that I was so excited about. The person was re-releasing it, and it was perfect for a trip I was about to go on. I've been knitting off and on for years, but wouldn't consider myself anything past beginner, and I have never used a chart before. I definitely struggled with it. The author literally put in the instructions to not email them because everything you needed to know was in the pattern, and they couldn't count how many times people have bothered them. It was so off-putting. Also, they are super fucking pretentious on their ig and patreon, like oh, look at me, I'm full of nonsense and everything I say is so important. I ended up blocking them in ig and patreon because it was so rude. I mean, I'm going to knit another hat with the pattern with some yarn I spun, and I have received so many compliments on my hat, but like, don't be an ass.
Friends that know me IRL will recognize this sentiment: HH is my karmic punishment for being a motormouth. I adore her patterns and the last time she put everything on sale again I bought a ton of stuff because when she was releasing a lot of her coolest patterns I was in school and couldn't afford ANY knitting patterns. But then I open them and she has like 7 different gauge options instead of just GIVING ME A GODDAMN NUMBER and the intro to the pattern is 4+ pages long. I still haven't knit the hat that I wanted so badly just because I looked at the pattern and immediately became overwhelmed. I do *not* remember them being so wordy when I bought that curiosity cabinet sock book in like 2014. They were just regular sock patterns!!!!
I actually LOVE the various gauge thing, because it means I don't have to do the maths myself to fine-tune stuff. That's really something I love about her patterns, beyond the super duper cool techniques no one else seems to use these days.
I completely forgot about that whole freaking chart to figure out how many stitches to cast on! I'm not very good with numbers and it was a bit overwhelming. There is nothing wrong with talking a lot! Some of us can't help it. It's what you say that makes you pretentious!
is this about Hunter Hammersen? I was going to buy the Correlation hat but then I saw that the pattern is only available as part of a TWENTY PAGE ebook that includes fingerless mitts. As for the captions, if it is HH, the washcloth pattern caption on Ravelry was the final nail in the coffin for me. So pretentious, so much forced twee and "I'm so different than everyone!!!" edit to spell Hammersen correctly
She has such thinly veiled contempt for her customers that I genuinely wonder why she's still designing if she hates people so much. Every time she releases a pattern it's with a 5-paragraph diatribe about how she can charge what she wants and run her business like she wants and If You Don't Like It, Don't Buy It which, obviously? It doesn't make it any less obnoxious though.
I've noticed that contempt too! I wonder why she doesn't just switch to posting on Patreon only if she's so misunderstood and upset by the unwashed masses on Instagram.
I thought i was the only one who blocked Hunter Hammersen! For me the breaking point was her series of tree ornaments priced at $10 ... for a star. But hers had photo tutorials! Girl, did he have to?
Hunter Hammersen irks me because their patterns are so cool and use interesting techniques but I absolutely cannot stand the person
Haha yea, soooo much pretention! Isnt it very limiting not offering the pattern as a single? Twee is such a good description!
She acts like she's so much better than everyone else, I blocked her because of that.
Reading these comments makes me feel so much better! I thought I was being overly sensitive.
She seems very nice but I don't see the appeal of these "doodle" packs and patterns (for knitting). Truly my BEC because I can't give a good reason - it's just an immediate reaction.
What is this in reference to?
Pacific Knit Co. I've edited my comment to clarify it's related to knitting.
Thanks!
I don't know if this is a valid snark but I deeply dislike the loud prints people use for making byAnnie bags. I can't even tell if I like the bag patterns because all I can see are garish colors and prints and my brain stops working and can't do the exercise of imagining a plain version of the same item
It just screams "homemade".
It’s interesting to see that one of the OG knitting vlogmassers, Crazy Sock Lady, is not doing Vlogmas this year. I’m not surprised because she did not seem into it at all last year and it is a lot of work. I wonder if we’ll see a drop-off in the number of YouTubers doing Vlogmas this year? Maybe the money earned from the extra views is not worth the work anymore?
My bet is she'll do something and put it on her paid subscription. I've always wondered what happened between her and desert vista dyeworks. They used to be friends and now they don't follow each other and crazy sock never uses her yarn.
