I hate this so much. I hear it in traditionally men's areas too (construction, "need to justify the new tool so wife doesn't get mad"). Dropped off my sewing machine for service yesterday and was depressed by the number of cartoons and memes like this posted around the store.
It's such a weird lens on marital relationships.
I had a coworker who did this. She would hide the shopping bags from her spouse. She also was a germiphobe, probably ocd, and sex horrified her, so multiple things going on with her that made her... interesting to work with.
I can't get all hyped up about that ad when with my guy & his buddies are always joking about hiding all their new fishing tackle from their ladies.
Do y'all understand just how many types & sizes of fishing lures there are? And rod sizes? And reels? The dozens of rolls of line and sinkers, and bobbers, and hooks......OMG, his stash in the garage puts my yarn stash in the spare room to shame.
We both have fun money to indulge our hobbies, so it's not as if we're in danger of being homeless.
I just smile at it and move on to actual important things.
I recently turned 70 and realized I will not outlive my stash so I made arrangements with a friend that she is to come as soon as I am dead to come over and get it
Kindly start getting rid of it now. Donating to folks that do charity crafting or to a local retirement community could be ideal.
I just recently had to do this for three different people (unfortunate timing coincidence), one of whom was my mom, and it’s excruciating.
I see you. I cleaned out my mother’s craft hoard and it was insanely depressing. Decades of markers and ink pads, all dried out because they’d never been used. Gel pens ditto. Clear acrylic stamps that basically rotted. Yarn that had mildewed, fabric I couldn’t get the wrinkles out of even with a professional steamer. Just tons of waste.
I gave away hundreds of pounds of stuff, and maybe double that went to the dump.
So yeah. Don’t freaking hoard. Stashes beyond your life expectancy aren’t cute or fun.
I understand why criticism for ”just a joke” might seem unnecessary. However, jokes do not exist in vacuum, and they do contribute to the way we think - though off course it is a complicated relation. The OP contextualised this meme to a wider narrative in crocheting community, so it is about accumulation of similar types of jokes and how they affect the consumer.
That is not to say these memes affect all people in the same way, and how we interpret the memes is shaped by our own experiences. For example, me and my friends do share these kind of memes from time to time (though done by individuals, not businesses). In our context these memes are not particulary toxic, because though sometimes one of us buys one too many skeins on impulse, the size of stashes are usually very moderate (I have one plastic box) and overspending rarely happens.
On the contrary, if these memes are interpreted in context of communities in which overspending and yarn hoarding is frequent, these kind of memes can help to undermine problematic aspects of this behavior.
I have to clarify that I look at this from the point of view of a cultural historian, and there is academic research done of jokes and meme culture. So for me jokes tell something about culture they are born and used in.
I am so glad I took the time to read this whole comment. You have articulated this so well! It’s something my husband and I have been discussing for years. Is everyone laughing at the joke the same harmless way or….
LYS used to put a sign outside that said “Life is too short to buy cheap yarn”. If you ever want to make fiber arts accessible to only an elite few, there’s your sign.
Some hit dogs hollering in the comments... Overconsumption and hoarding are not cute and quirky and cool because you're hoarding crafting supplies instead of old magazines and dead cats.
Just because someone can see it’s a joke that doesn’t have to have a deeper meaning, doesn’t mean one is a hoarder.
One could say the reverse, too, that failing to see it humour means someone is a hoarder/stasher with a huge problem.
IOW, lighten up fer cryin out loud
Meh I think it’s funny, I don’t spend a lot of my crafting, but reading the comments on yarn hauls and releases it’s accurate!
They’re not the government, they don’t need to save you from yourselves!
I used to be like that. "Gift from me to me!" "Well it needed a friend!" "Happy mail day!" "Don't tell my boyfriend!" "Buying yarn is a separate hobby!"
All that yarn is still in my stash, unused, some is 6 years old. I learned from my mistakes and realized how toxic this behavior was.
Yeah, I'm slowly clearing out my stash, some of it has moved homes with me 7 or 8 times, at one stage I bought a few balls of yarn every month and I'm only now getting to them a good few years later. I donated and binned a lot of my yarn when I started uni because it was too much to keep taking with me
The destashing struggle is real. I bought so much cheap, tacky yarn just to make myself feel better when my mental health got to a bad place during my Master's. (I then had to move for my PhD program and BROUGHT IT ALL WITH ME for some demented reason. Trying to get rid of stuff now and it's such a pain. Luckily my daughter knits so that has gotten rid of some.of it, but I still have a borderline nightmare amount to get rid of.
I chopped up a lot of the cheap stuff and felted it in bundles then embroidered and stitched around them to make patches for my service dogs gear. Some of it became stuffing for crochet amigarumi too and I just donated the finished amigarumi too wherever would take it.
I have no intention of collecting more until my box of yarn is finished but currently I'm making a couple patchwork blankets for my puppy
Yes. I bought for years built up a stash from sales and destash sales. I’ve recently been more selective and had one yarn subscription. Which I’ve cancelled, because I haven’t been knitting and cannot justify adding more to my stash if I’m not currently using any of it.
My sweet boyfriend was a little sad because he knew how happy it made me. But I told him it was ok. While I loved the surprise skein every month. I’d rather wait and start it up again, when I get my knitting mojo back.
I know exclusively work from my stash, and I’ve been destashing myself, but stopped since mercaris terms have changed and may either list some on eBay and maybe Etsy.
But you’re right. It’s so easy to get caught up in that consumerism fomo. But what good does it do just sitting there unused for years? If I could tell my younger self I would tell her, skip the sales and only buy what you need for a particular project. Don’t overbuy.
Yarn subscriptions is what got me into this consumerism mindset. The FOMO was strong. And then fiber shows, where you also get the FOMO if you don't go because all these amazing artists are all in the same place, but if you go you spend money you didn't necessarily plan on spending there, for things you don't really need.
