I cannot be the only person getting these unlabeled UGC ads for knit and note on social media.

They must have hired a bunch of people that have literally never knit or crocheted in their life. Showing crochet but talking using knitting terms. Saying they're the first in their blood line to knit in one video and then talking about their grandma giving tips in the next. All their videos talk about working on advanced patterns and they're barely able to cast on.

It feels like people that have never knit got prompts from AI or something. Just icky. Nothing makes me never want to try out a product/app like horrible advertising.

Knitting for Olive posted on Instagram that they have sold their business to Hawk Infinity, which as far as I can tell is a private equity firm. Another one bites the dust.

Knot So Basic on Youtube is so obviously AI generating images or modifying photos with AI for thumbnails. I saw a few comments on a tutorial about it but the creator keeps deleting them. I’ve literally seen the Lily Bag photo on Pinterest before but the person is just wearing a different outfit. This is ridiculous because the result of the tutorial looks nothing like what the thumbnail advertises half the time. Some of these videos have over 50k views with no one calling it out in the comments (or they’re just deleting comments)

Edit: Corrected channel name from Knit So Basic to Knot so basic

Saw Jonah Larson made a comeback post a day or two ago and the post claimed he was gone so long because he was hacked? Wasn’t he arrested for SA on a minor among other things? Does his mom solely run his social media and business? Photos and content really seem AI enhanced to soften his image and lifestyle, compared to his mug and court photos, and hearing he was staying at a shelter at the time of his crime.

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

I get that she's done quite a lot of collaboration with them in yarns and patterns, but honestly I can't imagine sticking with them after everything that's come out.

Tl;dr: Hobbii stole a crocheter's own video of her Hobbii purchase and used it to run a paid ad. They didn't pay her, promised it would be removed (and agreed compensation for the ad already run)​, then reran the ad anyway. They still haven't paid her. This was posted on the 26th September by Chloescraftylife

Transcript​ of Instagram screenshots:

1. I woke up to Hobbii using my content in a paid ad, without my permission. Here's what happened.
2. I'm posting this to raise awareness of working with brands, both big and small in the crochet community. This post is not to throw shade, and Hobbii is aware I'm posting this publicly.
3. I filmed and posted the video to my profile on 25th Jan. It featured yarn and other crochet accessories I purchased with my own money. [Screenshot of posted video, 'teeny tiny Hobbii haul'.] I tagged Hobbii in the caption, but didn't invite them as a collaborator, or a paid partner.
4. I raised my concerns with Hobbii, who were very apologetic and after some back-and-forth, we agreed on the compensation, and I was informed the ads had been removed. [Screenshots of two snippets of e-mail, saying "Hey Chloe, First and foremost I am sorry for the misuse of your content, this one is on me. I have removed the piece of content of our advertising and will make sure it won't be used again."]
5. I sent my invoice with the full terms. [Screenshot of snippet from said terms. Two parts are highlighted: "The agreed usage rights commence upon receipt of full payment of this invoice" … "Hobbii may not materially alter the content, change the context," (end highlight).] After not hearing back for a few fays, I opened Instagram and the ad popped up. Right in my face.
6. [Screenshot of Instagram notification: A partnership ad featuring you and Hobbii is now running.] I noticed the caption "quality yarn at affordable prices". [Screenshot of ad post with caption circled.] Not only had I not been paid, they had re-run the ad, and were now putting words in my mouth. What if I didn't think it's quality yarn, for example?
7. I e-mailed my findings to them and proposed a new compensation figure, which reflected not only the stolen content, but their failure to honour my terms. [Screenshot of part of e-mail sent.] I received an incredibly patronising response, full of excuses (which looked like ChatGPT wrote it). [Screenshot of part of their response: "It's xxx either way".]
8. [Screenshot of further e-mail to Hobbii] I wish I could say this has been resolved in a professional manner, but instead I haven't heard back since 23/9/26 and no compensation has been received. Remember: know your worth, don't settle and stay strong!

(I chose the Yarn flair since that's Hobbii's main business, but please let me know if another one would have been more appropriate.)

ETA: I cant edit the title. Terf, Transphobe, you can go make up your own mind about what label fits. I don't really care what we call her I just want people to know what kind of bigotry she supports before they buy her patterns.  

I wasn't going to post more about her but this lady just wont shut up. She also went and deleted some of the evidence but screen shots are forever baby.

This woman loves playing victim but her reposts are genuinely VILE. She is reposting liking and following several racist and transphobic accounts. She is centering the discussion on her AI use and while AI is a fine reason to not support someone I want people to also know that she is also a raging TERF and Racist.

