r/craftsnark

As a follow-up to a previous post, I wanted to share a link to a PDF on the health benefits of knitting (and by extension, crocheting).

This supports the contention that there are health benefits to knitting, crocheting, needlework - any activity that has a meditative quality.

It does not - and is never suggested to - replace necessary psychotherapy or other mental health interventions, however; self-care is SO VERY IMPORTANT when we are dealing with ANY health issue, but especially a mental health issue.

I’m not sure I understand all the hue & cry that people are referring to knitting (et al) as therapy.

It’s well documented that these practices are THERAPEUTIC, so maybe the beef folks have is less about the characterization of knitting/crocheting as therapeutic and more with the semantics and word usage 🤷‍♀️

I just hate to see it dismissed as not helpful when the research says that it very much is. đź?Š

I am doing Marinated Yarns "Sheldon's Summer of Socks" and I need to snark a little. Overall it's fun and cute, good wool quality and patterns are easy to follow - but if I buy a box for 3 socks I expect there to be 3 patterns. The second sock in the series has no pattern (I know how to make socks, so I'll survive) and the third sock's QR code goes to the wrong pattern.

What has been your experience with knit alongs? Not sure why I went for it when I have such a long queue of projects already.

EDIT- it’s Misha and Puff you guys let’s get past the semantics and get to the snark lol

I am a mother, I am a knitter. I think a certain trendy knitwear company’s products are adorable but I can’t shell out $250 for a toddlers sweater (in superwash!) that I can actually just knit myself.

I’ve noticed look alike patterns in my queue and favorites slowly being taken down from ravelry. I’ve asked some pattern makers what the deal is and apparently MP is asking (demanding?) designers to cease selling the similar patterns. I always had a gross feeling about the company (marketing their superwash yarn as as en eco/ethical product but we all know how nasty superwash yarn is to manufacture, releasing incomplete patterns then not answering questions, etc) and now I feel validated. They did not invent the knitting motifs they use, they have been around for ages. And they aren’t releasing all the patterns of their own products, either. The yuppy mom that can afford their stuff will still buy their products, the barely scraping by mom like me still won’t. It can’t be affecting their bottom line that much, and I’m sure a larger company (that could actually impact their sales) who has a legal team can still reverse engineer similar products to sell.

I know that as a clothing design company they are not required to provide a diy outlet for their products for the people who can’t afford them, but it really rubs me the wrong way. Yuck!

Kemper Wray is handing out some hard truths: knitting isn't therapy, it shouldn't be put on t-shirts, and it isn't funny. She says 1. it can't replace mental healthcare, 2. that it's an industry so it can't provide mental healthcare, 3. that it makes it sound like people with mental health issues shouldn't seek out professional care and are weak if they do, 4. it diminishes the seriousness of mental illness. Links and .

I'll say my petty thought first: people put all kinds of dumb shit about knitting/crochet on t-shirts and "knitting is therapy" isn't even close to the most nauseating. I'd rather see that than some wine mom nonsense or "I'm a hooker."

More seriously, the whole thread makes me irrationally angry. The context of this post is that Kemper herself had/has mental health issues and knitting helped her, but then her ADHD hyperfixation kicked in (relatable) and she turned her hobby into a business, which meant it no longer served as a coping mechanism. That seems like an entirely different issue to me. A lot of people turned their hobbies into jobs and then no longer enjoy them (again, relatable).

Calling knitting "therapy" isn't a literal assertion. It's clearly a shorthand for the psychological benefits of knitting in particular and crafting in general, so the whole thing feels like she is erecting straw men. In the comments, Lavanya Patricella compares "knitting is therapy" to the term "physical therapy," which I think is an apt analogy. I would add that there is literally a subfield of psychology called "art therapy" that's used to treat everything from PTSD to climate change anxiety.

Lavanya also talks about knitting as a repetitive activity that therapists have encouraged her to do, because they think it has psychological benefits. I have had the same experience with my therapists. Another poster says she's a therapist and runs a support group for abused women that turned into a crocheting-and-support group. If you google "knitting and therapy" a million sites pop up, many of which are by therapists and psychologists or scientific studies.

