Hey, if you do crafts (especially things like crochet, knitting, embroidery, etc), make sure to look up how to identify when a listing is AI generated. You do NOT want to waste money on an incredible looking kit or pattern that is physically impossible to make, especially if you’re on sites like etsy hoping to support an actual artist.
OP’s tags:
#as an embroiderer: big red flags are curved straight or satin stitches #stitches that you cannot identify or figure out at all #thread that fades into other colors #backgrounds that match the piece weirdly well (like a floral embroidery piece with a matching vase and flowers on the table) #and a lack of videos of the piece and photos from other angles
Here’s a guide for identifying real freaking cross-stitch patterns that are doable, and not AI-converted confetti:
I don’t knit, but I’m sure someone has a comparable guide somewhere. I know crochet and knitting seems like more of a problem- the crochet “patterns” make vastly different items than what’s pictured, and you can find some of those on r/CraftedbyAI because some people do follow those “patterns” to make a point.
Cross-stitch and embroidery seem like they’d be easier to fake, right? Like, cross-stitch patterns are basically pixel art, so what’s the harm?
The cross-stich often has dozens or hundreds of colours and they change every single pixel, which is basically impossible for a human to reproduce. It’s just not a pattern, dammit.
The embroidered ones break my heart, though:
Wherein someone is making a lovely embroidered piece but they end up dissatisfied with their work because it doesn’t look as impossibly plush and bright as the fake.
It makes people who are new to these crafts feel like they’re not doing it right, or gives them insane expectations, and it can drive people away from the craft.
I know of several cross-stitch pattern shops on Etsy that have closed because it’s just not worth the investment when they’re competing with AI-generated nonsense that can charge pennies because it doesn’t take any time or effort to make.
Fuck AI-generated patterns and crafts.
I’m seeing this all over Etsy with quilt patterns.
Look at the quilt, really just zoom in, and examine details. Seams disappear? Edges blend? Pieces don’t make sense?
It would be best to check out pattern books from a library, or purchase books and patterns of at least five years old.
I knew poinsettias “faked” having big flowers by just turning some leaves red but I didn’t know the real tiny flowers in the middle looked like such idiots
That is a chorus of aliens about to sing me a song
*for poll purposes I would consider a city/town/village/etc to be one ‘place’, so moving to another city or village counts as living elsewhere but moving to different building in the same city or village wouldn’t. living unhoused would also count as one 'place’ if you were still in the same city, even if you were moving around that city, couch-surfing, got displaced, etc
**living somewhere vs visiting is sometimes blurry but I’d still consider it 'living’ there if you were there for a temporary job or school, or had or looked for a lease, or went there planning to stay indefinitely, etc. bald option for bald nuance
I really need to read the whole post before I answer polls, because I thought this meant how many different residences you have lived in, and my answer to that is over 20, but about 15 of those were in the same city.
Oops, I didn’t read the whole post OR the repost text, and also answered incorrectly. (3 vs 1)
