See that photo just above? It is taken from a cover for a knitting pattern book for sale on Amazon.

What is worrying is that the cover, as well as the contents of the book, are made completely by AI. If you look carefully, you can see that the Panda is just nonsense and not something that you can knit.

The book costs around twelve dollars, and people have bought it. I am pretty sure it is full of rubbish.

Here is another photo for you. This is a listing for a hat knitting pattern, and actually it is a best seller on Etsy. This photo is made by AI, and as you can see the actually finished item is not shown at all. Why not? Because the person selling the pattern has likely never knit it. The pattern hasn’t been tested, it’s all written by an AI bot.

Admittedly, I have assumed this but surely if the designer had knit it, tested it etc, there would be a real photo of the hat? They have an entire shop full of AI patterns, click here if you would like to see it. The shop is a great example of what to look for if you want to avoid buying AI knitting patterns.

What is the problem with AI slop knitting patterns and books?

As an independent designer myself, I like to support other designers and often buy indie knitting patterns from Etsy and Amazon. I am sure many of you do too. The thing is, when I search for patterns and find this AI slop, it really puts me off buying from that platform.

At the very least, I expect to see the actual finished item that has clearly been made and designed with love.

An AI pattern has never been knitted, let alone tested. And yet people are buying them, taking potential sales and income away from real designers who have put in actual work to create a pattern that has a successful result.

Many knitters don’t realise that a pattern is made by AI. I have seen numerous slop Facebook knitting pages and to me, it’s obviously fake knitting. But maybe people with eyesight issues don’t notice. Some people may not know of the existence of AI and just take a picture of knitting at face value.

As far as I see it, selling patterns made by AI is a con. These patterns are likely full of mistakes. I have written to Etsy about this issue and they don’t care, they don’t even reply.

How to avoid buying AI knitting patterns

When buying knitting patterns from independent designers, it is a really good idea to check their names on Ravelry. Most designers of worth will have a Ravelry page, or some of their work will be listed on the database.

You can even Google a designer. Many of the AI designers simply don’t exist. They have long and unusual names and all you will be able to find of them is their rubbish books.

Look carefully at the photos on a knitting pattern. Some of the photos are just too neat to be real knitting. And some, as below, are clearly absolutely not real (if you look closely enough).

What do you think?

Maybe this new wave of AI knitting patterns aren’t as bad as I am making out. Have you bought one and it’s been good? Does it matter whether a knitting pattern shows the actually finished item or an AI representation? Please let me know in the comments if you have an opinion.

As for me, I think its a real shame that platforms such as Etsy and Amazon are allowing the sale of slop AI knitting patterns and books, as I can’t image the customer experience is optimal.