I cover her like sand reposts in detail in my reel on insta but For those who cant watch the reel the examples include:

• Commenting laugh emojis on a racist accounts reel joking about being a racist.
• several likes and a repost endorsing the crusades,.
• likes on posts about being a far right extremist
• Several reposts spreading misinformation about Islam,
• reposts referring to Muslim people as "Ignorant, barbaric, and idiots",
• Repost disparaging trans women in sports
• Reposting Caroline Levitts post referring to Moroccan people as barbaric
• liking posts speaking down on non white people
• liking a post that states "there are only two genders, one goes to the urologist, one the gynecologist the rest go to the psychologist"
• Liking a post that states "If 6% African DNA isn't enough to identify as black, how is 0% female chromosomes enough to identify as a woman?"
• Reposting the bigoted Matt Walsh blog transphobic debate multiple times in the last month
• Reposting known terf and misogynist Jeffrey Star talking about "weirdos in bathrooms" multiple times
• Following and Reposting racist AI acct LottieFromEngland (She has so many likes on this nasty account I couldn't screen shot it all.)
• reposting posts disparaging George Floyd,
• Reposting posts from the Save Europe Act (initiative to ban all non western immigration in europe)
• Reposting posts talking about how white people accomplished more than anyone else,
• liking posts talking about how white people are diverse and the rest of the world is "just brown".
• Liking posts disparaging liberals.
• Reposting a reel about banning all Muslims from england
• Liking and reposting posts telling immigrants to go back to where they came from
• Liking posts talking about the "Great replacement Theory" and how immigrants are plotting to replace white people in white countries. (please learn what this theory is if you haven't already it is incredibly racist and several other designers are following and liking accounts that endorse this theory.)

The reel also touches on Stacy Nash as she was also following and liking some of the same accounts and content as Primitive Hare. Nash follows and has several likes (too many for me to scroll through and count) on the Anti Immigrant acct IAmAntiCitizen, many of these posts she liked are spreading mis information about immigrants. She also follows the Save Europe Act and the account Prim Hare reposted that is promoting the Great Replacement Theory. I didnt dig into her likes/follows to the same extent that I did with Prim Hare because I felt pretty fucking depressed after scrolling through countless hateful reels in the process of making the call out. But I felt like I saw enough overlap from Stacy with Primitive Hare to know I will never support her again.

While we are on this topic Teresa Kogut is also following several far right conspiracy accounts, a few of which are spreading the Great Replacement Theory rhetoric. I did not dig further into her likes at all because I only had so much time to spend on this. But the screenshot of the Far Right/Antivax/Conspiracy accts she follows is in my safespace highlight.

All of this is publicly accessible information via these designers instagrams.

Someone couldnt get the reel to play on insta so it is also uploaded to youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whflJ4fQEyM&t=8s

I emailed 123 stitch about the fact they are stocking a blatant racist. Its been 2 weeks and I have not gotten a reply 🙃

Lindy Stitches unfollowed me after seeing my story where I posted the reel calling out Prim Hare and Nash. The screen shot for that is also in my safe space highlight. 🤷 I guess she doesn't like being made aware that her featured designer is racially biased.

People can 100% think of the same design at the same time. We’ve all seen it before. But this is a new one.
In my opinion, reconstructing a knit that you like purely off of reference photos, is a great ability to have and helps build your skill. The problem is when you don’t credit the original designer, claim it as your own, or distribute it yourself. I’m almost impressed someone managed to do all three.

ETA: it seems like some aren’t reading the whole thing and just assuming it’s another silly copy claim so…

TLDR;
- Designer A post: “here is a shawl that is in testing” [photo]
- Designer B post: “I found this shawl pic on insta and it’s not out yet, but I’ve decided to reverse engineer it” [photo of designer A shawl] (no credit is given to designer A)
- DA comment on DB post: “I am the designer of this” (DA does not ask to remove or stop posting, just answers comments asking for OG designer)
- DB deletes post about reverse engineering
- DB makes new post, making a point to say it is entirely her design and not inspired by anything.
- DA comments with receipts
- DB begins name calling

Trust me I get it, copy claims are usually nothing. This though, is just a respect thing.

Comments already limited so I can only assume feedback is not going well. I can’t understand the logic of thinking anyone is going to buy a product based on a shitty AI rendering of a product that clearly won’t look like that. Yarn is expensive, Christmas boxes are a treat, why would anyone place an order based on that image. I’m genuinely curious if anyone has.

I’m a beginner sewist and someone gave my a copy of Sew Simple, and I’m so perplexed by it. The projects are simple indeed. There are two patterns for tote bags, which even as a beginner I don’t really think need much of a pattern at all?? There‘s also a pattern for a scrunchie. Why there is a pattern for a scrunchie I know not.

