So, Tayler Earl of Wool, Needle, Hands recently shared a video about AI (more specifically ChatGPT) in the handcraft sector.
And it’s got me thinking.
What will the effects on the knitwear community be? Will this democratize knitwear design? I’m thinking not so much, though.
Firstly, there are so many free patterns out and about: from yarn companies, designers, blogs, podcasts. There are tons of places to find free patterns. Of varying complexity and of varying completion: some have been tech-edited, graded and test-knit, while others aren’t. Some have customer service and others don’t. It happens.
Secondly, AIs like ChatGPT still isn’t so good at mathing, which is what a pattern is… as discovered by various crocheters online. There’s still a ways to go here.
Trend researcher Li Edelkoort believes that “hybrid process, between the handmade and the machine is the recipe for the future.” She sees the machine helping the crafter, calling the product “semi-couture” where there is still uniqueness and creativity on the small scale.
I’m wondering if this is a hype or a short-lived trend. Right now many knitters either do their own thing or gravitate towards certain designers. We may like their design aesthetic, their values, their personality and the community built around use of their patterns. AI not so much. I’m not sure we’ll want machines telling us what to do.
Still, it is a thing and it’s not going away.
The knitpurl dispatch 