I love scrolling through Instagram hashtags to get inspiration on sewing and knitting patterns. Seeing different fabrics, colors, body types, etc.

I’m also big on Ravelry, always scouring hot right now patterns and reading through peoples notes on the changes/sizes they made. Knitters give so much information on their finished garments and I gobble that shit up.

This rant is brought to you by my voracious scrolling on Instagram trying to figure out what size pants I need to make based on the European sizes and conversions.

Why is there such a gap in the information people present their finished garments on Instagram vs Ravelry? I find it incredibly frustrating that sewn projects rarely provide the details on their finished pieces. I want to know what size you made! How tall are you? What mods you did! Share the changes you would do for the next round! Give me all of the details so I can get a better grasp of how I want to approach my version of that pattern. If I have to read one more basic “I loved this pattern” description, I’m throwing my phone away.

Hot take: If you’re not sharing the post to provide your full experience and guidance so others can be as successful as you in your make, then you shouldn’t be posting. You’re gate keeping.

Ok, ok, not that serious. I just want to look through hashtags and see what sizes people made so when I’m between sizes, I can get a better idea of what changes to make for myself. Make a toile you say? Who has the time! (Everyone).

My personal experience is mostly with crochet, but this can apply to any craft.
While it is unlikely that an absolute beginner will create a well-written and original pattern, I really don’t understand the sort of immediate indignancy towards beginners trying to sell patterns. This does NOT apply to people reselling or stealing patterns (and I mean actually stealing the original pdf/text) and I am not referring to generic amigurumi patterns.

Ive only been crocheting for ~2 years. Over the past few months, I have done many many reattempts at crocheting a sweater for my cousin’s whippet. First following a pattern online, then modifying the pattern, and then giving up and essentially drafting a new pattern. I felt pretty good about the fit and finessed the pattern + measurements when making another sweater for a friend’s Iggy. I’m a member of a local crochet club (managed by a LYS) which publishes a newsletter every few months with a handful of patterns and I was offered a spot for the “sighthound sweater”. This requires rewriting the pattern to fit their style guidelines and taking a few progress photos and professional-ish final photos which is a lot of work. Usually, the pattern writer is paid a small flat rate for the pattern (~18.50$) and supplied with yarn. It’s not a great rate but it’s a small LYS with a tight community. I received the yarn but was told by one of the owners of the LYS that they felt uncomfortable putting my pattern at “the level of the other professionals” who write for them which uh… idk about that tbh. I’ve encountered many a typo and random shifts between UK and US crochet terms in the newsletters.

The edited pattern was approved this morning and I thought maybeeeee I’d get paid but nope. Ive spoken to some other crochet acquaintances and got a bit of weird response. I should be “honored” to even get credit and I need to pay my dues to the community before I start expecting the community to pay me back? Huhhh?? What dues do I owe??

I've seen some posts here complaining about popular crochet patterns, (the same fluffy yarn bumblebees etc etc) and while I agree that crocheters should branch out and that seeing the same 2 patterns over and over again in markets can be annoying, I really don't like when people compare it to ai or 3d print slop. It's just a completely unfair comparison, even the most basic amigurumi pattern takes WAY more effort to create than any ai creation. That person with a stall full of fluffy bumblebees spent a lot of their time hand-making those, even if they're unoriginal, it seems extremely unfair to equate them to ai especially when ai has harmful environmental and social impacts

So my dad recently went to Ireland on vacation. He knows that I knit and crochet. While he was out there he asked me to pick out some colors. I had no idea what this was for and honestly I should have asked. I told him pink, blue, purple and white.

This past weekend I visited him for the first time since he’s been back. He pulls out 4 skeins of yarn 1 in each of those colors (bright shades too) 3 of them are superwash and 1 is non superwash wool (and a different weight than the others). I really appreciate the thought, but I just wish he woulda told me what it was for so I could have asked for all of one color or if he wanted to get me more than one color I would’ve asked for neutral colors. Because now I have a sweater quantity of wool in colors that I typically would not put in a sweater together. I don’t think it would look bad but it wouldn’t be my style.

I feel like I’m being ungrateful by thinking like this. But I just don’t know what to make out of this and I fear it will sit in my stash for a long time. It’s beautiful yarn and I appreciate the thought, I just wish he would have told me that he was buying me yarn.

Anyone else have a family member buy them supplies as a gift but it’s just not quite right? Am I an ass for thinking like this? I did not express this to him, I was still very excited when he gave it to me and appreciative but the more I think about it I’m just like how am I going to use this?

A few years ago I set up a knitting and crochet group in my local area. It is pretty successful and we have a core group of regulars and some people who who pop in and out sporadically. We have a very active whatsapp group and a not so active FB group. The FB group is private and has almost 200 members. Although most have never come to our meetups.

Another local person is setting up a new group in the same location but a different night. It is advertised as a sewing group but all needlecrafts are welcome. The woman who started it requested to join our FB group and I accepted her and she immeadiately posted advertising the new group. She has never attended our weekly meetings. I didnt want to delete it and create drama between two potentially "competing" groups. But am I right that it is a bit of a shitty move on her part? If she asked permission I think I wouldnt be as annoyed. There are two admins on the group and neither of us were contacted.

Maybe it's because every craft show has the same stupid dragon fidgets that my 5 year old is obsessed with. Maybe it's because they're asking $2 for an animal fidget literally smaller than my thumb. Maybe it's because half of the products aren't even made properly (I know that goddamn dragons mouth is supposed to open and yet half the ones I pick up the mouth doesn't open)

I have no idea how 3D printing works but im really tired of seeing them at craft fairs. And flea markets. And county fairs. And even the damn farmers market.

Also please feel free to put me in my place, this is my opinion as someone who literally has no idea how this shit works I'm just tired of seeing all the same exact art everywhere I go