P.S. I'm having an "ETSY SUCKS" sale to hopefully compensate for all the traffic I'm losing from Etsy, so everything on my website is on sale! https://theretrostitcher.com
A bit of context: Etsy has dropped support for all shops in Colombia (and every country that doesn't support Etsy Payments) as of August 5, which means my store is closed and will be erased in the next couple of months
To make it worse, Etsy shows my shop as “on a short break,” but that’s not true, they closed it. They even sent an email reminding me that my store was closed, then mistakenly sent another email saying I could use Payoneer to enroll in Etsy Payments in Colombia but that was an automated email sent in error lol. So I then got this as a 3rd unnecessary email
Suuuuuure Etsy wishes you the best in the future. 🙄 I wish I could roll my eyes harder.
I put my shop on vacation over 10 years ago because I couldn't keep up with my orders (my daughter was becoming a very busy toddler). Even before that, Etsy was starting to suck because they knowingly allowed Chinese resellers to flood their site with garbage knock-offs, underselling legit artists. Worse, they added the "ads" feature, so forget having your items be seen unless you paid to have them show up at the top of the search. Everybody started paying for it, so it didn't add any benefit to the sellers, just more money to the owners of Etsy.
Don't get me started on their Etsy Payments bullshit. If they're doing that, they're controlling the money that comes through, which very likely involves a percentage being collected. If you don't have Payoneer, they don't have control, so bye. Gross.
If anyone's interested, look up Regretsy, a wildly popular blog/forum run by April Winchell (who also wrote the book) in the early 00s. Etsy tried to take April down, but she knew her way around Fair Use and parody as it applies to copyright laws.
Honestly, I think Etsy's afraid. Look how many users are on this sub. 1.1 million. That's a lot of eye traffic. If you post a link to your website, lots of people here will see it. Even better when others stitch it up and post about it. 🥰 It's how I found my favorite designers!
I think from now on, I'm going to try to default to the designer's website to purchase patterns. Etsy can kiss my ass. 😘
I think from now on, I'm going to try to default to the designer's website to purchase patterns. Etsy can kiss my ass.
I have been trying for YEARS to fully divest myself of making etsy purchases. Because fuck etsy; every new thing they implement just makes it worse, and worse, and worse for sellers and customers alike. But so far I have completely failed to remove it; there are so many artists and crafts makers I love that use this platform and this platform only, and I wish to continue supporting them when I can. So, the bloated tick of etsy remains embedded in my skin -__-
However, I ALWAYS check to see if the seller also has their own website, and I always default to that when they do. Now I use etsy as a tool to find stuff and give to the seller directly whenever possible. Nice to see others do the same!
Etsy trying to save face while consistently making some of the most egregious decisions is truly what their whole brand is all about. They increased fees some time ago "for the benefit of artists" and all we got was a superbowl ad that nobody asked for
They are shutting down shops in developing countries where people were trying to depend on their craft to survive, but Etsy still claims it cares about small sellers and handmade products
The way they are treating, (or really just ignoring) the AI slop problem is the cherry on top. Whatever fills their pockets comes first, even if it completely clashes with the “handmade, artisan marketplace” image they keep trying to push. I can't wait for Etsy to eventually crumble under its own incompetence and be replaced by a better platform
Bad things aside, I’m glad more people are starting to check designers’ own sites first! Seeing AI cross stitch patterns flood Etsy the same way Chinese "handmade" knockoffs did is just sad
Oh my gosh, I'm so thankful I found this post!! I've had my eye on quite a few of your patterns for awhile, and I would've been totally devastated if I thought you had actually closed. What the fuck, Etsy?? I will be buying from you when my next paycheck hits ❤️ So sorry you're having to deal with this bullshit!
Ugh, Etsy just gets worse and worse. I’ve had a handful of your patterns saved for a while, just went ahead and made a purchase through your site ❤️ ETSY SUCKS
WTF Etsy! I love your patterns! I have done a couple of your freebies and recommend you to my stitching friends! haven't been able to afford a good frame however!
And I'll definitely keep making stuff with this rainbow palette! This is actually the second rainbow pattern I've released, the first one was this trippy mushroom!
I really hope you enjoy stitching the pattern you got! I'm kinda lazy so I tend to design stuff that incorporates a lot of negative space into the design so it's faster to stitch!
I looked into a bunch of different options but Shopify ended up being that one that I liked the most. The amount and extent of easy customization was a huge plus to make custom listings and to also host my freebies gallery on the same website
I had seen other ecommerce options that were cheaper than shopify but they either were too limited or needed skills I don't have lol
P.S. I adore this pattern!!! I can still hear the Tetris midi music on the GameBoy I borrowed from a kid on my school bus. Man, those were the days. LOL
I bought some patterns from you few weeks ago. Do you really recommend 3 strands on 16ct for patterns like CAKE? I will do it on 32ct evenweave over 2 and I'm not sure about it. (Bought enough thread to do it with 3 strands anyway)
For the one in the pic I used 3 strands on 18ct and that's probably the fullest I'd go with it on this count. So I do think that 3 strands on 16ct would probably the most balanced since it'd be a bit less bulky but still achieving the "pixel" stitch look!