Kemper responds "I see your point about the attachment to the term, but it still doesn’t mean that knitting is a viable replacement for the long-term work done in therapy." Um, okay, did anyone say that it is? It's certainly a coping mechanism and a mindful practice, but did anyone truly say that it is a replacement for getting professional help? Another commenter says that the phrase "knitting is therapy" shows how people don't understand what therapy actually is. Sure, that's not patronizing.

tl;dr: pedanticism as a way to lowkey shame vulnerable people with serious mental health issues while claiming to support vulnerable people with serious mental health issues

ETA: Not to go all 9th-grade research paper on you all, but defines "therapy" as " medical treatment of impairment, injury, disease, or disorder" as well as "psychotherapy."

Welcome to the bitesized BEC thread!

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

I'm all for creative styling but it becomes a problem when the styling distracts from the knitwear design. All I can think about when looking at Laine's new photos for their Knitted Kalevala II is SEE-THROUGH BOTTOMS... and they don't even go that well with the knits imo? Is this see-through thing inspired by something in the Kalevala, or is it just the stylist being gimmicky? And what's the deal with the ribbons dangling from the deer cardigan? Are they part of the cardigan or the trousers? One of the designs from the first volume was also styled with a lacey skirt but I'm totally okay with that because my eyes weren't immediately drawn to the skirt. I just don't understand what's going on with the styling decisions here.

Also, while we're at it, can we talk about the frumpy finish on a few of the sample pieces in the book? That shapeless collar on the brown leaf cardigan and the crinkly button band on the green deer cardigan... I honestly expect more from Laine. As a Laine fan, it pains me to snark on them but the snark is strong.

I saw this on insta today, and I have some thoughts.

Is it just me, or does it seem like Andrea Mowry patterns are almost exclusively collaborations with Spin Cycle and the Farmers Daughter yarn recently? I swear 2 or 3 years ago they were all doing collaborations with tons of other designers and yarn dyers too, but not anymore. And they seem to pick yarns that are harder to find affordable substitutions for.

Plenty of people obviously love DRK patterns, but her designs are getting less and less appealing to me. So many of them are an unflattering box with no real shaping. It makes it feel like quantity is being prioritized over quality, which seems odd for businesses that advertise as slow fashion.

Also can't wait for the matching Rhinebeck hat/cowl/cardigan/socks/tank in the same exact expensive yarn because they all just couldn't resist! /s

Sorry, rant over and I know this will be an unpopular opinion. But I feel like these brands are just overhyped at this point and I need to know if I'm the only one who thinks this?

Edited to add: I've also had horrible gauge issues on the DRK patterns I've attempted (never finished one) and the arms never fit right. I've heard similar stories from others. Another reason I feel like quantity is being prioritized over quality.

Edited one more time to add more info: What bothers me the most is these businesses preach slow fashion and then release new patterns and dye new yarn left and right. That's the opposite of slow fashion. I get they are businesses, but either don't be deceptive or actually practice what you preach. Brings me back to quantity clearly being prioritized over quality.

It’s been a weird crazy frenzy to get anything semi-cute or nice related to spinning lately. Idk if this is Andrea Mowry’s influence or what, but I’ve been spinning since 2017/2018 when it was a niche hobby. I tried to get a spot in a fiber club this morning and it sold out in under a minute which is so incredibly insane. Like I’ve managed to navigate drops for collectibles that sell out in under 5 minutes and crazy popular concert tickets and I cannot manage to buy batts of spinning fibre. I’ve started just buying the raw materials cause genuinely wtf. I want to support indie makers and dyers and I want to give them my money!! But it is so so so frustrating to miss out on stuff over and over again.

Don’t even get me started on trying to get a spindle that’s both decent quality and somewhat pretty. I refuse to even go down that road at this point. Andrea Mowry please get a new hobby so I cancan buy spinning fiber again �

Made by a seller: Physical items crafted, altered, or assembled by a seller, by hand or using tools they own (e.g., a 3D printer or Cricut machine)

Designed by a seller: Original designs by a seller (or seller-prompted AI art) offered as a digital download or produced/printed by a third-party

Sourced by a seller: Items that enable buyer creativity, such as craft supplies, party decorations, and items buyers can personalize and print on demand

Handpicked by a seller: Vintage items, items from nature, and certain collections of items selected/curated by a seller

From this verge article:

And etsys new policy:

The video is here:

I'm not really a swiftie or a fan of the dress, but I am a pretty decent crocheter and I've spent enough time on the internet to have "crochet can't (really) be done by machine" beaten into my brain. So when I saw that the price of that dress was only $160 AUD, and knowing that the average COGS (Cost of good sold) is about 65% of the revenue generated by the product in apparel.... I don't even need an hours estimate to know that the person doing the work is making peanuts.

