#Etsy Patterns

[makereadgrow]

The Why of Sewing 4: How to Avoid Scammy Patterns

As your sewing skills progress beyond following straight lines on fabric you are going to want to start looking for patterns to make your dream outfits a reality. 

There are a lot of bad patterns out there, both in the AI generated flavor and in the more mundane human incompetence flavor. This guide is mostly going to focus on avoiding AI, but generally these tips will also weed out the worst of the ones poorly drafted by humans as well. Generally Etsy seems like the natural place to find indie drafted patterns, and while there are many designers posting their patterns on etsy who are legitimate, the market is FLOODED by scams at the moment. Beware of the Etsy sewing pattern. These are all things you should be able to spot BEFORE making the purchase. A later post can go into ways to figure out if it is you or the pattern causing issues.

Let's Lead with Positive Green Flags:

Multiple images of the model and garment where it is clearly the same person and garment from different angles. Many smaller indie companies are modeled by the designer, or just a couple models. The most important part is seeing multiple angles of the garment.

Line drawings that match the style lines of the sample garment.

Social media presence for the shop off of etsy. This is VERY important. All the big indie companies are on insta and make tags for their patterns (even though tags are broken). Instagram has been where the sewing community has lived for the most part and it is still pretty dang important now. 

The pattern should always have size charts, yardage charts, fabric recommendations, and notion lists available for review without purchasing the pattern. Never ever buy a pattern where you can’t see the size chart before buying. 

Cohesive design across the shop. It doesn’t have to be good design or interesting design, but it should look like the same person made the listing. 

Fat Models - this is a big green flag, but it feels slightly weird to say as a hot tip to look for. AI is really bad at making images of fat people and scammers rarely care enough to do so. This is also a green flag for inclusive sizing. 

Red Flags to watch for:

Headless models and stolen images - this is becoming less common as AI generated “samples” are taking over, but a quick reverse image search is a good idea. Some indie designers do prefer not to post their faces, but you can usually still tell that you are looking at the same person. 

Only front view images, or any single angle photo. 

A different model in every photo - this can be seen in well established indie companies who use lots of testing pools, but those tend to look very human and not the kind of human who earns their living with their appearance. Images of lots of models in sharp focus with an extremely blurry background. No human skin texture is a red flag. 

Seamlines that don’t match across the garment - watch for sleeves not matching one another for example. 

Way too many patterns in the shop at very low prices - pattern making takes a lot of work and having hundreds of $3 patterns is a huge red flag. At best its someone devaluing their work.

Weird videos of just a sewing machine stitching, usually not even threaded correctly. I don't know why this is showing up on so many AI pattern listing, but if the thread is just flopping around above the needle, buyer beware.

Okay so now you have learned how to spot some flags - where should you browse patterns and find something usable!

Threadloop - I should do an entire post on how good threadloop already is for a sewist and the makers are constantly adding new features. They are building a database of patterns and users can post reviews, link finished projects and I believe they have instituted a visible tag if users suspect a pattern has AI generated elements. 

Sewing Pattern Review - This site looks dated, but the creators are still super involved. There is an active community of makers posting pattern reviews and it's easy to look for a specific pattern, browse through recent reviews, or look at a category like “pants”. 

Curvy Pattern Database - this is a database of designers who have sizing that goes up to a minimum of a 60” hip and for any sewist with a larger body this is where I would start, but even if you are a straight sized sewist this is a fantastic resource. Every pattern is manually added and Sarah, the fantastic sewist behind the database, also does round up posts of new pattern releases. She includes free patterns and I’ve never spotted a scammy pattern company in the round ups. 

Instagram - this is probably the most annoying option for me, especially since instagram broke their tags. That being said, if a pattern company isn’t on instagram that basically means they aren’t marketing to the kind of sewist who can spot a scam.