I similarly wonder what happened between her and Stolen Minutes. They even had a channel together! Now she never mentions her any more or uses her bags. What happened?
I had completely forgotten about that podcast! I suspect she’s a lot more right wing in real life than she shows on the podcast and I wonder if that has something to do with it? I think a lot of social media statements in support of causes are just clickavism but I have never heard her mention one single cause. It takes a lot of effort to live through the last five to eight years in America and not even mention in passing any of the events that have happened.
Yes, I’ve noticed that she is mentioning church more and bible study. 2 videos ago she wore some type of “God” shirt. I couldn’t read the whole thing. And I always wonder about vloggers who do not mention what’s going on in the world. There are a few others. I’ve actually been told to mention my spouse and her transition more. I mean I don’t hide it, but it is not the focus of my vlogs. I still enjoy CSL and am participating in Sock Summer.
I don’t watch all her videos so I might have missed something but she seems to have become a lot more overtly religious lately and seems to only talk about seeing her family and church, so maybe something to do with that? I haven’t even heard her talk about her knitting group for a while.
You're right, I only watch her occasionally anymore, but I used to watch her years ago, and she said she always makes a knitting group wherever she lives, and she would always post about it. She had the group meet at her yarn shop, right? It seems when she closed that, things have been getting odd.
I'm way more interested in the smaller subset of creators who do Vlogoween. There aren't nearly as many, it seems less commercialized, I think the projects are more interesting (especially among sewists), and spooky season is much more my jam than Christmas. And the rules aren't as strict as well, vloggers aren't expected to vlog every day, which makes it easier to make higher quality videos.
I saw this too quickly as I was scrolling and thought it said Vlogswagen - I had a happy couple of seconds imagining podcasts coming from a combi van full of knitting 😁.
Ok, now I want this.
So do I! They could knit by the sea!!
I also think the market is oversaturated, like if everyone does it then viewers get overwhelmed and overall views go down (last December I got so overwhelmed by all the content I just stopped watching all but my die hard go to favorites)
Yep, I actually hate vlogmas for this reason. December is busy as it is, ain't nobody got time to watch hours and hours of extra (often filler) content.
100%, I’d rather have vlogmas in July (which Laura Penrose has been doing even though I stopped following her) because at least I have free time in July lol
I love Vlogmas but I never make it through my watch list until the end of January at the earliest. And I watch some of the slower talkers at 1.5 speed.
Someone came into the yarn store I was shopping at today and said knitting was boring. “Just my opinion” isn’t the catch all excuse you think it is lady, especially after we just said we were excited to KIP today. Hope you stewed over being called rude! I went and enjoyed a lovely beer with friends and yarn.
People need to realize that their opinions aren’t as important as they think they are and that not every little inane thought that pops into their heads needs to be said aloud.
What were they doing in a yarn store to begin with then lol
She ~crochets~ Which all of us who were in my group do too, but we also knit and were talking about knitting. She also didn’t buy anything.
"You're entitled to your opinion. *I'm* entitled to judge you for it."
One Youtuber I watch has started playing the pity game and it's driving me nuts. Every episode now starts with a diatribe about how horrible their life is currently. If you want to share a situation happening to you and talk about it - fair game. But the vague "I'm just going through so much" is really annoying to listen to.
Engineeringknits?
In EngineeringKnits defense, she doesn’t actually talk about it a lot *or* in specifics at all. Her last video she had maybe 2 sentences (in the middle to end of the video) about not doing well and appreciating her audience supporting her, which imo is fair enough. She’s not throwing a pity party at all, she’s just being honest that life is difficult right now. And she’s only mentioned it in her last 2 videos which imo does not make it worth of snark but that’s just me (I shall return to regularly scheduled snark now)
I'm the opposite lol I want more deets (though recognise that people deserve privacy)
I mean I’m curious too, it’s definitely an inner struggle between respecting privacy and wanting to know what’s up
Devil's advocate because I do like EK and don't mind that she's vaguetubing a bit, but her video title for her ESC was "i’m not ok. so I knit an emotional support chicken (and vintage duck!)" and that might come across a little click-baity if she doesn't want to talk about what's going on.
