This video popped up on my recommended as I was working on the 6 day star blanket!

Also like,,,, if nothing else I don't think the ads were that overbearing??? Like idk if it's just me growing up on old flash game websites where there was a two inch border around the games full of flashing ads or whatnot, but a few ads on a small personal website every once in a while is not that bad?? Like as an artist, I want the people doing this hobby, and giving me the privilage of making something that took them time to write and create, to be payed for thier time and effort. Im a college student, i dont really have the funds to buy a new pattern when I need something to do with my hands so free pattern makers are my gods. Of *course* they fucking have ads, that's how theyre able to make it free for you and not have that effort and time go unpayed. If you think that fibre artists should be payed appropriately for the time, effort and materials required, then the person creating those patterns, who has invested time, effort, and materials into that creation should be fucking payed too. The only real issue I had with it was that the page would regularly scroll up to the top when I closed my phone and I'd have to scroll through paragraphs of information and beginner tips that I didn't need. Which even then was only an annoyance at the beginning where each row was only a few minutes work,after a few rounds it wasnt as annoying because id have an hour in between rows and wasnt as regular an occurance. Even then that was probably more an issue with my phone being a bit banjaxed. Also will say as a new-ish (knitter first, tried to crochet for years and it only clicked earlier this year) crocheter who is disabled, a pattern that's written coherently and with all necessary information is a blessing that people are really taking for granted, the fact that when I wanted to be sure I had it right and could look at a whole ass video was delightful. Jargon and abbreviations in a hobby that's been around for centuries is like,,,, inevitable?? That's like trying to learn music and being annoyed that a chord is called C major and doesn't tell you the next two notes are e and g. Like yeah babes,this is the stuff you gotta learn, that's the burden of being a beginner, you gotta get the hang of whatever weird phrases and words this new hobby has. It's an annoying phase of picking up something new but its unavoidable. Its not inaccessible to use the formatting that is standard in the craft, certainly not when that craft has a million spaces that explain that jargon in all possible formats you could think of.

this brand of drama always reminds me of when i took ballet classes for a year when i was a kid, and i quit because i was very disappointed that i still couldn't dance like the ballerinas i'd seen on tv. i guess that was the ballet world's fault. i get the frustration of wanting to do/make all the things right out the gate, but i've also unraveled enough false-start projects over the years to appreciate the insight that comes with practice and experience.

thank you for sharing about drops design!! i'm downloading a bunch of patterns :D

having a visual version of the patterns using symbols rather than just abbreviations/words is a benefit to me. often im finding myself taking patterns and making those visuals myself which can be a struggle too

I keep lurking back here every now and again and I only just noticed your channel banner IS A SHOT FROM BLUE VELVET, you're officially my new favorite fiber art channel *mwah* IMPECCABLE taste

I bought the pattern, I've been confused and I've had to undo parts I've done wrong. But I've stuck at it and I can now work the blanket without looking at the page. I think some people do not want to stick at something that requires a bit more effort...

I just started crocheting very very recently, and I'd never heard of Drops Designs before! Thank you! Making a mental list of future projects, as I get better at learning to read patterns!

I completed this blanket as a gift for a friend. When I struggle with how a pattern is written, I rewrite it for myself to make it make sense for my brain. Sometimes I have to make accommodations for myself since I've lived with ADHD for my whole life.

I've found that there are things that can be done to help mitigate inaccessibility in written patterns for dyslexia and adhd. I use the highlighter tool in adobe on PDFs or highlighting on live blog pages. If that isn't working because I've got to watch a tutorial for a stitch or technique I'll use screenshots to keep my place. Thank you for calling out the entitlement creeping into the 'craft-fluencer' world.