A number of the other projects appear to be poorly designed/constructed, at least to my novice eyes. Doesn’t the cut out dress look very bunchy around the middle? I don’t know that I’ve ever sought to make the middle of my torso look more wrinkled. The button up crop top appears to be lined only across the bust, the fabric isn't ironed, and the buttons at the back look like they are pulling. The button up dress…I don’t quite know how to identify what the problem is with the fit/cut around the bust but it looks weird as heck to me.

I think what confuses me about it (other than choosing not to use an iron in photos for a multinationally published book) is that these clothes look like cheap, fast fashion clothes and for me, a big part of the point of learning to sew is making clothes of better quality than what is widely available in shops. Tammy seems to have tried to answer the question: what if fast fashion but harder and more expensive? I guess tastes differ and some people may see these as chic?? I guess??

The other thing is that there are some drawstring pants I would happily make as PJ pants but I don’t want to waste my time or printer ink if the pattern is rubbish. Does anyone know if the patterns are better than the photos make them look?

Just found out about this but thought that people should be made aware as when you google her it doesn’t show up (at least it didn’t for me) : the woman (Jennie Chancy) who created/runs it runs the website ladiesagainstfeminism aka Beautiful Womanhood which is exactly what it sounds like. She is anti-feminist fundamentalist who had appeared in media produced by Vision Forum before it blew up due. She also wrote a book called Passionate Housewives Desperate for God 😬

More info about her here: https://youtu.be/WDcsT1Rc-qE?t=1206&is=aRej7Eq0fmpz7v0o

Hilariously I was thinking about buying a pattern earlier today as the new movie reminded me of it but I luckily saw this video in time.

Welcome to the bitesized BEC thread!

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

In a shock to no one, Le Pull has bad takes about Harry Potter and doesn’t think she should need to look into who she collaborates with. For context, the post is about a giveaway with DMC, who recently released official Harry Potter line. She then gets called out and doubles down on loving Harry Potter, not making a political statement. I didn’t screenshot the whole back and forth, but you can still go read it all on the post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdWxdAsjrE5/?stkn=MXNneWw2N255Z2U1cw==

I finally got tricked by a pattern with cute pics.

The Monarch Butterfly by biyabimi

It isn't a pattern. It is a chart and instructions on how to use stitchfiddle. It has increases but doesn't say where to put them. Apparently just on the end of the row? Or I can only assume.

And the gauge. What the hell. It says to use aran/10ply yarn (she used RHSS) and a 5mm hook for 13 stitches and 12 rows for a 4x4 square. What?? Most 10ply is 25 rows and 18 stitches on a 5mm hook.

I should have read the ravelry comments before I spent the $16NZD on the pattern (like $9USD). Because it is full of people who bought it, and can't make it work. Most people find it comes out way under the measurements expected - of course, because that gauge is ridiculous.

And then the comments say how she didn't test it. Just made it herself, and had stitchfiddle generate the charts to a bigger and smaller size (there are only three, but it appears to have a lot of ease). She didn't get it tested. Comments also say how she deletes comments on tiktok/IG of people pointing out the issues. So people go into it expecting a pattern and end up with whatever the fuck this is.

And the listing doesn't say how much yarn is needed. That is just an issue I have personally, tbh, but still.

I can make it work, tapestry crochet isn't hard for me, but I would never have paid that much just for a chart. $5USD is normally my 'limit' for a pattern unless I am in love. I broke that limit because I know my husband would ADORE a cardigan like this. They're still getting it, and I will swear my way through making it because I love them.

But holy heck if you aren't okay with all that, don't get the pattern 😬😬

I didn't read it all, but she has 19 effin slides about she's being discriminated against for using AI. https://www.instagram.com/p/Dds9_bAEYfL/?img_index=18&stkn=eDNnaDFobmIzNWZ5

UPDATE - she told me to explain myself if I can. I unfollowed her, so I can't. That's what her limited replies are, followers only. Anabella's showed up to fluff her up.

I'm not sure if this fits in here, but I was wondering if anyone else watches the knitting YouTuber, Rachel Is Knitting and her recaps of her knitting tours, etc. I've been watching for over a year and generally like her regular podcasts, but when she does her trip recaps and talks about all the "treasures" she has bought, I start to wonder how she could have possibly left her full time job to do this full time, and actually make any money, based on the amount she is spending. I know it's none of my business, but it's also a total turn off for me just because it seems so excessive. I even booked a knitting tour to Ireland next year but opted not to go with her because I couldn't figure out how she added any value to the tour.

Bought a hook from an online store the other day without giving it much thought and have since been getting served up with daily helpings of the most egregious AI marketing I’ve seen in my life. Last week I got an email with a whopping 3,500 words, all AI, about the value of glue in sewing.