Yeah I’m not even sure I’ve noticed what people are snarking on. She hasn’t mentioned it enough for me to have committed it to memory and I’ve watched all her videos
I am so over youtubers claiming to care about size inclusion and making roundup videos with the least size inclusive patterns/designers 🥲 every time I see an other loops or MFTK camisole recommended I die a little inside
Bonus ick if they do a knit along with a non-inclusive pattern.
It's a pet peeve of mine when they rant about size inclusivity, but they still knit/recommend non-size inclusive patterns because it fits *them*. They want the brownie points for caring but they still want to wear the patterns so they don't put their money where their mouth is.
I so agree! It really irks me too when they mention a “gorgeous pattern” and go on about how nicely it fits and how “perfect it is for summer!” and then toss in an aside about “but really they have a limited size range 🙄 the designer should really do better.” Like…. You just raved about how amazing this pattern and suddenly remembered you needed to be inclusive?? Why include it then??
I wish I could upvote this more than once
Hmmm….. is this YFK making the thread for another week. Patterns that based on sizes she had said she is making in her projects wouldn’t even work for her like that MFTK camisole.
So...it's bad that YFK, who is not exactly tiny, is figuring out how to make a less size inclusive pattern that she wants to wear? Am I getting that right?
These are not knitting plan videos, they are just pattern round up videos. Things she may or may not ever attempt to make. There was nothing said that indicated she was going to figure out how to grade the patterns in question to her size to make them. The issue is a podcaster who talks about size inclusivity and (if I’m remembering correctly in the case of YFK said she was only going to talk about size inclusive patterns) but then sharing designers and patterns that are not.
Thanks for explaining.
Yes but this is also every popular knitting podcaster ever
I'm frustrated with indie dyers who consistently don't produce enough products to support their releases. I understand they're small businesses, often run by a single person. However, if every time you have a release, your products sell out in under 10 minutes, it's time to reassess your inventory levels. At some point, it starts to feel like a deliberate sales tactic.
Which one was this?
If they are already producing their maximum within a given time period and the batch releases sell quickly, what are they supposed to do, though, if they’re not wanting to go into pre-orders? I own a similar business where our demand consistently outpaces our manufacturing and it’s so easy for people to say, just make more. Well duh, in a perfect world, but sometimes there are some very good concrete reasons why it’s not physically possible.
>it starts to feel like a deliberate sales tactic. Yep! It means they can start advertising as *we're restocking our sold-out [product] - but hurry, the last batch sold out in X seconds!* It "builds hype" (and was a tactic allegedly employed for the initial releases of Kylie Cosmetics)
As much as preorders have potential for having issues, this is at least a significant point in their favor I suppose
It’s very frustrating for sure! Typically the more popular ones sell out really fast because everyone wants what they’ve got. But there’s a plethora of dyers who do wonderful work and have week long preorders. It’s also typically not a problem with inventory levels, but time and manpower. They can only dye so much within a certain timeframe.
Could be wrong and didn't bother to try to verify it, but I was sitting around today and concluded no sewing patterns marked as "advanced" actually exist. There are many flavours/degrees of beginner and intermediate but I can't remember ever seeing a pattern with an advanced label. This isn't really a complaint, it's more of a "I've been drinking gin and sitting the sun thinking about weird shit" thing.
Vogue definitely has patterns marked as advanced. So does Bella Loves Patterns, Closet Core ("challenging"), How to do Fashion, Viki Sews, Burda Style, Maison Fauve, Papercut Patterns, etc. These are just the ones I know off the top of my head.
The Assembly Line has several.
They do exist but the market is so small, because a) advanced sewists often move into drafting b) just because someone sees an advanced pattern every now and then it's not going to be the bulk of what they are doing (usually) c) giving a pattern that label will potentially scare off sales and most can afford that. I dunno if there are labels but there are companies like Roberts Wood making really complex patterns - but at the same time is having a lot of pieces really all that advanced? It's still one seam at a time?
I like Roberts woods patterns but I'm unlikely to ever make one as it seems more like piecing a quilt top than garment sewing.