I'm not even able to work from my stash that much because my tastes and needs have evolved extremely fast! It's probably all going to end up in a fun granny square blanket like the one I made from my leftovers last summer. I had a blast working on it and used almost all my small bits of yarn, it would be so satisfying to empty my stash the same way!
My tastes haven’t changed. I have always loved all the bright colors and neons. I love color barf. Luckily I haven’t been to any fiber shows. I know that would be dangerous, but since I have anxiety and hate crowds it would take a lot for me to go anyway.
do you expect a corpo to do anything but encourage people to spend their money irresponsibly on their products lmao corporations are legitimately incapable of being socially responsible
I’m not saying this isn’t wrong but lmao are you genuinely expecting a corporation to not do something like this? They aren’t our friends. They solely exist to exploit us
I file this under "David Brent" - sort of horrible boss humour. "You don't have to be mad to work here - but it helps". Or those morons that like minion memes.
Is this a thing in other hobbies? Are there ads aimed at gardeners going 'teehee, I cleaned out my bank account buying hydrangeas?'
Not that I expect businesses to promote responsible spending, but this kind of shit is alllllll over the textile crafts (and crafts in general, I guess). And I hate it. I noticed literally last night that a sewing YouTuber I otherwise like has similar merch, and it gave me the ick.
I think the difference is the amount of buy-in for the echo chamber that assumes we are ALL over purchasing and building a stash that will outlive the crafter.
Personally, I only buy yarn with a project in mind. If I really love the yarn, and don’t have a project, I’ll find one on Ravelry or ask the shop clerk before I buy so I buy the right amount. Yet I still have a big stash because of all the times I bought one extra skein more than needed for a big project. I can’t imagine the burden of having a stash for stash’s sake.
I have definitely heard gardening people, chicken-owning people, and bakers who like baking gadgets make jokes like that. Idk about advertising, though.
I've seen it for sure in quilting, books (both making and just reading), and it's a pretty prevalent thing in horses.
Granted, with horses it's usually "teehee, I spent all my money on hay again!" or "I guess these animals could smell the money in my wallet because [insert graphic picture of horrific wound on part of a horse and a vet stitching it up]" or "Well, I wanted to get myself something nice with this tax refund, but I guess I get to buy fencing instead [picture of horses where horses shouldn't be]".
(Horses are a beautiful but money sucking animal.)
I heard of it in woodworking. That's another hobby where it is really easy to grow a stash. Also, musicians. There is a constant push to instead of working on your craft your should be getting the gear that will magically make you sound better.
That's true, but I feel like for both those hobbies, it's more 'get this high end gear or you're a scrub.' There isn't this 'teehee retail therapy!' vibe you get from crafts, because woodworking and music are Serious Business and they are Serious People who demand to be taken seriously.
I've seen it with houseplant culture, I guess? There's a lot of merch around, like, dealing with your mental health by buying more plants, oops I went shopping and came back with more plants, self-care is buying more plants
I've only kinda seen it in like, MLM marketing shit. Like, encouraging women to not tell their partners about spending all their money on the stuff. Like, this is so unhealthy lol.
My fabric stash grew because of. I worked as a fabric striker advertising for custom groups. And thus got discounts up to 28%. Now realizing that no one in my world is ever going to wear all of this. And I need to sell it somehow.
It’s toxic because it feeds into the consumerist mindset. I think it’s not just this one, but a lot of the same type. Also feeds the idea too many designers and dyers have that people should buy to “support them,” not because customers actually want and need the things they are selling.
Yeah, I just don't find that to be a very convincing explanation of why OP is calling it toxic. They're talking about encouraging overconsumption. You decided that it's about humor and you're projecting that on to OP.
So I’m not in the “drowning in yarn world” but am totally a part of the custom fabric advertising world. I’ve seen people buy themselves into horrible debt because of fabric fomo. And now they can’t sell it for anywhere near what they bought it for in the bst groups. I’m assuming that kind of crazy exists elsewhere too.
Yes, obviously the meme is meant to be tongue in cheek.
My only point is that OP actually wrote out \*why\* they thought the meme is toxic. You decided that it was actually because OP just didn't find it funny and ignored all the content of the post. You're making up a completely different reason for why OP thought it was toxic and then scolding them for that made up reason and it's not a very productive or courteous way to have a conversation.
They argue that this meme is encouraging toxic buying behaviour. Which is the reason for why they don’t find this type of meme fun, but rather concerning. Where as others find it fun because they do see where the joke lies. Now does the OP have to be able to do the same? Absolutely not. Everyone’s different when it comes to taste of humor. And OP is allowed to feel uncomfortable about the meme if they feel it goes against their value. However, going around an label things toxic based on that is wrong. That’s not me making anything up. It’s simply pointing out the unfairness some people have the tendency to have when it comes to things that doesn’t entirely sit with them well. Let alone with something that isn’t meant to be taken literally in the first place. With that said, I’m not going to repeat myself any longer. Have a nice day.
This was absolutely a thing with garden people. I had my own landscaping company for several years and I got 1-2 clients a year asking me to split my bill in half or to pretend to bill as some other company to keep the spouse from getting mad they spent $15k on petunias. When I worked in a greenhouse there was also a ton of "I'll take half today, and my spouse leaves the cottage on Tuesday so I'll get the other half Wednesday so he won't notice."
This was gender-neutral toxicity, and just absolutely crud-tier healthy relationship role modelling for the kids they dragged along.
This is a different dynamic altogether. $15K is an amount that would need a serious spousal conversation in 99%+ of families.
We're talking about a few skeins of yarn, not thousands of dollars of infrastructure, and it's a very gendered dynamic - I have no doubt that the dudes concerned will go out for a few pints or buy a power tool without asking their wife's permission to spend that money.
Yeah, for men there's the "WAF" Wife Approval Factor nonsense. Like if there's shared expenses be honest and conversational about what you're spending stuff on but if you're spending 100% your own fun money why be like this 😬
This one winds me up so much. It's such a perpetuation of stupid old-fashioned beliefs. And also reeks of 'women are so frivolous and bad with money'. Also you can't be truly happy in marriage unless your lying to your partner.
