#Etsy seller guide

[backupshop]

The Ultimate Etsy Seller Guide: Tips for Shop Success, SEO, and Growth

Discover the ultimate guide to becoming a successful Etsy seller. Learn strategic tips on shop setup, marketing, customer relations, and driving traffic to your store. Stay ahead in the competitive Etsy marketplace with expert advice tailored for artisans.

[cdchyld]

Just added to the Vintage shop!

~ “The Constellations: An Enthusiast’s Guide to the Night Sky” by Lloyd Motz and Carol Nathanson (1988)

[little-lucub]

HELLO OTHERKIN/THERIANS/ALTERHUMANS/NONHUMANS/OTHERLINKERS/OTHERPAW!! DO YOU WANT TO BUY AN ETHICAL TAIL BUT DON'T KNOW WHERE? IM HERE TO GIVE YOU TIPS!

Okay I'll stop talking in caps now, but here you have my tail guide for any and all people who just want a tail!

Cruel fur farms treat their animals badly, and it's best to avoid them. Here are some tips on how to spot cruel farms from the ethically sourced ones! (Most tips from here!)

Disclaimer: I would only be wary of items if they show more than 2 of these signs. Just do research before you buy!

Signs that indicate a cruel source:

- Sold/Sourced from Asia (Asia has bad animal cruelty laws, here's a list per country on how good their animal rights are)

- From Wish, AliExpress, Amazon, Temu or EBay (Even the 'faux fur' ones can be real and cruel)

- If they use stock photos

- Asian lobster clams (This does not always indicate cruelty)

- If they look thin, small, and generally unhealthy

- Any usage of 'mink farms' in desc.

- If they are bleached or colored

- If the price is low (Under 20-25)

- No info about source (Always ask the seller if you're not sure)

Signs that indicate ethical source:

- Scraps that were being thrown away otherwise (Should be in item description or FAQ)

- Lived long and happy lives (Item description or FAQ)

- Thick, healthy tails

- Population control/Legal hunters (With a permit)

Now I'll show a few Etsy shops I've confirmed to be Ethically sourced!

^ Cute animal tails with charms

Prices: €28,48 - €68,35

^ Coyote & Possum tails, would check each item separately to be sure :3

Prices: €11,49 - €38,30

Disclaimer! These do not come with clips, you have to add them yourselves

^ Fox tails :D

Price: €43,28

^ Fox tails of all colors

Prices: €25,42 - €55,07

^ Fox tails

Prices: €23,94

^ Raccoon, mink, coyote, raccoon dog/tanuki, skunk & lynx tails! (tw for a lot of animal pelts)

Prices: €8,57 - €19,98

Disclaimer! These do not come with clips, you have to add them yourselves

Etsy shops that sell faux fur tails!

^ Variety faux fur tails with squeakers in them! Foxes/Canines, wild cats & nub tails!

Prices: €22,78 - €235,36 (Most are around €30-€40)

^ Faux fur cosplay tails & ears (Mainly the bigger ones like cheetah, snow leopard, etc.)

Prices: €25,63 - €102,52 (Most are around <40 and are often tail + ears combo)

If you know any other ethical/faux fur Etsy shops, please link them and I'll add them here! :D

[the-clumsywitch]

So, you just realized you're a witch...

Well here's a guide to some things you might find helpful.

If it's something tangible, chances are you might already own some of these things, if not please don't stress about getting them. For some items I will include stores that you can find them as well as price points using the dollar symbol.

Candles

These can be in the form of chime candles, pillar, taper, glass, votive, tea light, etc.

You can get them in various colors but if you are trying to save money you can get white candles. And add your intention and herbs (or just your intention) to achieve your desired outcome.

They can be found at:

The Dollar Tree ($)- Best for votive, pillar, taper, tea light, jar, floating, and glass candles. They can often be found in multiple colors and scents.

Michael's craft store ($-$$) - Best for tall/large pillar and taper candles.

JoAnn Craft store ($-$$)- Best for the same candles as Michael's craft store.

Metaphysical shops ($-$$) - Chime candles and speciality candles such as glass candles with writing on them (exp: love, Orisha, justice candles) and figure candles.