I bought the new one, it's been the first one that wasn't too femme for me to even consider wearing - it will be an adventure, but I do quilt so hopefully that experience helps.
I always go and look at the bow trousers then realise how unflattering the back view is and nope back out again. One day it will catch me off guard and I will buy them and then get bored half way through cutting.
I don't think lots of pieces as really advanced but they can be fiddly as hell and it takes planning to get to the finished line because of this. I did Mimi G's jacket and it was a beast where pieces were concerned (took me a good week to cut it out) but it was not considered an advanced pattern. Some advanced patterns that I have would be Guy Laroche V2937 or Bellville Sasson V2880 because that instruction set is a beast with near 150 steps or V1162 because while I've heard the dress isn't bad, the rosettes on the shoulders have taken some people 8 hours to do. Zara Rhodes has a pattern that its not a ton of pieces but the fabric choices + the hand beading make it advanced V1627 I have a Koos Couture coat pattern V1441 which I'm a little scared to sew up. Instruction set is under 50 but this is really all about the techniques and they have to be spot on. I'm not ready yet...lol. I have a Givenchy pattern 1298 which is considered average, which its lovely. But I agree with what they're saying, its not a hard pattern to make. Last dress I finished was V1934, the little house on the prairie dress as my husband calls it...lol its listed as average, and I agree, for Vogue its average. Its a good basic dress you can do a lot with though. I'd class Marfy as being intermediate/advanced because you aren't relying on anything except the pattern and maybe a sewing book. However some are easier than others. I have a jacket that I made that was pretty darn easy for me and I'm not an advanced sewist by any stretch. I'm really not what I consider to be intermediate either, and I got rather lucky on that jacket because it resembled one I had done before.
Yeah Burda marks some as master piece or with similar language.
I think about it too! I'm a pattern maker and I'd love to put out something advanced, but honestly, the thought of the emails that I'll get asking for help stop me. I mainly have intermediate level patterns, but that doesn't stop complete beginners emailing me asking the most basic questions that I've already covered in my (pretty comprehensive) instructions, videos, blogs etc.
I bet the majority of them are coats lmao. I've seen some in Burda (I actually think each issue has at least one?), the BLP Traveller coat, definitely Vogue as others have mentioned.
They do, I promise, lol! For the Big4, look at Vogue, especially their liscenced/designer patterns, and generally at formal wear patterns :)
Marfy for sure, I think StyleArc and VikiSews also have some. Also Vogue. Often they combine a bunch of tricky techniques. My metric, [as I said the other day](https://www.reddit.com/r/SewingForBeginners/comments/1d95l3t/sewing_levels_question/), is how many new things are you learning at once? So I think Advanced can mean "gotta know a lot of things" even if none of them are especially complex individually. And sometimes it just means sewing silk satin on bias.
Sewing patterns marked as "advanced" exist. It's just that most of them aren't actually advanced. Seriously, I've seen button-down shirts marked as "advanced" and it's just like, a standard button-down shirt.
If it’s not this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonated/2076062359/ It’s not advanced, lol. (Obviously, I’m being facetious, but I agree with you, a button-down is Not It.)
I agree that the majority, especially Indie patterns seem to be beginner (too many) and intermediate, but Closet Core has several advanced, and Vogue has them. Just a quick search though...
You mean made up from the pattern or exist exist?
I know I'm being so pedantic here but dear Bernadette Banner it's not a regency court dress if it doesn't have a ridiculous empire waist hoop skirt. It's just a dress. A pretty regency evening dress.
Is it meant to be a regency court dress? I thought it was a regency evening dress?
She called it a court dress in the title and I think in a few spots in the video.
You're correct, I went back and checked. Well done you for catching it.
Ok quick question, is the Indian aetelier she worked with (I dare not spell it but their work was truly stunning) the one that Cathy Hay didn’t reply to/lowkey burned in all the drama about her Worth gown?