Liz Kerr made the dress herself and then discussed the fast fashion implications of doing the dress in reels, then expanded on her experience and responded to some of the criticism she received from the reels. While I love the video, I stg the explanation from the brand that they gave her made me want to roll my eyes all the way to the back of my head. "A granny stitch is a simple and fast technique and" yeah no shit sherlock, she's only spent like 25 hours working on it at this point, you saw her video of her making the damn dress, that's why you're sending her a response. Also "We pride ourselves in using natural materials but this dress is made from cheapass acrylic" had me rolling.

So yeah. I guess light a candle for a bunch of garment workers who'll have repetitive strain injuries in Guangdong next month, because the preorder for this dress has sold out and they're supposed to ship in two months :)

Stealing this idea from the Test Knitting “Review” thread since it was so helpful, but I didn’t want to spam it with crochet tests!

I’ve actually only had good experiences, and I’ve tested for Honse Design, Hailey Bailey, and Keira Carnevale. All 3 did Instagram chats that got a little busy at times, but overall I enjoyed seeing others’ progress. At the time i don’t think they offered any yarn assistance or compensation, but I think at least Honse Design has changed that, if you use her yarn. All 3 were very active in the chat, receptive to edits, and the designs were beautiful. Bonus +1 for Hailey Bailey for being so understanding and gracious when I had to drop out of the test.

Who have you tested for and how was your experience?

Maybe you’ve been here. A designer you follow on instagram puts out a testing call, and you’re in love with the pattern. Maybe you’ve knit their patterns before, and you like the finished pattern. They have a large following, so surely they must be good to test for… right?

Well, let’s put it to the test. I want to hear everyone’s experiences test knitting: rants, raves, the whole shebang. The more recognizable the designer, the better the information. I have already run this by the mods, and they’ve approved as long as designers are named and examples given.

I’ll go first and review a couple designers I’ve test knit multiple times for:

Jessie Maed 2.5/5 This one hurt just because I wanted it so badly to be a great experience, but both test knits were pretty meh experiences. The patterns were fine, no major issues, although some minor ones. I always have issues with the pickup ratio of her necklines. She communicated adequately. But the whole process just felt so impersonal. Both were done over email, so you had no chance to chat with other people also test knitting. I also found the deadlines to be rather short for full length sweaters, one was 4 weeks and the other was 6 weeks. You would think someone who makes size inclusivity a big part of their brand would give their test knitters more time to finish. And to top it off, your compensation is the finished pattern + 1 more of her patterns. By far the stingiest of everyone I’ve tested for. Overall, not terrible but far from great.

Sophie Hemmings/ The Knit Purl Girl 4.5/5 I’ve tested for her five times, if that tells you anything. Deadlines are always generous, and she is usually fine if you can’t finish the entire thing and can just provide feedback on yoke + a sleeve. Patterns are nearly immaculate and have few if any mistakes. She replies quickly to questions and always sets up a group chat. Compensation is finished pattern + 3 more of her patterns. I subtracted .5 because her patterns (until recently) fell just short of size inclusive, but I have noticed her newer patterns are size inclusive so that’s great! Overall, would 100% recommend her for test knitting.

I've long felt a little peevish at Walcot Yarns (same owner as A Yarn Story, the shop came first) for being based in Bath and surrounded by a struggling British sheep industry that would LOVE for another yarn brand to buy its fleeces. And yet Walcot's Opus (70% Merino, 30% Alpaca) and Origin (50% Highland Wool, 50% Merino), their two majority-wool bases, are both made from fiber sourced in South America! The alpaca is understandable (though I bet there are alpaca in England), but given the quality of British wool—and the niche amount that this small brand is producing—I highly doubt it's because they couldn't find, somewhere in Great Britain, something up to the quality of "highland wool" (the same stuff Cascade sells in 220 for less than half the price). I suspect it is instead a matter of the lowest bottomline possible.