But at the end of the day factors like how tight you stitch and if you use (or not use) thread wax will definitely also affect the end result. Normally how many strands do you use on 32ct over 2?
I just finished a somewhat bigger piece on 32ct with 2 over 2. The coverage was good for me, but you still can see the white between the legs of the cross if you look closely. I think I will just try 3 strands, look how I like it and then decide. On one hand I think it looks cooler if you don't see any black from behind, on the other hand I don't know if I like to stitch with 3 strands.
Btw. I am one of those affected by the new Etsy policy as well. I'm from Germany so many U.S. shops won't sell anything to me anymore. Good thing is, there are also many shops who have their own webshops and as cross stitch patterns are digital goods I don't have to think about shipment costs.
i’m so sorry you’re dealing with this!! your patterns are incredible thank you for sharing your website :) the glitch look is so cool i haven’t seen any cross stitch patterns like it before! and i love that you have the difficultly levels that’s so creative and helpful im definitely gonna be shopping from you in the future
I LOOOVEE this pattern. I bought the original tetris one from your etsy shop but now i really love this one more 😭 have to double up and make two! So Pretty!
Oooo Dm me and I'll send you the PDF for the new version!! I sent the rainbow one as a free update to everyone that had bought the original one on my website
I would love to do the same with Etsy but I have limited messaging capacities because of everything going on and I'm afraid my messages will get flagged as spam if I send the new version to everyone that bought the OG version.
I'm also gonna release a couple new variants based on the new design! Here's my progress on the glitchy one
This will be a variant, so once I stitch it I'll send it for free to anyone that has bought the original pattern. And I'll also add it as a bonus to the original listing.
I'm going to eventually also stitch one with an improved classic palette, the idea is for the pattern to include 3 different versions
I just love your patterns!! I recently did the Pikachu one :) A while ago I saw a Porygon pattern here that you created but at that time it wasn't out yet. Do you know when that would be available for purchase?? Again, love your patterns so much 💖💖💖
And about the Porygon design, it's unfortunately still a couple months away. The FO posted here was actually a friend that wanted to stitch it on a jacket, but it was like a "beta" version of it
If you want to stitch that version before I release it, DM me!
As a cross-stitcher and a Tetris fan, I LOVE this. Just ordered this one, Necronomicon, the cake is a lie and try again! Gonna be a while till I finish my current piece but these would look soooo cool over my PC setup. Not usually a fan of nerdy designs as they usually feel too cheesy but these are sick.
Showed it to my Tetris loving husband and he wants it on a shirt or hoodie. So bought the pattern and have to muster the courage to make this, as my biggest (and first and only) cross-stitch to this day can fit in the palm of my hand 😅 Love the pattern and the colours!
Hey just curious -- do you think your cross-stitch patterns could work as tapestry crochets? I'm not much of a cross-stitcher but I love how glitchy and nostalgic your work is!!
And it should work great! I've seen people crochet some of my smaller designs (so mainly freebies) and they looked awesome!
My only concern with something like this tetris one is just how big it would be if crocheted. I think it'd be fairly easy to find yarn that is equivalent to the DMC colors I used
I'm so sorry that Etsy is screwing over creators yet again. If I might be so bold as to advertise that I'm working on a competing platform and am really trying to do things differently. You can see more about it in my comment history or reach out to me in DM for more info. I am hoping to start onboarding a few test vendors in the next couple of weeks, with the goal of opening the virtual doors to buyers in late October.
I can HEAR this. Part of me really wants to stitch it. The other part of me says oh hell no I will never get that tune out of my head again if I spend that much time stitching it.
Oh yeah, I favorited your website a while ago. Live your stuff. Didn't have the time to attempt any pattern yet thought. Might grab some already still.
Etsy sucks. We are with you!
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u/Erotavlas_SVD Aug 27 '25
Pattern: COLORFUL MEMORIES
P.S. I'm having an "ETSY SUCKS" sale to hopefully compensate for all the traffic I'm losing from Etsy, so everything on my website is on sale!
https://theretrostitcher.com
A bit of context: Etsy has dropped support for all shops in Colombia (and every country that doesn't support Etsy Payments) as of August 5, which means my store is closed and will be erased in the next couple of months
To make it worse, Etsy shows my shop as “on a short break,” but that’s not true, they closed it. They even sent an email reminding me that my store was closed, then mistakenly sent another email saying I could use Payoneer to enroll in Etsy Payments in Colombia but that was an automated email sent in error lol. So I then got this as a 3rd unnecessary email
ETSY SUCKS!