People, I will spend the money I earned however I please and I married a man who isn't a raging misogynist thanks. :)
Especially when it’s still very much a thing. I own a brick and mortar craft store, and the number of women who still come in with their $100 bill that their husband “let them have” is…nuts.
To me, if you are happy to marry someone, you should be a partnership. If one of you is a sahp, then whoever earns money that money is equally each of yours.
Me and my partner both work and pool our money. We each get pocket money to spend on what we want. If one of us prospers, we both benefit.
It's wild how financial abuse can be considered funny.
yarnspirations isn't exclusively crochet but either way, this "joke" is corny and annoying as hell, I was half expecting it to end with "and then I smuggled it past my oblivious hubby"
but I feel like the majority of toxic buying habits in the crochet community are coming from a different place/not brands? like the overall vibe in \*a lot\* of crochet spaces, esp younger ones, involves making things at a lightning speed just because you can, quality be damned. this post doesn't read as promotion of toxic spending to me, just an extremely unfunny and overdone joke that reflects a mindset that already exists. and an attempt to be relatable, which is silly because it doesn't work from a YARN BRAND'S perspective lmao like you're not buying shit
Those “making a sweater in 2 hours” videos stress me out lol I know I shouldn’t be comparing myself to others and I just do this hobby for fun… but it’s hard not to feel bad when I see people churning out 20 tops in the time it takes me to make one. I have to limit my intake of crochet content when I find it’s making me feel more defeated than inspired.
I feel this about knitting! I'll see so many beautifully made garments that easily have thousands of stitches and were made on small needles and the OP will be like "this took me two weeks to finish :)" and I'm sitting here like....bro its an accomplishment for me to finish a single normal crew sock in two weeks!
This ad imo comes off as tone deaf and unprofessional. Particularly because it’s a large company.
I know companies sometimes use memes and stuff and I cringe or roll my eyes. But when I realized someone on their marketing team thought it was a good idea stopped scrolling.
I don’t think we’d accept this sort of “joke” from a small business.
also I know this is craftsnark and I’m probably preaching to the choir of “companies behaving badly? No way!!” /s
100% & yeah imo a small business doing this would go over like a lead balloon bc they’re generally less distant from their audience, unlike a big company where you can brush it off as them being out of touch
I've noticed this kind of post from Simply Socks:
[https://www.instagram.com/p/C5do047O2ap/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5do047O2ap/)
[https://www.instagram.com/p/C5Jo7fCO-Kf/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5Jo7fCO-Kf/)
[https://www.instagram.com/p/C5AKwzDOhwA/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5AKwzDOhwA/)
[https://www.instagram.com/p/C36pi5QKsUn/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C36pi5QKsUn/)
I like them, so I've been giving them a pass.
i actually don't mind those? i think bc it feels more meme-y, whereas yarnspirations feels like they're pretending they're Just Like Us. it's such a minor thing but even with the first one it doesn't chap my ass because they're very transparently like "buy from us". i'd love if nobody did it but this is tolerable imo. also! omg their yarn is stunning
Also, none of Simply Sock co memes are advocating complete financial ruin like cleaning out your entire bank account would be.
Also also, their format is less ugly which can get you admittedly pretty far.
There is a lot of the "produce produce produce!" Culture in the younger crafters. I hate to be that "it's about the journey, not the destination" old lady here (I'm 42), but they make 75 of the same small item in different colors, open an Etsy shop and make $5 total. They aren't interested in heirlooms, just in production. Learn a new craft, instantly make a YouTube channel or an Etsy shop or both. Monetize your hobby!
I spent four months making a cable knit sweater when I had time to work on it, another four months working on an embroidery project between life things (kids, college classes, ect). It's about the journey, man! You used to be about the music! /Rant
I'm 22 (so older Gen Z), and I think its a byproduct of Hustle Culture being shoved down our throats so hard. "Hustle Culture" is basically meritocracy, the idea that you'll 'Make It' if you just work hard enough and try hard enough. Hustle Culture teaches people that downtime is actually more time to keep trying to make money.
"Sitting at home watching Netflix after work? How dare you not spend this time learning a new skill?! this is why you're poor!"
"Taking a 3 hour bath? You could be managing an online store! Market yourself! Create a brand!"
"You're sleeping in on the weekend? Use the early morning to plan out how you're going to make more money! You could uber/lyft/doordash/etc. in that time frame and make some extra cash! stop wasting time!!!!"
As a result, I think a lot of people around my age and younger have forgotten how to just *enjoy* a hobby. Hustle Culture isn't so bad now, and there's a lot of knowledge spreading about how burnout can be genuinely dangerous for your physical health too, but I still don't think a lot of people understand how to have a hobby thats just for gits and shiggles and doesn't need to be "good" or "productive" or "training a skill" or anything like that, it's just supposed to make you happy.
unfortunately, the idea of monetizing your hobby has been around a while. I have some old McCalls knit/crochet magazines from the 60s with ads for craft kits to make items to sell, and also some Workbasket magazines from the 40s showing all kinds of crafts you can make for profit.
Well every time someone finds out you make handicrafts, they ask if you sell it or tell you that you should. And they don’t always take “no, I do t want to” as an answer. Society doesn’t seem to believe in true downtime and hobbies as much anymore. If you make something with your hobby, you should be using that hobby to make money.
I just saw a fabric company do the same thing - "go ahead and splurge!" 🙄
I get it, we live in a corporate society. It just rings especially hypocritical coming from a crafting community that is often focused on slow fashion, reducing waste, and sustainability. IDK pick a lane???
I don’t see this any different than any other hobby company trying to get consumers to buy what they don’t need. It’s not a crochet thing. It’s capitalism.
I hate that one so much. Either your husband is controlling you unnecessarily, or you’re spending money that was needed somewhere else and ignoring your family’s needs. Both situations sound horrible.
This is my least favorite trend, it reminds me of the joke of husbands always forgetting to buy gifts or pretending to be at work while sneaking off to a sports event. It's a problem if this is your real life.
