Etsy announced sweeping new A.I. policies yesterday via email.
While most of us agree that A.I. patterns are a huge problem, the new policy raises genuine concerns for long-time independent pattern makers like myself.
Let me backtrack. Many of you might not know that our family business isn’t just making Wearing History patterns and selling odd vintage items online. Our small family business for several years now has been mostly doing pattern printing. We run Pattern Printing Co, and we love our community of pattern makers and sewing enthusiasts.
We have had quite a wide berth of challenges in our family this year, which means I’ve been doing more printing and folding than pattern “making” for a little while. Which means I’ve seen a LOT of different patterns come across my path. MOST of what people order are perfectly good, nice, indie brands or up-and-coming new designers.
Things that might concern me are things things like formatting- A0 is a file SIZE, not file type- if the file is massively wide or long but says it’s A0, it could be automated. Look out for pattern layouts that have jagged grading between sizes that aren’t spaced evenly, or pieces overlapping each other on the cutting sheet.
And, obviously, when shopping for patterns, if it’s constantly 70% off or more, if it’s $5 or less, if they look like they have extremely fancy photoshoots with top models and the store only has 15 sales…. it’s likely A.I.
A.I. on Etsy has gotten so bad that many people won’t even shop there.
And so, when Etsy came in yesterday with sweeping, huge changes and is promising to crack down on A.I., that should be a globally great thing for customers— right??
WELL.
Let me just say, while reading the fine details, that their changes will bulldoze through some long-time genuine sellers making a genuine product. Like myself.
You see, this is where it gets difficult for genuine sellers in our antique and vintage sewing niche:
If you sell craft patterns, recipes, seeds, or similar items, include at least one real, unedited photo of something made using your product. For example, a completed crochet project made from your pattern or a blooming flower grown from your seeds. AI-generated images cannot be the only images used to show the finished result.
Source: Etsy Listing Image Requirements
While some may say “Well, duh. Of course you should do that.” Let me say… this was NOT the norm for costuming or vintage reproductions for as long as I can remember. If you’ve been around as long as I have, you’ll remember that most patterns were copies of hand-drawn sewing patterns, done in sharpie with handwriting on most of the pieces. Even the “Big 4” still put out patterns to this day that show only illustrations and flats. So this “guilty until proven innocent” approach- frankly sucks.
The A.I. pattern makers have ruined it for all of us.
And while I would absolutely love to go back and supply actual photos (though I think completely unedited, meaning not even basic lighting or color correction fixes, is dumb) I simply don’t have samples for every single pattern. And of those I did make, I don’t still have all of them. I actually *wore* those clothes. Which is part of the whole point of making them, right? So I don’t have pattern samples for things I made, say, 15 years ago, for my own personal use.
Yes, I personally develop every single pattern I have listed. I spend a heck of a lot of time on my “reproductions”, and I try to make sure everything is as good as I can make it, while still retaining the historical accuracy in pattern cut and instruction. For a while I was able to get outside help for grading, from another genuine human with actual skill. I still think I have quite a good product for our niche.
But this new change? It means many things may need to be moved off of Etsy. And with the sweeping regulations put on digital and physical items sold to the UK and EU over the last several years, that means some products may only be available to buyers outside of those places. In speaking to other small makers, many of us, frankly, are struggling greatly. Many have even questioned whether it’s worth it to keep going.
Our market is shrinking. Our challenges are growing. And our marketplace options are becoming minimal.
In the meantime, I encourage you to find my patterns on my own website, if you’re after one of them, instead of Etsy. http://wearinghistorypatterns.com
Because I’m not sure how long Etsy will be sustainable for us in the rapidly evolving digital world.
My patterns are always, proudly, A.I. free, made by a real human, and done while trying to preserve the history of dress cut and design. No matter whether, or not, I have the images to prove my faithful application of my ethical principles and practices for over twenty years.
Thanks for reading. And go forth and create- we need you, and appreciate your loyalty to us, and the many other good independent makers out there. We all support each other in this crazy, changing landscape.
Leave a Reply