Stores that sell scented candles ($$) - Examples of stores like this are Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candles. These are best for looking for candles that have scents that correspond with your particular spell. For instance, if you're doing a peace spell you may want to look for a candle that smells of lavender or a candle that puts you in a peaceful state of mind regardless of the scent name or ingredients.

Incense

Incense are excellent for air magick and you can often find them rather cheaply in most stores. I personally try to find them as toxin free as possible but you purchase what incense makes the most sense for you. Just as with candle scents, look for incense that either corresponds with your spell by the herb they are supposed to smell like or by feeling.

The Dollar Tree ($) - The ones I've been too have mainly been good for chakra incense.

Etsy ($) - There are multiple sellers with a lot of different scents and quite a few with free shipping!

Magick.com ($)

Amazon ($)

Metaphysical store ($)

Herbs

If you decide that you want to work with herbs you can usually get away with the ones you already have. However, I would caution against burning herbs that aren't organic but of course that is your decision to make. Some places to get herbs are:

The Dollar Tree (they don't have organic but they have a decent selection)

Your local grocery store

Target

Walmart

Metaphysical store

Note: If you can't find the herb you may want to consider using the essential oil instead. Only use a drip of the essential oil. You can also get a tea bag with the herb you need, rip it open, and use that.

Nail Polish

Color magick is the main thing here, but I have come across some scented nail polishes as well. Either way, you can choose a color and/or scent that corresponds to your spell. Here are some affordable brands (by that I mean the polishes from their main collection are not over $10.)

Wet n' Wild

Esssie

LA Colors

Revlon

Sally Hansen

L'Oreal

CoverGirl

L.A. Girl

Cosmetics

I know a lot of people typically include nail polish in this group but I tend to save this category for things such as lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and blush. Once again, the main purpose of this category is color magick but it can also be used for glamour magick. Some brands are:

elf cosmetics ($)

Wet n' Wild ($)

Revlon ($) - Mainly their lipsticks

Rimmel ($) - Lipstick and Blush

Nyx ($)

Revolution Beauty ($)

Essence Cosmetics ($)

Divination

If you are interested in divination there are so many types that you can easily find one that you connect with. Some forms of divination are:

Bibliomancy

Pyromancy

Tarot, oracle, and playing cards

Osteomancy

Water scrying

Crystal scrying

Mirror scrying

Automatic Writing

Tasseomancy

Pendulums

Types of Magick/Witches

It is not necessarily important that you pick a particular type of magick but I think some witches take being able to study multiple types of magick at once for granted. Not everyone is able to maintain focus while looking at magick as a whole, that's why I think separating magick and witches into types can be helpful. This is by no means a complete list but it's a start.

Celestial/cosmic magick

Elemental magick

Green witch

Hedge witch

Water magick

Earth magick

Air magick

Fire magick

Draconic witch

Eclectic witch

Lunar magick

Solar magick

Fairy magick

Kitchen magick

Sea witch

Candle magick

Ceremonial magick

This is by no means a comprehensive list and I will likely add more things to it over time or create more lists similar to this one. But I hope this was at least somewhat helpful!

-Erika, The Clumsy Witch

[spechblend]

My Guide to Patch/Crust DIY Pants That No One Asked For:

(If you see this guide go through changes, you’re not crazy, I update it all the time)

I’ve noticed that my DIY pants had been noticed on here, so I’d thought I make a guide for new punks getting into the scene 💖

I’ve been in the punk scene for a little over two years now, so don’t take everything I say to heart, I’ve got lots to learn.

Typically, you want to start out with a good base. For instance, the pants you choose can make or break your project. I don’t suggest buying super expensive pants, but don’t buy them super low quality either. You want something that lasts, as crust or patch pants are meant to be your only pair.

EDIT: Before I start any new project, I look around my stuff to see if I can repurpose anything. Old T shirts, bed sheets, bags, you name it. It’s so much easier to repurpose your stuff before buying new things, and you save money doing it. Before you buy pants, see if you can find a pair you already own! I had to buy new ones because I only had one other pair of jeans that I wear to work.