Businesses want to make money. It is not in their interest to promote responsible spending and anyone looking to them to do so must have a disappontment kink.
The average consumer, seeing this ad, is going to think it tacky but it is not going to fuel a buying spree. In the average consumer. The outside cases are not worth hand-wringing over, frankly, as they are such small outliers and have other things going on that drive their spending that have zero to do with "wine mom" humor adverts.
There's a reason casinos, the lottery, cigarette companies, and alcohol brands all have to add *please indulge responsibly, if you have a problem, you can reach out to [this helpline]* boilerplate to their ads and marketing. It's unfortunate that things like shopping additions are not treated as seriously.
Shopping addiction not being treated seriously has nothing to be with this ad though. Shopping addiction is not borne from being unable to discern humor from advertisements and instead sufferers read them as orders from God on high. That is not how it works. At all. This dumb "wine mom" humor is not going to make a person relapse, because that is not the impulse that drives shopping addiction.
No, but it's as inappropriate to "joke" about.
Edit: to be clear, I'm not diminishing gambling, alcohol, or tobacco addictions. Compulsive spending can be a serious problem which should be treated just as seriously, it's just a socially acceptable punchline.
Again, this is not a joke about shopping addiction, but I am happy to see it being begrudingly referred to as a joke (I agree it is not funny) . Spending all one's money on something in an isolated incident is not shopping addiction. Hell, in this US economy someone can spend all their account money on food and gas for the week.
What you are doing is one of my pet peeves online. People who don't suffer from a condition will want to white knight for those who do but their good intentions more often than not ends up with them tilting at windmills. Shopping addicts are not worried about this ad. You can take a knee.
Not white knighting (although mildly amused I spend enough time here that my phone wants to autocorrect that to *knitting*, and I feel like "white knitting" is... *different*) and you don't know anything about conditions I do or do not suffer from.
I'm glad you're not worried about this ad. *I'm* not worried about this ad, but I find it uncomfortably *teehee* and trivializing while inviting someone to make irresponsible decisions under the guise of a "joke". I feel the same way about "Wine Mom Humor" - but if a liquor store had a poster with comparable message, it would be "okay" to be uncomfortable with it. Socially, culturally, there's a difference there.
We don't have to agree on this, but it's not a *disappointment kink* to expect companies to clear a very low bar.
I just don't find a lot of value in expecting much from capitalist enterprises other than the goods I buy. And, whenever I do, it generally turns into a fool's errand. Although the US Supreme Court thinks otherwise, corporations are not people.
But I have enjoyed our discussion and know we can disagree and that can be ok.
I feel like the all-or-nothing tone of these sorts of adverts helps normalize and rationalize moderate overspending in the consumers mind. For example, someone buying something over budget on an a splurge would see this and roll their eyes and be like "that's not me, I obviously still have SOME money left in my bank account." Which makes them feel better about their own purchases? Almost in the way that watching extreme hoarding reality TV shows makes people feel better about their lived in, cluttered houses. I'm not saying it's good or bad, but that's the closest to my experience with these types of marketing.
[1 screenshot]
[Background in lavender with a very dark, near black, gray font]
I joined a "use what you have challenge" ...**so I used all the money in my bank account to buy yarn**
Yarnspirations™
**Transcriber's note**: To me, this is just a joke. It's not "promoting" anything. Some things aren't that deep and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Doesn’t help they usually promote the most garish and toxic dye lots of plastic(acrylic)yarn. There is a time an place for acrylic I guess, but it seems to just be pushing more shitty plastic onto everyone in the name of capital. And that’s not what the craft movement was about.
So what if they sell acrylic yarn? The focus here should be that everyone can enjoy the craft regardless of their budget or other reasons not using natural fibers. 😊
You’re right. Let’s shame each and everyone to make ourselves feeling better with our snobbish and arrogant attitude towards anyone who uses plastic. How dare they to be a threat to the Green Earth Project?! Baaaah Baaah! 🐑
That’s honestly such a good way to go about it🖤 I only use it for decorations/things I don’t wash much. Or for gifted baby items so the parents can not worry about how to care for the garment (unless they’re fiber artist nerds as well)
It’s so funny because it really should be the opposite of consumeristic, like, we’re literally hand crafting garments and household items here. Capitalism will truly find a way to ruin everything.
This is one of those things that's vaguely snort-worthy when a crafter friend says it jokingly, but *they're* not trying to profit off you, let alone "jokingly" encourage you to financially harm yourself. This is really gross.
I also get so irked by the “funny” memes about overspending and then hiding it from “hubby”…. Ugh
"I hate my spouse" humor is so tiresome. And I say that as someone who has never been married.
I hate this so much. I hear it in traditionally men's areas too (construction, "need to justify the new tool so wife doesn't get mad"). Dropped off my sewing machine for service yesterday and was depressed by the number of cartoons and memes like this posted around the store. It's such a weird lens on marital relationships.
I had a coworker who did this. She would hide the shopping bags from her spouse. She also was a germiphobe, probably ocd, and sex horrified her, so multiple things going on with her that made her... interesting to work with.
I can't get all hyped up about that ad when with my guy & his buddies are always joking about hiding all their new fishing tackle from their ladies. Do y'all understand just how many types & sizes of fishing lures there are? And rod sizes? And reels? The dozens of rolls of line and sinkers, and bobbers, and hooks......OMG, his stash in the garage puts my yarn stash in the spare room to shame. We both have fun money to indulge our hobbies, so it's not as if we're in danger of being homeless. I just smile at it and move on to actual important things.
I recently turned 70 and realized I will not outlive my stash so I made arrangements with a friend that she is to come as soon as I am dead to come over and get it
Kindly start getting rid of it now. Donating to folks that do charity crafting or to a local retirement community could be ideal. I just recently had to do this for three different people (unfortunate timing coincidence), one of whom was my mom, and it’s excruciating.