stumbled in from the algorithm, and this is one of those dramas that really scratches the brain, where there's an original valid point from which things went awry. The reliance on shorthand speaks to generational differences from a time of conserving wordcount on a printed page for a pattern, and while its not unreasonable to expect someone learning a hobby to learn the lingo like common abbreviations- and Betty even gives a brief explanation of them so you don't have to google them- it can absolutely be difficult to parse in a way that isn't just irksome but genuinely distressing for people with a variety of conditions. Heck, the reason I'm adding in paragraph breaks to this word vomit of a comment is to make life a little easier for people like that, cause I'm one of them! Where the whole thing went off the rails is when someone directly threatened her livelihood and accused her of ableism after Betty already made the effort to be inclusive when the issue was brought to her attention. There's a rank hypocrisy here that I find particularly intriguing, because crafting, especially providing digital resources like patterns and tutorials, is often a way disabled people manage to support themselves. Someone concerned with accessibility should damn well be aware that setting this kind of precedent will just end up harming disabled people. This wasn't just a case of making their own version of a star pattern with a variety of stitches, it was the same pattern just with the instructions rewritten, presented as a direct alternative to the original hosted on Betty's site. As soon as the conservation became 'you are directly taking away my income, please stop' the only appropriate response is 'I'm sorry, I'll take it down and stop sharing it'. *Especially* once Betty made the changes to her own website. Any discussion about whether Betty would be within her rights to not change or add accessibility to the pattern or what if any obligation she has to provide accessibility to her customers (because she is selling/making money off hosting the pattern) are moot at this point- /she has already made an effort to be more inclusive./ The moment the rewriter began actively going against Betty's request to stop sharing the pattern while trying to play the victim, they became entirely in the wrong in my opinion. Especially when Betty *listened to the feedback* and thus there is now no need for the alternate pattern to begin with. Reading Betty's writing style, I wouldn't be shocked if the rudeness being claimed is a result of generational differences in communication style. Older people just have a much more curt and formal online text style vs younger people who grew up on the internet and are more 'fluent' in text based communication. It can be jarring and hard to parse for us youngins sometimes, but you gotta learn to put aside the instinct to read always read people's text as a one to one translation of how they'd talk to you person to person. I think you're also absolutely right to point out that in our society, we tend to demand politeness and warmth from older women that have been pigeonholed into the 'matronly' role. She doesn't have to hand hold, coddle, or let even tolerate this level of disrespect. Especially when someone is, and I cannot begin to stress this enough, actively threatening her income by disseminating her pattern on a different platform. Sorry for slapping an essay in your comment section, but this just really got the gears turning. Consider it an especially chunky tip to the algorithm gods haha

Great video. I have definitely seen the desire to be welcoming and accessible veer, ironically, into an extreme lack of charity toward others in crafting spaces.

i started crocheting a few months back... the weird thing is, i didnt know there was a crochet trend or anything. my dad wanted a plushie and i couldnt find a good one on the internet, so i decided i would make it myself. i made 2 amigurumi and practiced some random things, and now my plushie is only missing a horn! good things take time, and also, ive become addicted to purchasing yarn XD

I have just one question : was your arm tired of holding the mic for all this time?

I'm very new to crochet (started a month and a half ago) and realized quickly that I needed to learn the fundamentals and just get good at it by watching videos before I'm skilled enough to read written patterns. I do have "brain fog" and cognition/memory issues due to my chronic pain disease but never took the shorthand written instructions as anything other than something I'd hopefully be able to do once I got better at crochet. Just makes me want to work harder to get better so that I can make cooler and cooler stuff for me and my family

people are so entitled and think that everything should always be catered to them lol. the pattern is easy, not for beginners, and was expressed that way. dont understand it? practice and come back to it like every single person who's learned before you. people dont want to put in the work and choose to blame everyone else for it when they cant immediately be good at something/it isnt easily done.

As someone who has several different mental disabilities, it is frustrating to try a pattern and struggle with the instructions. Sometimes it takees multiple failed attempts and frogging before I can get it, but my brain never immediately jumps to "there must be something wrong with the pattern". The amazing thing about crocheting today in the age of the internet is that there are so many options of video tutorials and written patterns. There are multiple different ways to achieve the same or similar end results and it takes some patience and trial and error to make something. There were several patterns I attempted as an absolute beginner and just could not finish, but now over a year in I reattempt and it's a breeze. Trying a pattern and struggling with it is part of getting better at it and is an important part of the process.

I don't understand how it was ablist? I'm autistic and the ads are overwhelming but that isn't ablism, that's capitalism

Where do you get your wrist supports? I can't find ones that look like yours, and I would also not hate serving Avril 😂

I think that the "what I crochet/knit in a day/week/month" videos really water down the craft as something that you should be able to do as fast as possible. I sometimes take weeks on end to knit a pair of socks, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

I think i saw, once, a pattern that was rewritten by someone else offered ONLY to those who could show proof that they had purchased the original pattern. The legalities were iffy, but at least the original designer was recieving the money they deserved. Its as you said, nothing can be accesible to everyone, and that doesnt make it an attack on you. I also hate long winded patterns, i have ADHD and need shorthand patterns. I have purchased long winded patterns, been disappointed, and made something else instead. Yes it sucks i wasted moneu, but its MY skill issue, not the fault of the designer. I do wish designers would at least tell you what their style is before you bought it. But that wasnt the case of the Star pattern. Its free.