I’ve seen some tutorials floating around for DIY can spikes. Please be very careful doing this. If you’re moshing in a vest made with cut up aluminum, you can seriously hurt someone if you’re not careful. Be on the safe side and either borrow/buy pre made studs and spikes or save the DIY can spikes for non-moshing vests/pants/cuffs.

If you’re moshing with any studs or spikes at ALL, they should be blunt!!!

Good places to buy pants

Thrift (it’s a bit of a crapshoot if you have a hard time finding sizes, but if they’ve lasted long enough to end up in a thrift store, then it means they’re more likely good quality. Check the tags!!)

Edited above, been informed of how Goodwill treats disabled employees

ASOS (I recommend if you have a hard time finding your size. I can’t guarantee the sustainability of this site though.)

Mercari (Like an online goodwill. I find a lot of awesome clothes on here. You can download the app.)

Depop (I seldom shop on here, but similar to Mercari with a wider range of brands.)

How the Pants Should Fit

The fit of your pants can also affect how they lay on you. I suggest buying pants slightly larger on you, if you’re covering them in patches. When you start sewing, you’re going to find that they’re going to shrink a little bit. So please avoid tight fitting jeans if you can! Straight or relaxed fit are the best.

EDIT: If skinny/fitting pants are all you got, sometimes making relief cuts at the knees help when you try to bend down.

Patches

Patches are going to be what makes your pants unique! There’s quite a few you can choose from: plain patches, band patches, politics patches, etcetera. If you’re going to cover the entirety of your pants, I suggest going to Joann’s or Michaels (fuck Hobby Lobby) for fabric. Buy a yard or two canvas or pleather (or both). Otherwise, I usually cut up old T-shirts for my fabric.

How to Make Your Own Patches

Stencil (very straightforward, here’s a guide) (please check out Anarchostensilism on insta/Tiktok/Deviantart)

Paint (Buy white/black stencil fabric paint. I don’t suggest acrylic, since it’s not made to move with fabric)

Where to Buy Pre Printed Patches

crustpunks.com (Hella good, fast shipping, affordable!! Made by punks for punks)

nuclearwasteunderground.com (I found this one randomly)

Etsy (While I hate them for the way they treat their sellers, unfortunately this can be a main source of income for some.)

Shows, punk meets, friends

If you’re going to make crust pants, it’s imperative that you have crust bands on your patches, that’s what makes them crust! (Apart from never washing them)

Edit: I would do your own research on the crust punk subculture, there’s a lot of discourse out there on what makes punks crust punks and so on.

Washing your pants is not a black and white rule, but you can ruin the integrity of your work if you carelessly throw them in the washer. Like if you were to throw a suede jacket into the washer, there’s certain steps to take!

Here’s an enlightening guide on crust.

Here’s some crust band recs!

Nausea

Anti Cimex

Dystopia (my favorite)

disrupt

Doom

Heresy

Discharge

Amebix

Things to Add to Your Pants

Buttons (you can buy or make your own. Here’s a guide for DIY bottle cap buttons)

Pockets (easy to monkey wrench with a few spare patches, but here’s a pattern)

Handkerchiefs (the hankey code, much like the lace code, is pretty much dead. But it’s up to you if you want to signal something with it.)

Wallet chains (here’s a cool guide to making your own!)

Bum flap (by far the coolest thing on this list. Makes your ass not hurt when you sit on the sidewalk. Here’s a video)

Make them convertible (I made mine into zip off shorts. Here’s a video)

I made this up, but I added removable knee pads to mine.

Pant Inspiration

Have no shame in taking reference! Here’s are some cool accounts with awesome pants!

carnifexofhate

dontditchitstitchit

no_name_no_reason

okshrimpet

annals_of_the_crustwar

a_lifeisabuse_e

That’s all I got! Remember to never wash your pants ✨

[shadyufo]

How much do you like selling on Etsy? I've been thinking about opening up a shop to sell my own taxidermy art on there. It's just that I've heard Etsy is known for shutting down shops randomly and people keep saying that Etsy's "dying"/on a downward slope. I also heard there are a lot of scammers... What are your thoughts?

Hi Anon!

My feelings about Etsy have definitely gotten sorta complicated over the last few years.