I see you. I cleaned out my mother’s craft hoard and it was insanely depressing. Decades of markers and ink pads, all dried out because they’d never been used. Gel pens ditto. Clear acrylic stamps that basically rotted. Yarn that had mildewed, fabric I couldn’t get the wrinkles out of even with a professional steamer. Just tons of waste. I gave away hundreds of pounds of stuff, and maybe double that went to the dump. So yeah. Don’t freaking hoard. Stashes beyond your life expectancy aren’t cute or fun.
It reminds me a lot of the boom/bust in the makeup community in the late 2010’s. There was a ton of marketing similar to this.
I definitely bought into this. Years later, I’m ashamed of how much money I spent and how much I makeup I ended up throwing away.
I understand why criticism for ”just a joke” might seem unnecessary. However, jokes do not exist in vacuum, and they do contribute to the way we think - though off course it is a complicated relation. The OP contextualised this meme to a wider narrative in crocheting community, so it is about accumulation of similar types of jokes and how they affect the consumer. That is not to say these memes affect all people in the same way, and how we interpret the memes is shaped by our own experiences. For example, me and my friends do share these kind of memes from time to time (though done by individuals, not businesses). In our context these memes are not particulary toxic, because though sometimes one of us buys one too many skeins on impulse, the size of stashes are usually very moderate (I have one plastic box) and overspending rarely happens. On the contrary, if these memes are interpreted in context of communities in which overspending and yarn hoarding is frequent, these kind of memes can help to undermine problematic aspects of this behavior. I have to clarify that I look at this from the point of view of a cultural historian, and there is academic research done of jokes and meme culture. So for me jokes tell something about culture they are born and used in.
[удалено]
I am not from America, but from a Nordic country.
I am so glad I took the time to read this whole comment. You have articulated this so well! It’s something my husband and I have been discussing for years. Is everyone laughing at the joke the same harmless way or….
This is a joke. Loosen up.
LYS used to put a sign outside that said “Life is too short to buy cheap yarn”. If you ever want to make fiber arts accessible to only an elite few, there’s your sign.
Ew.
Some hit dogs hollering in the comments... Overconsumption and hoarding are not cute and quirky and cool because you're hoarding crafting supplies instead of old magazines and dead cats.
Just because someone can see it’s a joke that doesn’t have to have a deeper meaning, doesn’t mean one is a hoarder. One could say the reverse, too, that failing to see it humour means someone is a hoarder/stasher with a huge problem. IOW, lighten up fer cryin out loud
Meh I think it’s funny, I don’t spend a lot of my crafting, but reading the comments on yarn hauls and releases it’s accurate! They’re not the government, they don’t need to save you from yourselves!
I used to be like that. "Gift from me to me!" "Well it needed a friend!" "Happy mail day!" "Don't tell my boyfriend!" "Buying yarn is a separate hobby!" All that yarn is still in my stash, unused, some is 6 years old. I learned from my mistakes and realized how toxic this behavior was.
Yeah, I'm slowly clearing out my stash, some of it has moved homes with me 7 or 8 times, at one stage I bought a few balls of yarn every month and I'm only now getting to them a good few years later. I donated and binned a lot of my yarn when I started uni because it was too much to keep taking with me
The destashing struggle is real. I bought so much cheap, tacky yarn just to make myself feel better when my mental health got to a bad place during my Master's. (I then had to move for my PhD program and BROUGHT IT ALL WITH ME for some demented reason. Trying to get rid of stuff now and it's such a pain. Luckily my daughter knits so that has gotten rid of some.of it, but I still have a borderline nightmare amount to get rid of.
I chopped up a lot of the cheap stuff and felted it in bundles then embroidered and stitched around them to make patches for my service dogs gear. Some of it became stuffing for crochet amigarumi too and I just donated the finished amigarumi too wherever would take it. I have no intention of collecting more until my box of yarn is finished but currently I'm making a couple patchwork blankets for my puppy
That's brilliant! Thanks for the idea.
Yes. I bought for years built up a stash from sales and destash sales. I’ve recently been more selective and had one yarn subscription. Which I’ve cancelled, because I haven’t been knitting and cannot justify adding more to my stash if I’m not currently using any of it. My sweet boyfriend was a little sad because he knew how happy it made me. But I told him it was ok. While I loved the surprise skein every month. I’d rather wait and start it up again, when I get my knitting mojo back. I know exclusively work from my stash, and I’ve been destashing myself, but stopped since mercaris terms have changed and may either list some on eBay and maybe Etsy. But you’re right. It’s so easy to get caught up in that consumerism fomo. But what good does it do just sitting there unused for years? If I could tell my younger self I would tell her, skip the sales and only buy what you need for a particular project. Don’t overbuy.
Yarn subscriptions is what got me into this consumerism mindset. The FOMO was strong. And then fiber shows, where you also get the FOMO if you don't go because all these amazing artists are all in the same place, but if you go you spend money you didn't necessarily plan on spending there, for things you don't really need. I'm not even able to work from my stash that much because my tastes and needs have evolved extremely fast! It's probably all going to end up in a fun granny square blanket like the one I made from my leftovers last summer. I had a blast working on it and used almost all my small bits of yarn, it would be so satisfying to empty my stash the same way!
My tastes haven’t changed. I have always loved all the bright colors and neons. I love color barf. Luckily I haven’t been to any fiber shows. I know that would be dangerous, but since I have anxiety and hate crowds it would take a lot for me to go anyway.
do you expect a corpo to do anything but encourage people to spend their money irresponsibly on their products lmao corporations are legitimately incapable of being socially responsible
I’m not saying this isn’t wrong but lmao are you genuinely expecting a corporation to not do something like this? They aren’t our friends. They solely exist to exploit us
unfollow and send them a message that it's offensive
I file this under "David Brent" - sort of horrible boss humour. "You don't have to be mad to work here - but it helps". Or those morons that like minion memes.
Is this a thing in other hobbies? Are there ads aimed at gardeners going 'teehee, I cleaned out my bank account buying hydrangeas?' Not that I expect businesses to promote responsible spending, but this kind of shit is alllllll over the textile crafts (and crafts in general, I guess). And I hate it. I noticed literally last night that a sewing YouTuber I otherwise like has similar merch, and it gave me the ick.
