Fiber arts spaces are chock full of rants against “AI slop“. I throw no shade here. Who wants to buy a pattern that was auto-generated and isn’t accurate?

Watching more people jump on the anti-AI train, I began to wonder if there might be some ADVANTAGE to all the digital evolution. It turns out I’m not the first person to think about this.

In an article published in Social Sciences, “Crafts and Their Social Imaginary: How Technological Development Shapes the Future of the Crafts Sector” (2024), authors Kofler and Walder contend that handmade work is likely to become MORE valued as technology continues to evolve. They attribute this to an increased value being placed on the human-guided and people-centric origins of traditional crafting methods.

One reason for this is known as the “authenticity premium“. When society becomes more mechanized, people begin to place a higher value on things made by human hands. While there remains a tension between the use of technology in some aspects of an artists’ work (e.g. using AI to write the copy for a brochure, or to design web graphics), experts contend that it often facilitates MORE time for creating handmade works.

History reminds us of similar, earlier scenarios:

• handmade bread after industrial food production
• vinyl records after digital music
• film photography after smartphone cameras

An emotional connection

We see examples of artificial intelligence cropping up (seemingly) everywhere. Fiber artists bemoan the spike in AI-generated patterns, AI “slop” in photos depicting unrealistic projects, and the general downgrade of the practices that it seems to represent. One thing missed in all the hand-wringing, however, is the emotional connection inherent to fiber arts that AI will never be able to replicate or replace.

Fiber arts are not production-leaning activities. They are increasingly acknowledged as providing life benefits such as stress reduction, mindfulness, identity formation, and a sense of tangible accomplishment (I wrote about a sense of accomplishment, here). In addition, fiber arts have become a GREAT contributor to creating more intentional community among people who may have never crossed paths otherwise.

In addition, while we can debate the utility of an AI-generated pattern, we must also acknowledge that it cannot provide, or replace, the following experiences:

• selecting yarn for a project
• feeling the texture – at purchase and while working with it
• counting stitches and tracking our progress
• working on/thinking about a project for weeks
• gifting a handmade item to someone special

Rise of the Resistance

Perhaps even MORE exciting to this OG Star Wars fanatic, some sociologists and commentators in the craft space are predicting the emergence of a distinct line in the sand between highly automated digital creations and deliberate, slow, intentional creations.

Fiber arts embody what is often called “slow making“. In the great pushback against automation, we are already hearing more people calling for activities that don’t involve screens, require algorithms, optimize for productivity, or produce something tangible.

This motivation is likely to GROW, which is good news for fiber artists and enthusiasts.

Real, but limited, risk

For the typical fiber artist, the “risks” of AI interfering with their fiber arts activities are limited. For pattern designers, however; this risk increases significantly. While I can already hear the chorus of “AI SLOP” coming from people reading that last sentence, I offer this caution: AI is improving on itself all the time. This means that pattern designers are absolutely vulnerable to the capabilities of AI in the fiber arts space.

• I explored the use of AI to assist me in getting a written pattern for a crocheted piece that, at the time, was unavailable (read about that here)

In my own profession (health information management/informatics) we are going to see a decimation of jobs traditionally accomplished behind a computer screen, managing/analyzing data. I am regularly encouraging people that work for me to look critically at how many years they have left to work before they can retire, and pay attention to what’s going on in the AI space. I take NO PLEASURE in telling them that it is likely that our profession will be reduced from an entire department (with a Director, Assistant Director, supervisors, leads and frontline people) to a handful of analysts working in another department.

Similar to the realities in my professional space, arguing about the AWFULNESS of AI in the fiber arts space isn’t going to make it go away and isn’t going to stop its trajectory. Therefore, as fiber artists, we have some choices to make.

We can descend into angry, mean-spirited, hateful caricatures of our former selves, and take on a Luddite approach to the work around us; or we can accept that evolution is continuous, and focus on what we CAN do to preserve the positive aspects of our fiber arts activities.

The Luddites didn’t stop the progression of textile manufacturing to machinery, and none of us are going to stop the progression of AI into many areas of our jobs, fiber arts activities, and lives.

In the context of the known universe, human life is quite short. Fiber arts, for many of us, are a refuge from an otherwise hectic world. Let’s work on accepting what we cannot impact or change, and embracing the things that we CAN impact, and that are net positives for us, and those around us.

Here’s a short list:

• joining a new (additional!) fiber arts group and diversify our fiber arts friend group
• starting a new fiber arts group for folks that have similar interests
  • I keep toying with starting one for Veterans,…
• teaching someone how to crochet, cross stitch, embroider, knit, quilt, sew (you get the picture)
• sharing your fiber arts creations with others: be proud!
  • on social media or in person

One more thing to consider. During COVID, we saw explosive growth of “slow hobbies” – during and after the isolation periods. This suggests that as AI continues to be something we have to deal with as a society, interest in fiber arts and related human hands-created work will accelerate, not decline. And that’s good news for us all!

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(C) 2026 Stitch ‘n Dish