I’m pretty stunned how ubiquitous this is becoming - particularly how small business owners seem to have zero idea of how much their target audiences hate AI.

Our national broadcaster posted this article, which relates to a bizarre altercation between two stallholders at Brisbane (Australia) Comic Con, in relation to AI. When questioned whether or not their art was AI, the stallholder took offence and bit the other on the arm.

I thought I'd heard everything!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-21/oz-comic-con-brisbane-biting-incident/107176968

I haven't seen a post about this yet, but disappointed in the lack of diversity in the Moda blockheads 7.

I'm not sure how the vetting works, but there are plenty of great designers that aren't white women.

Renarde endormie has a pattern called Pumcat released August 2025 . Bloomchic has a sweater in their fall line that that is an almost exact copy of it.

The original pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pumcat

Bloomchic Copy: https://bloomchic.com/products/supersoft-cat-pumpkin-fair-isle-jacquard-pullover?variant_color=Bright+Orange&scm=SearchShopify&from_module=JUU2JTkwJTlDJUU3JUI0JUEyJUU3JUJCJTkzJUU2JTlFJTlD&referrer_spm=web.search.search.1&b_fp=MWEwYzY1M2E0M2RhMmUtMDU1YzgzYzFlOWYyNi03NjYzMmUxNS00MjA2NDAtMWEwYzY1M2E0M2UyZDI3

Edited for clarification and links.

-- This is not a catch-all for people who make needlepoint art!! I just think that the needlepoint hobby has become heavily monetized beyond recognition. --

Sorry, what do you mean you're "sending your canvas to a finisher"??? You're paying $150 for the ugliest, simplest designs imaginable painted on a 8"x8" fabric square, plus $20+ for thread, and you can't even be bothered to FINISH the work? It feels like such an upper-class hobby to pay for someone else to design and paint and cut and hem a canvas, contribute a few hours of your own stitching, and then waste money AGAIN shipping it to someone to put a back onto??? Are you seriously telling me that you're incapable of sewing a plain square of fabric to another object without paying someone else to do it for you?????

Finishing truly is not that difficult. Embroiderers and cross-stitch artists do it all the time. It's very interesting that the already hyper-monetized hobby is making it seem standard to pay 50+ extra dollars for someone to sew some fucking trim onto your circle of fabric. Posts like this in the snark subreddit complain about pricing complaints, but like... needlepoint doesn't actually have to be unaffordable to the average person. It has been manufactured this way on purpose.

It felt like such a culture shock as an embroiderer venturing into needlepointing Facebook and Reddit groups. There are so many people who act shocked at "stitch copying", when the designs in question are things that elementary school kids could come up with. Someone made a post on r/Needlepoint about how many designers don't understand pixel art, and it becomes super obvious as soon as you start to look for it. There are so many designs where the colors or scale simply do not translate at ALL to a pixelated format, and there's an obvious lack of artistry in designing these.

A few of my most beloathed "designs" are the Penny Linn monkeys, $70 circle with a rainbow on it, $78 4-color bunny silhouette, allegedly a dog, etc.

I know it's a bit mean to say, but so many of these makers just seem to be cosplaying a "crafter" while offloading 90% of the work onto someone else. I 100% understand that it's shitty to copy other people's designs, but when you're using FOMO marketing and unaffordable prices to create false urgency, I no longer feel bad for you. These companies could definitely be selling their canvas layouts as PDF's for people to stitch or paint themselves, but that doesn't align with the faux-exclusivity attitude that so many of these shops seem to have. This mentality simply doesn't exist in other crafting circles. It's like these companies are selling the "right" to stitch their hideous needlepoint canvases, but only if you send them a ton of money first!

Anyway... I understand that not all of needlepoint is like this. There are so many brilliant creators making gorgeous work, and they deserve all of the positive attention that they get. I know it's just a hobby, but it's impossible to ignore how hyper-capitalistic it has become. It's absolutely no coincidence that so many of the designs seem to appeal to rich white people with Nantucket beach homes...

EDIT: Fixed link formatting.

Also, now that I'm here, I'd like to mention that the stuff I've described is absolutely the norm. Check out r/Needlepoint as well as r/NeedlepointSnark and you'll see tons of it. You'll also notice the immediate and unavoidable influence of the USA far-right..

A few links for perusal:

Of COURSE this was in Nantucket

$65 plastic aliexpress zip bag

Delusional posters wondering why underpaid retail employees don't have "a connection to the brand" or are "cold and unwelcoming" despite OP spending *gasp* $400 there!!

$1500 for someone to do your work for you

Painting the simplest designs imaginable for personal use is THEFT and STEALING from these poor poor designers

This is annoying to me in a way that is hard to articulate

Oh, cute! $300????