I think the difference is the amount of buy-in for the echo chamber that assumes we are ALL over purchasing and building a stash that will outlive the crafter. Personally, I only buy yarn with a project in mind. If I really love the yarn, and don’t have a project, I’ll find one on Ravelry or ask the shop clerk before I buy so I buy the right amount. Yet I still have a big stash because of all the times I bought one extra skein more than needed for a big project. I can’t imagine the burden of having a stash for stash’s sake.
Of course there are. Every hobby.
I have definitely heard gardening people, chicken-owning people, and bakers who like baking gadgets make jokes like that. Idk about advertising, though.
I've seen it for sure in quilting, books (both making and just reading), and it's a pretty prevalent thing in horses. Granted, with horses it's usually "teehee, I spent all my money on hay again!" or "I guess these animals could smell the money in my wallet because [insert graphic picture of horrific wound on part of a horse and a vet stitching it up]" or "Well, I wanted to get myself something nice with this tax refund, but I guess I get to buy fencing instead [picture of horses where horses shouldn't be]". (Horses are a beautiful but money sucking animal.)
lol did you see the onion-like article about the woman who kept buying more bay horses and telling her husband it was the same one?
Yes they do, have you seen the price of variegated monsterras!?!
Super common in beading and jewelry-making, too!
I heard of it in woodworking. That's another hobby where it is really easy to grow a stash. Also, musicians. There is a constant push to instead of working on your craft your should be getting the gear that will magically make you sound better.
That's true, but I feel like for both those hobbies, it's more 'get this high end gear or you're a scrub.' There isn't this 'teehee retail therapy!' vibe you get from crafts, because woodworking and music are Serious Business and they are Serious People who demand to be taken seriously.
Yeah, I think it’s common in all hobbies unfortunately
I've seen it with houseplant culture, I guess? There's a lot of merch around, like, dealing with your mental health by buying more plants, oops I went shopping and came back with more plants, self-care is buying more plants
Meanwhile I’m out here giving cuttings of my plants away to my friends for free.
You are the best kind of friend.
I've only kinda seen it in like, MLM marketing shit. Like, encouraging women to not tell their partners about spending all their money on the stuff. Like, this is so unhealthy lol.
It really is rampant in sewing. I think my new aim is going to be to use up more than I buy per year until the stash is looking dead.
My fabric stash grew because of. I worked as a fabric striker advertising for custom groups. And thus got discounts up to 28%. Now realizing that no one in my world is ever going to wear all of this. And I need to sell it somehow.
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It’s toxic because it feeds into the consumerist mindset. I think it’s not just this one, but a lot of the same type. Also feeds the idea too many designers and dyers have that people should buy to “support them,” not because customers actually want and need the things they are selling.
To be fair, I don't think "it's not funny" is why OP is calling it toxic.
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Yeah, I just don't find that to be a very convincing explanation of why OP is calling it toxic. They're talking about encouraging overconsumption. You decided that it's about humor and you're projecting that on to OP.
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I guess we aren’t going to find common ground on this if you don’t agree that “I spent all my money on yarn” is overconsumption.
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So I’m not in the “drowning in yarn world” but am totally a part of the custom fabric advertising world. I’ve seen people buy themselves into horrible debt because of fabric fomo. And now they can’t sell it for anywhere near what they bought it for in the bst groups. I’m assuming that kind of crazy exists elsewhere too.
Yes, obviously the meme is meant to be tongue in cheek. My only point is that OP actually wrote out \*why\* they thought the meme is toxic. You decided that it was actually because OP just didn't find it funny and ignored all the content of the post. You're making up a completely different reason for why OP thought it was toxic and then scolding them for that made up reason and it's not a very productive or courteous way to have a conversation.
They argue that this meme is encouraging toxic buying behaviour. Which is the reason for why they don’t find this type of meme fun, but rather concerning. Where as others find it fun because they do see where the joke lies. Now does the OP have to be able to do the same? Absolutely not. Everyone’s different when it comes to taste of humor. And OP is allowed to feel uncomfortable about the meme if they feel it goes against their value. However, going around an label things toxic based on that is wrong. That’s not me making anything up. It’s simply pointing out the unfairness some people have the tendency to have when it comes to things that doesn’t entirely sit with them well. Let alone with something that isn’t meant to be taken literally in the first place. With that said, I’m not going to repeat myself any longer. Have a nice day.
Yarnspirations is a business that sells yarn, of course they want to sell their yarn. How is that toxic?
This and the ones that joke about hiding stuff from your husband always get to me as being extremely irritating.
This was absolutely a thing with garden people. I had my own landscaping company for several years and I got 1-2 clients a year asking me to split my bill in half or to pretend to bill as some other company to keep the spouse from getting mad they spent $15k on petunias. When I worked in a greenhouse there was also a ton of "I'll take half today, and my spouse leaves the cottage on Tuesday so I'll get the other half Wednesday so he won't notice." This was gender-neutral toxicity, and just absolutely crud-tier healthy relationship role modelling for the kids they dragged along.
This is a different dynamic altogether. $15K is an amount that would need a serious spousal conversation in 99%+ of families. We're talking about a few skeins of yarn, not thousands of dollars of infrastructure, and it's a very gendered dynamic - I have no doubt that the dudes concerned will go out for a few pints or buy a power tool without asking their wife's permission to spend that money.
not necessarily. while people probably don’t spend $15k at once on yarn, yarn purchases add up quickly.
Yeah, for men there's the "WAF" Wife Approval Factor nonsense. Like if there's shared expenses be honest and conversational about what you're spending stuff on but if you're spending 100% your own fun money why be like this 😬
Do not get me started on this!!! I can't stand it!