First of all, I love my little shop. I love getting to interact with so many sweet and lovely folks and I love getting to send my art and oddities all over the country. I’ve sold pieces through Etsy that have ended up in museums and classrooms, as props in movies and television shows, that have been centerpieces in peoples’ weddings, that were birthday gifts for little kids just getting into nature and science, and so many other neat and wonderful places with some really awesome people who I am forever grateful to for supporting my shop.

That said, in my opinion, Etsy is definitely not what it used to be and there are plenty of things I wish they would do differently to make the site better for sellers and buyers. I think their search feature needs a total revamp and they also need to crack down on all the sellers flooding the site with mass-produced merchandise. Their recent decision that AI-made content is totally fine by them is another serious bummer and a slap in the face to the real artists using their platform. The list goes on.

In spite of all that, if you want to open an online shop, then Etsy is still probably the best site to do it on, at least starting out. It’s a trusted, household name and they have millions of users from all around the world so you are going to be getting much more traffic than if you were just starting your own site from scratch without any sort of social media following.

You'll still likely want to grow a social media presence (if you haven't already) to help drive traffic to your site rather than rely on Etsy alone for this. A great deal of my own shop's traffic comes from Tumblr and what little I post on other social media. This is something I really should be better about as I've kinda shot myself in the foot by not utilizing them more over the years...but I just really don't like using TikTok or Instagram haha.

From what I’ve seen, vulture culture stuff-wise, Etsy mostly gets mad at folks who sell wet specimens or other more “gruesome” type of oddities and don’t blur the main listing photo or do something similar to warn folks that it could be something they might find upsetting. They also prohibit the sale of some animal parts that are perfectly legal to buy and sell provided you follow the laws around them. So if a seller was listing some of those items, while legal elsewhere, that might have gotten them in trouble with Etsy. Here's a list of what they don't allow. And here's a more specific list of their prohibited animal parts. Note bear, wolf, and zebra are on the list—it's perfectly legal to sell parts from some of these animals in some places provided you follow the laws around doing so, but Etsy doesn't allow it at all. I've had them remove listings for domestic dog and cat skulls in the past as well—the law there is in regards to selling dog and cat fur (which is illegal in the US) but Etsy seemed to think it covers bones as well which it does not.

As for scammers, don't click on suspicious links anyone sends you and watch out for people wanting to contact you outside of Etsy. Don’t swap phone numbers, email addresses, etc with people. Etsy has guides on their site on what to watch out for that it’d be good to read through.

So all of that to say that if you want to start selling your work online then I think Etsy is most likely going to be the best place to do it, at least starting out. If you want to just dip your toes in the market before opening an Etsy shop though you can always try posting a few items here or there on Instagram or one of the oddities selling groups on Facebook but in my experience at least, Etsy is still the best way to go. Then, once you build up a following, you can always start your own site or branch out beyond Etsy if you want to.

I wish you all the best, Anon! Hope you find wild success selling your work wherever you decide to do it <3

[gothhabiba]

hello! i am a longtime huge admirer of your clothing/fashion sense, as well as a longtime backreader of your #victorian and #goth tags. i am really interested in what you've written about Victorian dress, and i am looking to get more into 19th and 20th century clothing for gender + diy craft reasons. i'm so sorry if you've answered similar questions before, but do you have any tips for where a newbie should start researching? either way, thank you thank you, your blog opens my mind wide and brings me much joy and reflection!

General research:

Spend some time searching the 'net, museum websites, and archive sites for fashion plates (such as archive.org—link leads to a date-restricted query for "fashion"—or the Smithsonian—link leads to fashion plates in their image collection). Take note of what you like, as well as which styles correspond to which decade. Karolina Żebrowska has a good rundown of English fashion over the decades.

The undergarments are what does the most work creating the necessary silhouette to make Victorian & Edwardian womenswear fit properly. If you've figured out a decade you want your outfit to draw on, doing a quick search for "[decade] undergarments" should bring up plenty of blog posts, which may or may not cite primary sources (such is the fickle nature of the historical blogosphere). Bustle pads and sleeve supports can be purchased or made; they're both pretty simple, and tutorials abound.

Purchasing clothing:

Reproduction made-to-measure clothing can be readily found on etsy, but can be in the several-hundred USD range. I've had some luck finding vintage reproduction clothing (like, a skirt someone made by hand in the 1980s to a 1900s walking skirt pattern), which tends to be much cheaper.

