The TikTok Trap: Why So Many New Stitchers Quit Over a Fabric Mix-Up 8 Jul 3:05 AM (10 days ago)
It’s either an all too common video you’ve seen, or an all too familiar story on Reddit, Facebook, or other cross stitch communities; the new stitcher, at their wits’ end, asking for help on how on earth to remove aida from their stitching.
You see, they’ve fallen for the TikTok Trap.
To be fair, this isn’t just on TikTok, but we see more new cross stitchers falling for this trap from the platform. But the story is almost always the same:
I saw a cute video of someone stitching on their jeans, and so I tried to replicate it. But I can’t remove the fabric! What am I doing wrong!?
Someone on Reddit
It’s normally accompanied by an image of someone stitching a decent little cross stitch onto fabric, with tufts of aida hanging on for dear life, refusing to be extracted from its new home.
I feel for those new stitchers. The issue is a basic one; the video was using soluble canvas or waste canvas, and they’re using aida, or another type of cross stich fabric.
No one said anything on the video, and no one showed the fabric being removed. It was an easy mistake to make!
I kind of understand it from the video creators’ point of view as well; it’s all about the format, they aren’t doing it to be mean. The 15 second video looks better when there are no words, no explanation, or no struggling to pull out the fabric. The payoff, just like a cross stitch timelapse, is the speed of the result, and how great it looks at the end. The “this is how to remove the fabric” or “this is the type of fabric” part of the clip just doesn’t engage on the platform.
Is TikTok Good For Cross Stitch?
I’ve tried to get to the bottom of if social media is good for cross stitch before, and I settled on the idea that it probably was. But TikTok is a different beast.
The Bad:
You can imagine how annoyed you might be as a cross stitcher to get stuck with a completed design, only to have fabric hanging off of it, refusing to budge. But it’s actually worse; it’s new stitchers.
These people have come to the hobby hoping for great things, stitch away and put in hours (and it does take hours for a newbie), only to stumble at the final hurdle.
My greatest fear is that this mistake costs them the joy of cross stitch. Do they throw it all in after a bad situation and never stitch again?
I have been in this situation, admittedly in knitting, which is a great hobby for a cross stitcher, but I got stuck in the quagmire of a scarf that I couldn’t complete in 6 years, and didn’t knit again for a decade.
I went back, and now I love it! But it’s that bad experience right at the start that stopped the fun dead.
The Good:
That said, there is a really big positive here! Cross stitch is still engaging with people, cross stitch is still being found by new stitchers, and it’s being presented in such a way that people actively want to try to stitch. It’s taking a grandmother’s hobby and bringing it right to the eyeballs of the youth. I’ve even seen a massive increase in manbroiderers as a direct result of platforms like TikTok.
So, can we really be all that harsh on the platform?
Yes, the core bit of info gets left out, but with communities like Reddit, you see people laugh, you see the frustration, but you also see heaps of people piling in giving tips for what to do next time, or how to make the best of the situation.
TikTok plays a dirty trick on new stitchers sometimes, especially with waste canvas, but I can’t help thinking that, as terrible as it is, it’s still a good thing.
For all of those out there who came here looking for a solution, I’m afraid you won’t find one. You need to use a special fabric for cross stitch called waste canvas that can be pulled out of your stitching once done.
This project might just be a write-off. But don’t despair! Another project awaits…
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan
The post The TikTok Trap: Why So Many New Stitchers Quit Over a Fabric Mix-Up appeared first on Lord Libidan.
My Free Pokémon Pattern Is Being Sold for $40. Can I Even Be Mad? 25 Jun 3:01 AM (23 days ago)
Readers contact me all the time, and I love it. From odd stories about rare DMC threads, to pattern discussions and even some washing advice!
But when someone contacted me about someone selling my free cross stitch patterns as kits (and even selling the patterns themselves), it was not a nice day.
Now I’ve tried to get this removed, and due to the company being based in China and opening multiple front companies, this hasn’t gone anywhere. But do I really have the right to be mad?
The Fake Seller
I won’t tell you who the seller is, but there are a few companies (all run from the same unit) that are selling the epic Pokemon cross stitch patterns as kits for over $150, and patterns for over $40.
What is most interesting about these is that the seller has used AI to replicate the image, showing just how far AI in cross stitch has come.
I will be the first to admit that I did not make these patterns; the original was made by Servotron, with a few designers making the others within the series. However, I have always been adamant that these should be for free; for a cross stitch community that gave me so many free patterns when I first started.
But here are sellers, not only profiting from a free pattern, but not even giving credit to the original designers.
Where It Gets More Complicated
But here’s “the rub”: do I have the right to be angry?
There are a few things that make this a bit more complicated:
Making A Physical Kit Is Labor
Sourcing a kit, from making the printed aida, to selecting the amount of thread, the number, and needles, and anything else that comes with it, all result in work. And all work deserves to be paid for.
But as a pattern that is being sold, there is no labor.
Does Putting It Through AI Make It Unique?
The original pattern is still the original. But this new version they’re selling was pushed through AI, which is worse in my mind, but regardless, does that make it a new pattern?
I Don’t Own A Pokemon License
This is the biggest complication, by far. I don’t own the copyright for Pokémon. Now, giving a free cross stitch pattern is fine, but selling a pattern is an issue for The Pokémon Company to deal with.
So all in all, do I even have the right to be unhappy?
Is This Just A Case Of Another Designer Getting Ripped Off?
There is a long history of cross stitch designers having patterns stolen, or just poor quality AI patterns being sold on online stores like Etsy or Temu, but with the rise of Chinese companies selling on the likes of TikTok, is this just another story of a designer (not me) being ripped off?
Maybe.
The Result
Did they have permission from me, the designers, or the Pokémon company? No. The chain of IP and copyright is quite clear; they should not be selling this.
However, I do wonder, is it morally OK for them to be profiting from someone else’s labor?
And honestly, I don’t know!
Does it annoy me on behalf of the rest of the cross stitch community? Yes.
But for now, just be careful to only buy quality cross stitch kits and patterns (be they of the epic Pokémon pattern or not!).
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan
The post My Free Pokémon Pattern Is Being Sold for $40. Can I Even Be Mad? appeared first on Lord Libidan.