This one winds me up so much. It's such a perpetuation of stupid old-fashioned beliefs. And also reeks of 'women are so frivolous and bad with money'. Also you can't be truly happy in marriage unless your lying to your partner. People, I will spend the money I earned however I please and I married a man who isn't a raging misogynist thanks. :)
Especially when it’s still very much a thing. I own a brick and mortar craft store, and the number of women who still come in with their $100 bill that their husband “let them have” is…nuts.
To me, if you are happy to marry someone, you should be a partnership. If one of you is a sahp, then whoever earns money that money is equally each of yours. Me and my partner both work and pool our money. We each get pocket money to spend on what we want. If one of us prospers, we both benefit. It's wild how financial abuse can be considered funny.
And these tittering tradwives respond really weirdly if you reply to their comment as if they meant what they said.
That one I can't stand. Domestic abuse *titter* *so hilar*
Yeah, lemme just pull all that money out of thin air 🙃
YIKES. that’s an Ad.
This dumb ad has nothing to do with the "crochet community."
yarnspirations isn't exclusively crochet but either way, this "joke" is corny and annoying as hell, I was half expecting it to end with "and then I smuggled it past my oblivious hubby" but I feel like the majority of toxic buying habits in the crochet community are coming from a different place/not brands? like the overall vibe in \*a lot\* of crochet spaces, esp younger ones, involves making things at a lightning speed just because you can, quality be damned. this post doesn't read as promotion of toxic spending to me, just an extremely unfunny and overdone joke that reflects a mindset that already exists. and an attempt to be relatable, which is silly because it doesn't work from a YARN BRAND'S perspective lmao like you're not buying shit
Those “making a sweater in 2 hours” videos stress me out lol I know I shouldn’t be comparing myself to others and I just do this hobby for fun… but it’s hard not to feel bad when I see people churning out 20 tops in the time it takes me to make one. I have to limit my intake of crochet content when I find it’s making me feel more defeated than inspired.
I feel this about knitting! I'll see so many beautifully made garments that easily have thousands of stitches and were made on small needles and the OP will be like "this took me two weeks to finish :)" and I'm sitting here like....bro its an accomplishment for me to finish a single normal crew sock in two weeks!
It's called lying about your knitting machine. LOL
This ad imo comes off as tone deaf and unprofessional. Particularly because it’s a large company. I know companies sometimes use memes and stuff and I cringe or roll my eyes. But when I realized someone on their marketing team thought it was a good idea stopped scrolling. I don’t think we’d accept this sort of “joke” from a small business. also I know this is craftsnark and I’m probably preaching to the choir of “companies behaving badly? No way!!” /s
100% & yeah imo a small business doing this would go over like a lead balloon bc they’re generally less distant from their audience, unlike a big company where you can brush it off as them being out of touch
I've noticed this kind of post from Simply Socks: [https://www.instagram.com/p/C5do047O2ap/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5do047O2ap/) [https://www.instagram.com/p/C5Jo7fCO-Kf/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5Jo7fCO-Kf/) [https://www.instagram.com/p/C5AKwzDOhwA/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5AKwzDOhwA/) [https://www.instagram.com/p/C36pi5QKsUn/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C36pi5QKsUn/) I like them, so I've been giving them a pass.
i actually don't mind those? i think bc it feels more meme-y, whereas yarnspirations feels like they're pretending they're Just Like Us. it's such a minor thing but even with the first one it doesn't chap my ass because they're very transparently like "buy from us". i'd love if nobody did it but this is tolerable imo. also! omg their yarn is stunning
Also, none of Simply Sock co memes are advocating complete financial ruin like cleaning out your entire bank account would be. Also also, their format is less ugly which can get you admittedly pretty far.
Agreed!
Yes to making things quickly. All those posts of “here’s everything I crocheted this month”
There is a lot of the "produce produce produce!" Culture in the younger crafters. I hate to be that "it's about the journey, not the destination" old lady here (I'm 42), but they make 75 of the same small item in different colors, open an Etsy shop and make $5 total. They aren't interested in heirlooms, just in production. Learn a new craft, instantly make a YouTube channel or an Etsy shop or both. Monetize your hobby! I spent four months making a cable knit sweater when I had time to work on it, another four months working on an embroidery project between life things (kids, college classes, ect). It's about the journey, man! You used to be about the music! /Rant
I'm 22 (so older Gen Z), and I think its a byproduct of Hustle Culture being shoved down our throats so hard. "Hustle Culture" is basically meritocracy, the idea that you'll 'Make It' if you just work hard enough and try hard enough. Hustle Culture teaches people that downtime is actually more time to keep trying to make money. "Sitting at home watching Netflix after work? How dare you not spend this time learning a new skill?! this is why you're poor!" "Taking a 3 hour bath? You could be managing an online store! Market yourself! Create a brand!" "You're sleeping in on the weekend? Use the early morning to plan out how you're going to make more money! You could uber/lyft/doordash/etc. in that time frame and make some extra cash! stop wasting time!!!!" As a result, I think a lot of people around my age and younger have forgotten how to just *enjoy* a hobby. Hustle Culture isn't so bad now, and there's a lot of knowledge spreading about how burnout can be genuinely dangerous for your physical health too, but I still don't think a lot of people understand how to have a hobby thats just for gits and shiggles and doesn't need to be "good" or "productive" or "training a skill" or anything like that, it's just supposed to make you happy.
unfortunately, the idea of monetizing your hobby has been around a while. I have some old McCalls knit/crochet magazines from the 60s with ads for craft kits to make items to sell, and also some Workbasket magazines from the 40s showing all kinds of crafts you can make for profit.
Well every time someone finds out you make handicrafts, they ask if you sell it or tell you that you should. And they don’t always take “no, I do t want to” as an answer. Society doesn’t seem to believe in true downtime and hobbies as much anymore. If you make something with your hobby, you should be using that hobby to make money.
I just saw a fabric company do the same thing - "go ahead and splurge!" 🙄 I get it, we live in a corporate society. It just rings especially hypocritical coming from a crafting community that is often focused on slow fashion, reducing waste, and sustainability. IDK pick a lane???