I only felt quietly annoyed until now, when my mother (curses) shared a reel by A Yarn Story announcing "the most exclusive luxury knitting retreat of 2025" ... wait for it .... "celebrating the beauty of the British Fibre Industry"! I am now fully irritated, because excuse me! There isn't even any disclosure on the website OR the yarn label on where these yarns are spun! Shut the front door, Carmen, are you even supporting British mills?

This ran across my feed recently and then I saw a YouTube video that has half a million views or something about this same person making a different copying accusation or whatever. It then jogged my memory & it turns out it is the person highlighted in the YT video. I'm just so confused, does she really think she invented this crop design?? One would think she would learn after her previous accustations of thefts-gone-wild.

I have a hunch that MAYBE she copied the overly trending Indian styled/crochet colors/hippie swag designs from those cheap mall stores. I mean, look at the stuff she's claiming are her designs and then think back at those hippie stores in the mall...kinda looks like she shopped there for inspiration and is now on a rant...because the vendor she’s shopping at looks like all they are selling is cheap mall store crap…I'm just laughing at her "Karen-ness." Does anyone else see the irony? She really thinks she invented the weed leaf triangle crop top?? 🤣🤣 I'm thinking she copied the trees and put them on crop tops too!

Ok, I'm sorry but I HAVE to rant a bit... I am currently testing for Jacqueline Cieslak and I am just so over it at this point.

Let me first tell you this test knit started April 12th and it is now July. They gave us an unfinished pattern and it took about a month for us even to get the completed version. They said, at the time, that they didnt think we needed an extension for the deadline (june 12), but they will if we need it. They then proceed to ghost us throughout the test knit and responds with

^{"Hello everyone, I am so sorry for my absence here and for the delay in getting the pattern to y’all! I’ve been dealing with some anxiety and personal stuff that has impacted my ability to work and I became a bit avoidant with even opening the slack channel. This is unprofessional and not fair to y’all and I’m so sorry!Now that the pattern is done, I am committed to logging on regularly and answering questions to be sure you have the support you need for the rest of the test knit. At this point, I haven’t decided if it is necessary to extend the test knit, but if it becomes clear in the next few weeks that my actions have impacted your ability to finish the test within the original timeframe, I will of course extend it!Please keep me posted and again, I’m really sorry for my delay. I appreciate y’all so much! ?}

Yeah ok I get it we all have anxiety from time to time. They respond for about a week and then goes back to ghosting us again... oh but they are posting 10+ stories DAILY on IG and wants to ignore people who are volunteering their time to help them FOR FREE???

people were stressing out in the group chat weeks/days prior to the deadline (originally june 12) saying they need more time and ofc crickets from them. They decided to wait til the deadline to extend it. Can you imagine??? So many people are stressing about meeting the deadline and last second they say "DEADLINE EXTENSION The deadline is extended an additional two weeks, to June 26." and nothing else... Maam do you know how many people were stressed about completing this just for you to change the deadline last second with no apology or any kind of regard for other people's feelings lol. Someone was brave enough to speak their mind and only then did they apologize and offer to fix any issues + changing the deadline to july 10th. But guess what, they ghosted us IMMEDIATELY after that LOL. so are you going to fix the issue???? they said they will give everyone the pattern for free regardless of whether or not you finish and that is it. I mean why even finish the test knit if I am getting the patten for free anyway? I don't know how many will even bother to finish. I don't know if they are even taking notes of all the issues that are being addressed in the group chat. I don't know anything because again... THEY GHOSTED US FOR 3 MONTHS. I would HIGHLY advise against buying her Griddy pattern. I really don't know how many testers are even going to finish and if they will use our suggestions/corrections.