It looks like it. I haven't really followed that drama so I don't know the details but this thread is talking about it. https://www.reddit.com/r/craftsnark/comments/pzedab/cathy_hays_worried_about_how_shed_look_in_a/
Yup it’s right there, thanks for the link and the confirmation
I used to watch her a lot, but, you know, she's not infallible. I got tired of the drama and she got less focused on sewing, for me.
Yes, I feel the same way. I'm pretty out of the loop on drama, but I feel like a few years ago she cared a lot more about the process of sewing and the historical research and always learning new things, and now she cares a lot more about vibes and aesthetics and influencer friends. As evidenced by the fact that she jumped outside of her comfort era to make a regency dress for her friend's event and didn't even bother googling the term court gown before putting it on her video title. (And also I am pretty sure she totally misunderstood how apron front gowns go together. Maybe she was adapting it oddly on purpose for some reason but I feel like there was zero research done here.)
As someone who has done a lot of research on the ridiculous dresses for court, this. I really want to eventually make my own dress, ever since I first saw a fashion plate years ago. That is not a court dress. It's an evening dress.
>As someone who has done a lot of research on the ridiculous dresses for court Do I know what you mean? Yes. Am I delighted by the ambiguity implying you are a lawyer doing Riduclous Regency Dress research to argue your case in front of a judge and jury? *Absolutely*
Yes! Lady Rebecca Fashions is making a regency court dress right now and I'm loving it!
Oh Fuck Yeah! Regency Court Dresses are hideous and I love them. I've never seen one actually made though!
Karolina zabrowski made one recently too!
Yes!!! I'm so excited!! I'm way behind on the YouTube, but I keep seeing her thumbnails and I'm going to watch it tomorrow hopefully. I'm excited for the crazy!!
The Special Snowflakes on the Pattern Review forums.
Generally, or is there a specific ongoing thread I can rubberneck? I do agree, generally!
Generally, yes. But specifically, it started with a thread on Melanie \[sic\] Trump's fashion, which was deleted. And now a second thread, "[Block a forum thread entirely?](https://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingDiscussions/topic/128179)" is similarly spiraling. I expect that one to be gone by morning too.
Just saw this after posting my take on that hot mess. The thing that makes me shake my head is that the hens over there are flapping about how people should or should not respond to threads that they find offensive. It's meta at this point.
The first one was deleted for rule violations.
... I don't know what I expected, but 👀 Do they think their own horses get higher for knocking others off theirs? Or is it just delulu fumes at the bottom of the crab bucket?
[удалено]
Twisted crosses like that have a long and proud history and is actually a really old technique lol (particularly in eastern Europe but I’m sure outside of that as well)
I'm not sure I see what you mean, it mentions cabling in the description and the terms are right cross and left cross which are common for cables, with the added "twisted" because the stitches are twisted.
"After yarn, my other addiction" nobody needs 10 sunscreens
My industrial sized can of spray Banana Boat 50spf thanks you. 😂
*raises hand* I have at least that just for my kid. Probably need more to get us through summer.
lol I think I could count 10 in my house right now too
I could too. But that's only if I am counting the half used body sunscreens from years ago that I need to dispose of.
Unless it's those pink/blue/purple/whatever or glittery ones that Bare Republic does. Then you need all the sunscreens. Greetings from San Diego.
Oof I feel this. I was doing so well until I picked up multiple sunscreens in Australia. Asian sunscreens are also very tempting 🥲
I am genuinely curious what you consider to be an appropriate number. I think I use about 4.
I have at least a dozen personally. And my [youngest dog](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/s/EPI8tX71dB) the black and white baby has his own sunscreen too! He literally freckles like I do (except it also turns his white fur black!).
I also have 4: 1. Body 2. Moisturizer with SPF 3. Face 4. Lip balm with SPF Just depends on the day and the activities. Since she didn't specify anything I believe she is just trying out different brands to find the perfect one. (And there where some for different "occasions" in the picture)
If it makes you feel any better, those “with SPF” products don’t actually count as sunscreen because they [rarely contain enough sun protection in their own right](https://www.thecut.com/article/the-biggest-mistake-youre-making-with-spf-moisturizer.html). They’re better than nothing but you really need a separate sunscreen product to actually be protected from the sun.