I don’t understand how the person who claimed it was so difficult for her to understand was able to completely re-write the pattern in a different way. She would have to fully understand the original pattern, THEN be able to translate it with different notation/explanation. That is boss level comprehension of the original pattern. Something doesn’t add up here.

Oh! The way I keep track of rows when I'm working on something big is with safety pins with links of chain attached to the bottom of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 for the odd rows, then place a plain safety pin on rows 10, 20, 30, etc. It's worked for me so far!

Charts vs Written patterns has been a knitting "personality type" for ages, and while many patterns have both, you don't get upset with a designer that only has one or the other, you find another pattern and move the heck on. Curate your own experience, folks! Also gotta love the first video you see in your recommended feed from a creator starts with "If this gets me cancelled, it's been fun." 😂 Fully agree with your points, though!

I am just learning about this now. I made the 6 day star blanket and I didn’t have any issues. I’m a little surprised by all of this. It’s difficult to know how to take a text. It may be written with a smile but read with a frown and vice versa. If they didn’t actually speak on the phone idk know how anyone can say they were being rude. Unless it was expressly stated in the text

Very fair, well-covered, well-spoken commentary. Good job.

As someone who is dyslexic and been crocheting for 4 years I don’t think pattern writers should have to adapt to be acceptable it’s not there job to do so I think testing is great for them to understand if how they write patterns is readable but it’s not there job to adapt to disability as someone who is dyslexic i know resources that I can use to help with reading text and also there’s a ton of resources out there to help if you don’t understand a part I’m in a few facebook groups (I’m gen z) and a lot of the older crafters in them are happy to help I think as long as we are all nice to each other and help we will be ok

I thought it could be bourette silk which is often used in brushed silks. Can be described as sustainable as it’s made from waste. It’s a shame that Plain Materials isn’t more forthcoming with information. However the bourette silk is not premium unless they are using waste from premium silk?? Brushed silk fabric can be easily found online. Interesting 🤔 Manifestos are amazing but not always followed through 🫠 I’m not fully trusting of anything that a former or current luxury brand employee says.

I learned knitting and crocheting by watching videos or having a person showing it to me. When I had finished the first pieces and felt ready for a new project, I decided to pick up a book with crochet and knit patterns just to get annihilated by confusion and the diability to read those patterns. I had thought, that reading patterns must be easy, as soon as you get the hang of crocheting/knitting, when in reality reading patterns is a skill of its own. So I went back to videos for a while before returning to written patterns. I fumbled my way trough the first one with a lot of trial and error, but in the end it worked out. I never felt like it was the creators fault, that I wasn't able to understand those patterns right away. Although there was a creator, with whom many of our customers (I worked in crafting retail for a while) took issue, so yes, creators can make mistakes too. I guess, because the internet makes alot of things seem easy and quick to learn/finish, we feel like we shouldn't waste time and "be good" in an instant instead of taking time to learn them or work at them in our own pace.

Very well said! I was not aware of the issue but, I appreciate your perspective on it. I have been crocheting since I was 7-50 years now. Until I was in my 20’s I could not read patterns and I just played around and made up my own way of doing what I wanted to do. In my 20’s I decided I wanted to make the things I saw in crochet magazines so I needed to learn how to read the patterns. This was way before KZbin or facebook or anything online! I took responsibility for what I wanted, bought a magazine that had the explanation of each stitch on the first few pages, and from these explanations, taught myself what the abbreviations were and what each stitch was called. From then on, the whole world of crochet patterns was open to me! I am like you, I would much rather see a traditional, abbreviated pattern than the long, drawn out and over explained blog patterns. I also don’t enjoy most video tutorials because I don’t need all that explanation, I just want to see the final product and the pattern! However, I have referred to videos to clarify some directions that were not specific, so they are helpful together sometimes. I can see how the detailed videos and blogs are helpful to all the newer crocheters who have only started crocheting in recent years or months. However, the idea that a designer owes someone something or is excluding those who haven’t learned the standard terminology is a crazy thought to me. Maybe these people have only been seeing videos and patterns from other beginners and don’t know there is any different way that crochet patterns have been presented for years and years.

No, I haven’t had their ads… but I bet I will now 😅

as someone who still regularly crochets from magazines, i was a little shocked people don't know these patterns with abbreviations exist

This is not relevant to the content of the video. but when you used Norwegian as an example, i legit turned my head to look at the screen so fast. I rarely hear my country mentioned so it threw me for a loop.