Men, women, and children wore stays and corsets. As far as I know, Orchard Corset has the cheapest OTR corsets that are good quality and safe to wear. If you get a corset in the style of a specific decade handmade or made to measure, make sure that the seller tells you what the boning material is, what construction the boning is (spiral steel is sturdiest and most flexible), how many bones there are, what the corset material is, &c.—otherwise it's an indication of an unserious maker. Follow general advice for wearing corsets at a waist reduction (lace up slowly, break it in, &c.).

Antique Menswear on youtube gives a lot of good, practical advice for wearing late 19th-century and early 20th-century men's clothing (including where to buy reproductions and how to treat them, how to modify modern shirts to 19th-century standards with basically no sewing skills, &c.).

Actual antique clothing can be found and purchased online or at estate sales—usually in very small sizes, but I've seen Edwardian skirts and petticoats in an XL (also a small size, but...). You can also just simply browse this kind of thing for inspiration and save photos of anything you think you'd like to recreate.

Even clothing that was not "meant" to be worn by re-enactors can be clearly historically influenced (e.g. the huge boom in Victorian- and Edwardian- style blouses in the 1980s), so keep an open mind when shopping for vintage clothing! A lot of 1970s dresses that look "hippy" on their own can look very Victorian with the right undergarments and an updo. A lot of 1980s men's trousers also approach the right silhouette for the 1910s-inspired three-piece suit I'm trying to put together. Witness also the recent trend for big puffed sleeves!

Making or modifying clothing:

Victorian and Edwardian manuals for garment drafting and sewing can be found online—go to archive.org and search for "sewing," "drafting," or "dressmaking," then use the filters on the left to chuse which year(s) you want to see results from. Most of these have patterns that are sort of vibes-based: The work-woman's guide is one manual that claims to have patterns laid out strictly according to a grid.

I don't sew garments, but if Victorian pattern-writing for sewing is anything like it is for knitting, that may not be super useful. People do sell updates and graded 'translations' of antique patterns (which tend to be written in only one size) on etsy and ebay—just make sure from the description that it's 'deciphered' and translated rather than a scan of the original pattern!

One of the easiest things that you can do to add some Victorian or Goth flair to an otherwise plain-looking garment is to add trim. You can knit, crochet, or tat your own trim from Victorian lace-making patterns; purchase antique trim from resale sites; or buy braided or lace trim very cheaply at any craft store. Trim doesn't just have to go around the hems and cuffs of a garment: lace "insertions" between two pieces of fabric, as well as raised geometric patterns over the surface of a garment, are common in 19th-century clothing.

[ID: first image shows a black overdress showing lace insertions between strips of fabric of equal width, creating a striped effect. second image is the back of a black blouse with trim in a geometric design centred around right angles and parallel lines. end ID]

Jewellery (women's and men's):

Actual antique jewellery (including men's jewellery and fastenings) is not as expensive as you might think. Even if you're not willing to spend a lot of time learning what to look for and scouring estate sales for people who don't know or care what they have, late Victorian mass-manufactured costume jewellery often goes for sub-$50 or even $30 prices at auction on ebay (USD, in the US—in my experience it is even more plentiful and cheaper in the UK).

Specifically, I've lucked out with lots ("lot" as in, a bunch of small things being sold together) of "vintage men's accessories" going for $20 or so that contained Victorian cufflinks (in low-karat gold, mother-of-pearl, and jet), collar studs (in low-karat gold and base metals), and shirt studs (in low-karat gold, with garnets and seed pearls, &c.). Searching for lots of accessories is generally a good idea since by and large people do not know what these things are... but if you're willing to spend a little more for something that has been identified and is more likely to still be with its set, use the specific search term for that item (e.g. "antique collar studs").

Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry (though aimed at estate sellers and, if memory serves, full of regrettable pæans to Queen Victoria) is a good reference text to dating antique jewellery. I also recommend Miller's Illustrated Guide to Jewelry Appraising. Both of these texts are available on libgen.