The Fold Line - a UK based pattern sales portal that has both indie and big 4 patterns (the ones in the envelopes with the books at the fabric stores). Even if you don't buy through their portal they have some handy search tools and a pleasant browsing experience, they also put out some great youtube videos of new releases and videos matching up patterns to trends in ready to wear.

[damnitfili]

these cross stitch patterns are available at my shop Starshined Stitchery!

psst...you can use the code THANKYOUFRIEND for 40% off

[poppyrays]

Move over bitches, I made myself a chicken core corset top I am living and dying because this was made all in one day

[hikolu]

Mini Cross Stitched Magic the Gathering Card

[sosuperawesome]

Crochet Flower Patterns // Tanitka Lace

[elvneedleworks]

NEW PATTERN ALERT!

The Plush Chain Mace crochet pattern is out now on Ravelry and Etsy!

[fernsandtales]

🫛 🥕 I will never stop loving making these whimsy needle books.

I enjoy every bit of them, especially how tactile they are. They take forever and a day to embroider, crochet and needle felt.

I have a desire to make an A5 book cover, but I fear it's going to be way too expensive for me to be able to sell it.

[purchase here]

[pixelins]

[peskyfirefly]

there he goes!! :)

[tallupastar]

My fav crochet tapestry I’ve made so far 🤙🏻

Grid chart on my Etsy shop: TallupaStarShop

[eggbem]

Crochet TMNT!

I can't remember when I started these guys. At least as far back as January. But I just got the last one done tonight!

The skin tones are done in Rise colors (or as close as I could get them haha) because these are more like templates or warm-ups. They were always meant to be. What I really want to make someday is detailed Rise versions.

There are also some size and shape differences because I was adjusting and updating the pattern as I went AND because no two yarns outside of the same brand seem to be consistent with the weight they list lol

We'll see when (and if 😅) I actually get to making Rise versions. But for now, I'm pretty happy with how these lil guys turned out!

[makereadgrow]

I sort of forgot that most the tips I would write up for a post big 4 world are already in this post.

The Why of Sewing 4: How to Avoid Scammy Patterns

As your sewing skills progress beyond following straight lines on fabric you are going to want to start looking for patterns to make your dream outfits a reality. 

There are a lot of bad patterns out there, both in the AI generated flavor and in the more mundane human incompetence flavor. This guide is mostly going to focus on avoiding AI, but generally these tips will also weed out the worst of the ones poorly drafted by humans as well. Generally Etsy seems like the natural place to find indie drafted patterns, and while there are many designers posting their patterns on etsy who are legitimate, the market is FLOODED by scams at the moment. Beware of the Etsy sewing pattern. These are all things you should be able to spot BEFORE making the purchase. A later post can go into ways to figure out if it is you or the pattern causing issues.

Let's Lead with Positive Green Flags:

Multiple images of the model and garment where it is clearly the same person and garment from different angles. Many smaller indie companies are modeled by the designer, or just a couple models. The most important part is seeing multiple angles of the garment.

Line drawings that match the style lines of the sample garment.

Social media presence for the shop off of etsy. This is VERY important. All the big indie companies are on insta and make tags for their patterns (even though tags are broken). Instagram has been where the sewing community has lived for the most part and it is still pretty dang important now. 

The pattern should always have size charts, yardage charts, fabric recommendations, and notion lists available for review without purchasing the pattern. Never ever buy a pattern where you can’t see the size chart before buying. 

Cohesive design across the shop. It doesn’t have to be good design or interesting design, but it should look like the same person made the listing. 

Fat Models - this is a big green flag, but it feels slightly weird to say as a hot tip to look for. AI is really bad at making images of fat people and scammers rarely care enough to do so. This is also a green flag for inclusive sizing. 

Red Flags to watch for:

Headless models and stolen images - this is becoming less common as AI generated “samples” are taking over, but a quick reverse image search is a good idea. Some indie designers do prefer not to post their faces, but you can usually still tell that you are looking at the same person. 

Only front view images, or any single angle photo. 