Calling this pattern not inclusive is like asking musicians to not write music using musical scores lmao

calling a fiber artist "greedy" for not wanting what im sure is ALREADY not as livable of a wage as she deserves is insane and it is part of what keeps people from being able to pursue the things they love.

A bit off-topic but when my mom bought a beginner's crochet kit for me when I was a teenager, I really struggled to figure out what to do! She bought it for me because I had an interest in sewing and was good at that, but crocheting didn't click with me quite as well. Granted, if I'd had more of an interest or had more than just the one book to learn from, I may have gotten the hang of it, but I was fine just giving it the one good try at the time and moved on when it didn't click. That isn't the author's fault - the book had numerous illustrations and written instructions that were good for a beginner, but between not having any other resources and not having much interest to begin with, I didn't pick up the skill. Might give it another go sometime now that my mom has earnestly picked it up for herself, though. She's made a lot of nice blankets lately and she's really enjoying her new hobby. She is learning mostly from KZbin, so maybe she's come across this channel before (if you see this - hi mom 😅). Great video!

While I agree that we should all be more concerned about accessibility and I love a lot of your ideas, my question is who's going to pay for it? If we are expecting designers to create multiple versions of a pattern in multiple modalities but not charge for it, then we are expecting them to work for free. That's not sustainable for the craft, any craft. If people are truly wanting free videos, free patterns in multiple versions to deal with multiple disabilities, and free access to the designer to ask any and all questions, they are asking for that designer to work for free, and work many, many hours for free. That's not okay. They need to be paid for their work. Then again, I think testers should be paid as well. I don't like designers using testers' free labor for them to make money. I think we need to have some serious discussions in the crafting community about labor, what we expect for our money, and what fair prices are.

You’re so right about the narcissistic elements of “influencer” culture. I was thinking about all the pictures and videos I’ve seen, old and new, with communities of people sitting in a room and knitting together. Also yes, all these patterns with bell end sleeves - no! Dishwater magnets 😅

10:50 the whole "well its not even a good design anyways!!!!" really shows how childish everyone getting mad about this is

all of this could've been solved by some basic crochet pattern literacy and turning on reader view. There's no need to add widgets to your blog because these are functions that are available by default on your device and in your browser. This was not a situation where the pattern writer needed to do anything at all, Knotty Recrochet was way out of line for asking when every solution was available and they were just unwilling to do the work. As someone with a visual, developmental, and intellectual disability... this is all a load of whine and cheese.

"Basically have to rewrite in my notes app" I was literally knitting and had to do this while listening to this video😂😂

Our crochet and knit journies are very similar! I never have been able to wrap my own ADHD brain around knitting, but I looooooooovee to crochet. I've recently been branching out into wearables, and the shortcomings of crochet in that arena are becoming apparent to me. I haven't gotten to the point where I've come back around to learning to knit, but maybe someday.

It's harsh, but I think we need to find the line between making things accessible but also reminding people that not everything is for them. She has provided THREE different ways of accessing her pattern and if one of those isn't usable then...either figure it out or find another pattern. There are so many star blanket patterns on youtube. An artist doesn't owe you their art and if they tell you to stop distributing their work, stop doing it!

I have subscribed just because of this video! I think there’s generally a lot of problems with patience and I think that comes from the point of overconsumption. Teachers are noticing it particularly in schools where kids are not willing to problem solve and are having problems because they are not willing to put in the time to actually take a moment to think through things. This seems to be bleeding into the fibre arts community as well because it’s that whole instant gratification and instant dopamine type thing. Fibre arts are supposed to be a slow craft, it’s okay if you don’t complete it in 6 days to show it off.

I dug up the pattern and couldn't figure out why anyone would be complaining about the ads, until I noticed I had uBlock Origin enabled. Do people just... do people just not use adblock anymore? really?

Rewriting the pattern was so well intentioned, but so thoughtless.

I also feel like there's this new expectation that everything you see on the internet is supposed to be catered to you specifically? For example, I keep seeing comments on videos about thrifted gifts about how discusting it is to gift secondhand- there's this inability to recognise when you're not the target audience or when something isn't that suited to you and it just deeply offends these people

Thank you so much, now I finally understand what happened. I watched several videos, but none explained it as well. I am new to crochet community and crocheting in general. I am honestly flabbergasted (and a bit amused) that there is so much tea in a seemingly peaceful hobby community. :D

Is this an accessibility issue or an entitlement issue.