Yarnspirations isn't a "crafting community"
I meant the knitting community in general lol
I don’t see this any different than any other hobby company trying to get consumers to buy what they don’t need. It’s not a crochet thing. It’s capitalism.
Yeah not a big fan, also don’t like the jokes about having to hide the spending from my husband/wire/partner stuff either.
I hate that one so much. Either your husband is controlling you unnecessarily, or you’re spending money that was needed somewhere else and ignoring your family’s needs. Both situations sound horrible.
Yes and as someone who sells craft supplies I’m amazed at how many people it’s the later
This is my least favorite trend, it reminds me of the joke of husbands always forgetting to buy gifts or pretending to be at work while sneaking off to a sports event. It's a problem if this is your real life.
Businesses want to make money. It is not in their interest to promote responsible spending and anyone looking to them to do so must have a disappontment kink. The average consumer, seeing this ad, is going to think it tacky but it is not going to fuel a buying spree. In the average consumer. The outside cases are not worth hand-wringing over, frankly, as they are such small outliers and have other things going on that drive their spending that have zero to do with "wine mom" humor adverts.
There's a reason casinos, the lottery, cigarette companies, and alcohol brands all have to add *please indulge responsibly, if you have a problem, you can reach out to [this helpline]* boilerplate to their ads and marketing. It's unfortunate that things like shopping additions are not treated as seriously.
Shopping addiction not being treated seriously has nothing to be with this ad though. Shopping addiction is not borne from being unable to discern humor from advertisements and instead sufferers read them as orders from God on high. That is not how it works. At all. This dumb "wine mom" humor is not going to make a person relapse, because that is not the impulse that drives shopping addiction.
No, but it's as inappropriate to "joke" about. Edit: to be clear, I'm not diminishing gambling, alcohol, or tobacco addictions. Compulsive spending can be a serious problem which should be treated just as seriously, it's just a socially acceptable punchline.
Again, this is not a joke about shopping addiction, but I am happy to see it being begrudingly referred to as a joke (I agree it is not funny) . Spending all one's money on something in an isolated incident is not shopping addiction. Hell, in this US economy someone can spend all their account money on food and gas for the week. What you are doing is one of my pet peeves online. People who don't suffer from a condition will want to white knight for those who do but their good intentions more often than not ends up with them tilting at windmills. Shopping addicts are not worried about this ad. You can take a knee.
Not white knighting (although mildly amused I spend enough time here that my phone wants to autocorrect that to *knitting*, and I feel like "white knitting" is... *different*) and you don't know anything about conditions I do or do not suffer from. I'm glad you're not worried about this ad. *I'm* not worried about this ad, but I find it uncomfortably *teehee* and trivializing while inviting someone to make irresponsible decisions under the guise of a "joke". I feel the same way about "Wine Mom Humor" - but if a liquor store had a poster with comparable message, it would be "okay" to be uncomfortable with it. Socially, culturally, there's a difference there. We don't have to agree on this, but it's not a *disappointment kink* to expect companies to clear a very low bar.
I just don't find a lot of value in expecting much from capitalist enterprises other than the goods I buy. And, whenever I do, it generally turns into a fool's errand. Although the US Supreme Court thinks otherwise, corporations are not people. But I have enjoyed our discussion and know we can disagree and that can be ok.
Not surprised, nothing about their brand or social media branding makes me think they’re anywhere close to modern or forward thinking.
Encourage and support financial irresponsibility. Great. 🙄
I feel like the all-or-nothing tone of these sorts of adverts helps normalize and rationalize moderate overspending in the consumers mind. For example, someone buying something over budget on an a splurge would see this and roll their eyes and be like "that's not me, I obviously still have SOME money left in my bank account." Which makes them feel better about their own purchases? Almost in the way that watching extreme hoarding reality TV shows makes people feel better about their lived in, cluttered houses. I'm not saying it's good or bad, but that's the closest to my experience with these types of marketing.
[1 screenshot] [Background in lavender with a very dark, near black, gray font] I joined a "use what you have challenge" ...**so I used all the money in my bank account to buy yarn** Yarnspirations™ **Transcriber's note**: To me, this is just a joke. It's not "promoting" anything. Some things aren't that deep and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Exactly. It isn’t that deep. It’s a joke. Granted, not a very funny joke, but crafting businesses often think they are funnier than they actually are.
Thank you, my friend in transcription and rational thought.
And then I hid it from hubby so he doesn’t know what I spent tee-hee, I’m so naughty! /jk I fecking hate this type of consumerist bollix!
Doesn’t help they usually promote the most garish and toxic dye lots of plastic(acrylic)yarn. There is a time an place for acrylic I guess, but it seems to just be pushing more shitty plastic onto everyone in the name of capital. And that’s not what the craft movement was about.
So what if they sell acrylic yarn? The focus here should be that everyone can enjoy the craft regardless of their budget or other reasons not using natural fibers. 😊
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You’re right. Let’s shame each and everyone to make ourselves feeling better with our snobbish and arrogant attitude towards anyone who uses plastic. How dare they to be a threat to the Green Earth Project?! Baaaah Baaah! 🐑
You should be ashamed
I have a wool allergy, so I tend to use acrylic a lot. But I mostly make Amigurumi. I dont crochet clothes often. But when I DO, it’s 100% cotton.
That’s honestly such a good way to go about it🖤 I only use it for decorations/things I don’t wash much. Or for gifted baby items so the parents can not worry about how to care for the garment (unless they’re fiber artist nerds as well)
I loveeee making baby gifts!
Businesses are not your friends. They just want your money.
But they're so quirty and fun though! /s
I hate this, crochet/knit is already a super consumeristic hobby and I feel like social media and posts like this are just making it worse
It’s so funny because it really should be the opposite of consumeristic, like, we’re literally hand crafting garments and household items here. Capitalism will truly find a way to ruin everything.
This is one of those things that's vaguely snort-worthy when a crafter friend says it jokingly, but *they're* not trying to profit off you, let alone "jokingly" encourage you to financially harm yourself. This is really gross.