A different model in every photo - this can be seen in well established indie companies who use lots of testing pools, but those tend to look very human and not the kind of human who earns their living with their appearance. Images of lots of models in sharp focus with an extremely blurry background. No human skin texture is a red flag. 

Seamlines that don’t match across the garment - watch for sleeves not matching one another for example. 

Way too many patterns in the shop at very low prices - pattern making takes a lot of work and having hundreds of $3 patterns is a huge red flag. At best its someone devaluing their work.

Weird videos of just a sewing machine stitching, usually not even threaded correctly. I don't know why this is showing up on so many AI pattern listing, but if the thread is just flopping around above the needle, buyer beware.

Okay so now you have learned how to spot some flags - where should you browse patterns and find something usable!

Threadloop - I should do an entire post on how good threadloop already is for a sewist and the makers are constantly adding new features. They are building a database of patterns and users can post reviews, link finished projects and I believe they have instituted a visible tag if users suspect a pattern has AI generated elements. 

Sewing Pattern Review - This site looks dated, but the creators are still super involved. There is an active community of makers posting pattern reviews and it's easy to look for a specific pattern, browse through recent reviews, or look at a category like “pants”. 

Curvy Pattern Database - this is a database of designers who have sizing that goes up to a minimum of a 60” hip and for any sewist with a larger body this is where I would start, but even if you are a straight sized sewist this is a fantastic resource. Every pattern is manually added and Sarah, the fantastic sewist behind the database, also does round up posts of new pattern releases. She includes free patterns and I’ve never spotted a scammy pattern company in the round ups. 

Instagram - this is probably the most annoying option for me, especially since instagram broke their tags. That being said, if a pattern company isn’t on instagram that basically means they aren’t marketing to the kind of sewist who can spot a scam.

The Fold Line - a UK based pattern sales portal that has both indie and big 4 patterns (the ones in the envelopes with the books at the fabric stores). Even if you don't buy through their portal they have some handy search tools and a pleasant browsing experience, they also put out some great youtube videos of new releases and videos matching up patterns to trends in ready to wear.

[fuckyeahcoelacanths]

Coelacanth Plush Crochet Pattern by KatyasYarnBois

[hychlorions]

TSUM PATTERN!!!

retested it after digitizing to make sure all the seams are in order, and everything's looking fine imo :3 here's a tsum made with this pattern with susato tsum for comparison:

here's the pattern, formatted for A4 size paper :>> guides are for lining the pieces up + ears/limbs placement

if you wanted to be really accurate with printing out the pattern: in my experience, setting the custom scale to 100% in the page setup will get the ruler on the page to be 1:1 with a real life ruler

additionally: if you want the tsum to be as close as possible to official ones, they use non-stretchy fabrics for the underside part of the tsum. i only have minky but ironing on some lightweight fusible before sewing the pieces together made it non-stretchy ^^

it looks to me like they used a very thin faux suede with fusible interfacing for some structure (i could be wrong though as 1) i am not an expert in identifying fabrics and 2) i only took apart klavier tsum and no one else. but everyone else that i own seems to use the same fabric for the underside).

they also have a little bag of filler beads inside that weigh around 14.5g (bag they were in included), and the stuffing was ~8g if you wanna be REALLY accurate. anyway. enjoy!

EDIT: forgot to add that the collar pieces are more of a size/sewing guide so they'd fit onto the tsum in case your character has any clothing with lapels/collars and are meant to be changed according to your design! the smaller piece is the little piece between the face and the underside while the bigger piece is for the "lapels" (so in retrospect i should've named it that but whatever.) here's how they'd look like on the tsums for reference in case i'm not explaining well LOL

[chundrachun]

Hello, everyone! 👋

I wanted to share with you all a pattern, which is an amigurumi crochet ball python snake. You can find the free tutorial on my YouTube channel and the PDF pattern on my Etsy shop.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a great day! 😊

[sosuperawesome]

Embroidery Patterns // Salt Water Stitches