Sewing or Fabric Tag?

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I want to offer a experience I had on Craftster when I was a relatively new user.

I went to post something…I don’t even remember what it was now, but I know it was sewn on my machine. I went to “Sewing in General” because of course that’s where you post sewn items. But there was nowhere in that topic for me to post a completed project. I had to re-arrange my thinking to fit the topics that were there.

I think new users and new DIYers would expect a “sewing” topic as a place to start. I don’t think it’s all that far out there. I’m actually a little baffled by the resistance to it. I understand that there was a lot that went on behind the scenes to land where you did with the site, and I would happily continue using it as is, but I do think this is a simple enough, common sense request. :slight_smile:

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42

#Truth @Abbeeroad

If you were to play Family Feud and ask 100 people to name crafts, I’m certain Sewing would be in the top 5. So it just seems strange to not treat sewing as a full on craft in it’s own right.

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I asked my husband to name 5 crafts. First one he named was sewing. (And I actually rarely sew, so he’s not getting that from observing me!)

Asked my son and I think the first 3 out of his mouth were knitting, crocheting, and sewing.

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44

I’m baffled as well. (also surprised we have a tatting tag and that as of today has not been used once).

Yes, I can’t even tell you how many times I went to “sewing in general” to post a topic only to relearn there wasn’t the option, then I had to figure out where to put it. No matter where I put things, it seems “wrong.” I also never understood why sewing never had it’s own category on the old site, either.

I’ve been thinking about my thinking since @magpie mentioned she considers her projects in regards to the craft she used to make it vs the final product. I think I do a mix of that. I mean, sure, if I make a shirt, I’ll put in in fashion. But, if I’ve sewn a bunting while yes, it could be considered a “decor,” I’d first think of sewing. Or, if I made curtains or pillow cases, yeah they also could be “decor,” but again I’d first think sewing.

The other day I looked through the first 20 or so of the misc posts to see how many might have used a sewing tag, and I saw a bunch of things: a blanket, linen towels, a basket bag, reusable bathroom tissue, a fabric search question, fabric bookmarks, sewing portfolio, bread bag, boxy grocery bag, take along flatware bag, another bookmark, fabric masterboard (which could be misc or sewing), fabric origami butterflies…etc.

It seems like, to me, that if we had a sewing tag, this would clean up the misc tag quite a bit because many of these would be carried over to a sewing tag.

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45

Thanks for the input, everyone! We will continue to discuss.

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46

Thanks everyone for letting us know what’s on your mind. We appreciate it.

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47

I know the struggles of categorizing things. I work in IT (And am ITIL certified) and I support the ticketing software that IT uses. We have “categories” and “subcategories” for the tickets. Hardware? Software? Process? Etc. And then for the next layer - do we list out each application? do we list out general types of errors? etc. and we always have complaints and we revamp it every couple years. It is difficult to make everyone happy. Totally feel the pain there.

Our goal in IT is to cater to the 80%. Do the categories/tags we have fit 80% of our tickets? Yes? Then it’s good enough. You will never reach 100% and will pull your hair out trying.

From my personal experience and in an ideal world I would see the categories and tags go one of 2 ways.

Either all of them related to crafting types and processes.

Or all of them related to finished products.

I feel having a combination of finished products and crafting processes is causing part of the confusion.
I also feel the 2nd option would be too large so I would lean toward the first option. For example under ART you have altered tin and you have shrine. I would do away with both those and have one tag called altered art. That would cover tins, shrines, and anything assemblage. (altered paint brushes, spools, spoons, etc.)

These are just my thoughts. I see both sides of the issue and know there is no “right” answer.

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48

I love when an expert chimes in :). The Viking is a data programmer so I get earsful of naming convention and categorization rules frequently when he’s ruminating work brain out loud. Most of it goes straight over my head but here and there I pick up on the vibe he’s laying down and it’s pretty crystal. Smart guy, you too.

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49

So funny, Mr. Road said something similar about the categorization by method vs. final product! Though he also thinks engineers should run everything. :roll_eyes:

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He’s not wrong! :joy:

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OH no, save me from engineer thinking. We need them but please don’t make me live in their world. Besides I would drive them batty. No, no, they need their own preserve to live in. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I had to laugh at this. One suggestion involving food and a tag added. Sewing on the other hand caused a long discussion. Food wins!

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I love this idea. I think one of the reasons I find it so confusing is that some types of crafts do have their own category, like crochet or knitting. To me, those are both yarn. LOL! It just feels like LC is more geared towards them because of this. :crazy_face:

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54

Maybe a PPE category. I did a glove tutorial that would fit there. People who make their own scrubs could post there. Perhaps we’ll all be sewing hospital gowns soon!

The old site showed a thumbnail of the craft, LC shows the most recent poster’s avatar. Maybe some people only read posts commented on by their friends? What sheep! Sheep, I say! Oops, sorry.

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This same discussion regarding sewing went back and forth for years and years on the old site as well.
That is why the Sewing D&Q board was installed there.

Changing “tutorial” to “recipe” is a very simple implementation.

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Is there a potential problem that others foresee or anticipate, to adding Sewing under Fabric and Textiles? Because I truly don’t understand why it would be much more difficult than the recipe section upgrade. (But heaven knows I’m no programmer, so I could be entirely mistaken on that!) And I can’t think what the disadvantage might be, to going ahead with what seems to be a very popular idea.

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But that did not contain completed projects if I recall…it was confusing.

But we are only asking for a tag not a whole new category. The wording for category or tag gets confused sometimes. But really, all we want is a tag in Fiber and Textiles for Sewing.

And the categorizing discussions at the start must have been documentary worth. I can just imagine the conversations. I love this site, and I am so glad all my friends and their fun did not go away.

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Everyone is so passionate about their views and we are not taking your words lightly, believe me when I say that. As you can tell, this has been up for debate for years. We look at a lot of different aspects, even for a new tag. There is a lot that goes into building and maintaining the site. Nothing is done on a whim. There is research.

We love all the different perspectives. Even this morning I asked two of my closest friends and got two different viewpoints on this topic. LOL!

My only request in these discussions is to remember the line between passion and bullying. We are taking all of your ideas into consideration. Don’t think we are blowing you off, we aren’t.

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K, I’ll shut up! Did not mean to bully anyone. I was just truly interested in hearing the flip side, to better understand the reasoning behind the opposing view. Love everyone dearly!!! :heart::heart::heart:

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Look here lady! I’m gonna bully you will hugs and crafts! :grin: :heart: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: just kidding…kinda . :wink: I truly love this kind of dialogue because it brings up ideas we may not have thought of. I just want everyone to know that just because we don’t answer or change something quickly doesn’t mean we don’t care if it is dead in the water.

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