Feel free to ask me follow-up questions if you want more detail on any of these points. As you can see I am perfectly happy to blather away on this topic

[java-dragon]

Bookbinding/Fan binding for beginners by... a beginner PART ONE

SO YOU WANNA BE A FANBINDER EH!?

RIGHT! so it felt like maybe it might be sorta kinda helpful to put something about a 'how to do the thing' together. Buckle in this is going to be a ride and a half. Edit as of November 16th 2023 The Master List for EVERYTHING is

HERE

SO, first thing is first- if you're fan binding there is a bit of etiquette to follow. But it is just good manners to ask permission to fan bind the fic you're interested in. See if the author has a FAQ available where they state the Yay or the Nay. Submit a DM or a comment. But as a note of disclaimer- this is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE SOLD ANYWHERE. LOOKING AT YOU ETSY FAN FIC SELLERS THAT CAN GET EVERYONE INTO A FUCK TON OF TROUBLE. That is a breech of fair use laws. Don't breech fair use laws. Don't be a dick.

If you happen to have a EPUB or PDF copy of a fic that has been deleted and you wish to bind it or if you receive no response to the author in question, nod your head, know that you did your best and proceed on with the project and make your fic to put on your shelf. Sleep well knowing you did your best and you can do nothing else.

But if you receive a Nay- don't be a dick honour the author's choice and plop the fic on your ereader and call it good.

Now that we got that all out of the way. ONWARD!

MATERIALS! Musts: (The optional materials will be marked as "OP") Access to a Word processor Printer with duplex printing (It prints on both sides of the page) Fic Printer Paper- regular printer paper is FINE if you're being budget conscious. But if you'd like to splurge:

Hammermill Copy Paper But the Most bang for your buck is Church's Paper

Please note: These are US based links, and I am going from what and where I am located you might have to go to a local paper shop. If you want your book to feel very book-like see if your paper shop can take 11 x 17 paper and cut it in half for you which yields 8.5 x 11 paper on the short grain (paper has a grain there is a stiff side and a floppy side, much like fabric, by cutting the paper in half it makes it more 'floppy' and thus more book like)

a punch cradle I use one made by HoneyMinCo - or some sort of punch guide

Awl

Glue- Elmer's Glue All, Tacky, Lineco , PH Neutral all will do what you need it to do

Waxed linen thread

Curved Needles

Book press- you can make these for cheap with wooden cutting boards, bolts and wing nuts.

A brush you don't mind getting glue all over or you can use a silicone face mask brush like this hell I even use my fingers at times

box cutter or any sort of cutting tool, rotary tool

scissors

metal rulers help

spacers (Not necessary but helpful to have you can also DIY this for cheap) OP

Davy Board/Chip Board/Book Board AKA dense AF cardboard

and some sort of thick paper- like a cardstock

bone folder - butter knives also work in a pinch

Recommendations:

For Printers- Epson ECO Tanks are the best bang for your your buck ink wise and has duplex printing. Inkjet and colour options. Some binders swear by laser printers for speed and the general look for the final product but use what you have. Just make sure you have extra ink on hand.

The upfront costs can be pretty steep but a lot of the materials can be steep but you can get crafty and raid a dollar store and charity shops.

Up Next- How to get a Fic from AO3 to your word processor and how to format a document to get it ready for printing and likely more links, and some people to watch on TikTok or Youtube.

Edit: 11/1/2023:

There is a Fan Binding Starter Kit Found here

[cdchyld]

Just added to Etsy!

~ "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz (1979)

[threecirclingbuzzards]

Love the patch clothing! I just bought a denim jacket myself and am looking forward to decking it out. Do you have tips or resources in how to get started? Much appreciated :)

I've only been doing this a year and a half so I am far from the perfect source of information, but here's what I've gathered over that time:

This post has a lot of really good information for painting and sewing patches. I use fabric paint from Michael's over acrylic because it holds better, but also maybe because it was a "gift" from a friend and idk if he paid the actual price for those. They also changed their brand so I can't speak to the quality of the new stuff, I just know I like Imagin8 and Tulip fabric paints from them. The colours you want to mix white or test on small scrap fabric before making a design. When painting, I sketch with pencil or get a stencil reference. Another way of painting here.