I am just SOOOO OVER this fucking test knit... One of the testers noticed this and said the coupon for a free pattern, for finishing the test, DOESNT EVEN WOOOORK LOOOL. you guys i just don't even know what else to say at this point. and of course they are still ghosting us so are we ever going to get that free pattern? WE WILL SEE. this is the absolute worst test knit I have ever participated in... I highly would not recommend testing for them in the future. I understand that mental health can take a toll and I often ghost people at a time too, but they started off with this anxiety so why even conduct this test knit to begin with? it is just so much worse knowing they are posting on IG daily like they arent just stressing out their testers who are giving them their time. The new deadline is July 10th and this test knit has been going on for about 3 months they have talked to us a total of 31 times, a majority of which is just complimenting our work, NOT helping with pattern questions. just let that marinate.... 31 TIMES.

I just had to get that off my chest because I am BEYOND frustrated. and there are still testers who are still kissing ass like why????? lol. Boo they ain't reading that. and let me just say, the two apologies made doesn't mean shit when you continue to do the very thing you are apologizing for. Thannk you to anyone who read this and for giving me a platform to just be heard. I am just so angry.

UPDATE the pattern is officially announced to be released on Friday 7/12. They still have yet to respond to ANY of our concerns in the group chat or any update at all, but they are responding to every single Instagram comment they are getting. I HIGHLY HIGHLY advise you not to buy this pattern and to relay that info to your friends. I don’t like sabotaging small businesses but I don’t want you wasting your money on this dumpster fire.

A summary of why you shouldn’t spend your $$ on the Griddy top

• the pattern was not properly tested and was completed by probably 2 out of the 10 testers.

• gauge was a struggle throughout

• many testers from EVERY SIZE had issues with the shoulders and neck which surprise surprise… was the part of the pattern they didn’t give us for about a month.

• no response or confirmation on whether or not they actually fixed the issues we mentioned considering they said “I struggle to open slack”

• the pattern recommends silk which can be expensive especially if you’re plus sized

• it’s worked bottom up so the top half is worked flat… yes that means maintaining colorwork, while purling, WITH SILK. it was an AWFUL experience.

• designer ghosted since basically the beginning of the test and still currently to this day.

• gave an unusable coupon code to the testers as a reward for testing

• asked how they can rectify their mistakes and then immediately went back to ghosting lol

The order of that list is a jumbled mess but save your coin!

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

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

This thread posts twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

As you all may or may not know our favorite semi-professional crafter Cathy Hay has solidly a full embroidery dress via racism (which she has removed from her youtube entirely) and is on a multi video train wreck of a series where she struggles to sew embroidery on velvet while jet-setting between the UK and America for... reasons?

Well my guys gals and other assorted pals, Bernadette Banner has published a that is not only educational, not only finished the project in one episode, NOT ONLY included a reasonable amount of machine vs hand embroidery but also managed to delicately involve the history of British colonialism in India and the local culture that drove the fashion of the day.

I am completely unwilling to entertain the idea that this whole project isn't throwing huge amounts of shade and I wanted all of you to enjoy it as well.

EDIT: Gosh these colonial defenders had me googling and I found some BB fallout from the first(?) time Cathy tried to pull something on her.

Hay’s decision left one big unanswered question: What would happen to all the money that people raised to support Hay’s project? For her part, Banner announced in a youtube video that her portion, $9,429, would be donated to other causes. (The Circle’s garment worker advocacy initiative ultimately received $5,929, while the Museum of British Colonialism received the remaining $3,500, plus a $3,500 matching grant from Banner.) As she wrapped things up, Banner apologized for her support of the Peacock Dress. In her video, Banner said “It was a tremendously irresponsible mistake on my part to take on a project without first doing my own independent research–on both the subject matter as well as the character of individuals involved.”

rekt

Edit 2: God Lord in heaven do you need a white woman to explain the harm of colonialism to you before you can laugh at Cathy's expense?

Welcome to the bitesized BEC thread!

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

I recently discovered the show Elsbeth on Paramount and I quickly binged the season. I loved it. I decided to do an internet search for a photo of the scarf she wears so that I can make one in similar colors. I came across this website and had to snark for a minute:

She's charging $9.75 for a simple granny square scarf. I could see mayyybe charging $1 for this pattern to compensate for the time to research colors and to put it together, but $9.75?!

I am honestly mindblown. I feel like I want to create my own pattern for this as I make mine and post it for free to prevent people from parting with their money for something so basic.