Stitching onto a jacket you can follow the first post, take sewing thread, cut a length, put through the needle, tie the end around itself [make a loop holding both ends together, put it through the other side] stitch from the inside of the jacket to start to hide that knot, pull directly away from the patch on the outside, stitch back through the patch from the bottom. If both fabrics were clear it would be a sawtooth shape you'd see.

Most scrap fabric will do fine to paint on, and I like to hem the edges to prevent fraying of my painted or printed patches but you don't have to and I didn't used to/don't always still, it's just a little stronger. and is good for thinner or loosely woven fabric like those that feel like denim.

[for info on how to hem and general sewing tips, check craft blogs, I am very devil may care with my sewing and have stabbed myself a lot. For stitch spacing use a ruler or other guide. I use my fingers it's not recommended.]

I also suggest, depending on where you're located, checking etsy or other independent storefronts online for some local/semi-local shops for screenprinted punk patches to see if anything catches your eye, but especially look for embroidered patches if you want any decent embroidery. Some are also from quite a distance but have a good shipment cost, but I try to buy local to avoid it being air mail. For punk style screen printed patches in America on Etsy that I can vouch for, I can name ZombieRufio, DeadGiants, RainbowDistribution, and DrunksWithaPress.

Punk With A Camera have some good screenprints if you're from North America, I know the bassist of my favourite local band has the "soup for my family" patch from there, and I'm planning to get it myself as well sometime soon. Bandcamp also sometimes has punk artists list their patches in their merch tab.

Other places I've gotten pins and patches is:

Scout Shops if you're again in North America, or Britain I think also has some, but that's a grab bag and usually just shapes like the dog my friend has or the raccoon I have.

Local festivals/shows, a lot of events in parks and such as community events with local artisan sellers have some cool pins and patches on occasion, I got my genderqueer pin from that. and of course local bands occasionally have pins and patches at their merch tables during and after local shows. For me, Local is the city next to mine with any actual punk venues for local shows [I think we have five places that punks play at currently in that bigger city.] but for you it could be your city, or a bit further. Look around on social media for your area. My gf found the bar I met a bunch of local punks at searching for cool places to eat in that city.

Finally, but not super useful, got a bunch from my uncle and grandfather on my mom's side in a big box from Scouting trades, so I have a big bag of miscellaneous patches from places they went to, and some just classic plain vintage patches, which definitely gave me a leg up. Stores catering to alternative fashion sometimes have old pins or patches but that's very location dependant.

For my studs, I had an Amazon gift card from a family member and bought it through there, but I can't advise doing that generally. Not really a fan of Amazon obviously. My cone spikes were a gift from my girlfriend who I believe did something similar, used an Amazon gift card. I know that other people have better places to order spikes from online if you're American, but I'm not sure how relevant that would be to you. Spikes I say be smart, do some research, be careful of being overcharged. Most of my jackets started without and just had safety pins from a drug store and scrap metal from wherever I found it and that looked really cool too.

Finally, I liked to build up my jackets in "stages" where I collect a few patches and then sew them all on close in time to one another, as it allowed me to plan the layout better, and make the final result look better to my eyes.

Now with all that very very long wall of text out of the way this is me expressly asking you to PLEASE reach out if you have any other questions, I love talking about this. Also if you post any progress pictures on Tumblr, you are required to tag me now. I want to see them.

Thank you to @genderfluid-and-confuzled for prompting the two posts I link at the top btw, He's awesome and has been the source of a lot of great conversation regarding jackets for me. My pieces wouldn't exist without you, comrade.

[polycraftory]

Welcome to our blog, friend!

We are a polycule of four married queer folks doing our very best! Despite living in a tiny apartment, we somehow manage to churn out so so many crafts. We also read (and hoard like littol dragons) so so many books.

You can find all of our links at polycraftory.com, which includes the link to our etsy shop, the polyamory advice podcast we briefly ran, our used book seller page, our various storygraph accounts for book reviews/what we're reading, and our other social medias!

❤️💛💙💜

We have an etsy store: Polycraftory! If you are interested in supporting some queer disabled folks, please consider checking out our shop! We make LGBTQIA+ and polyamory shirts, as well as a lot of fandom and D&D merch!

If you like a design but you'd like to get it on a different item, a different color, or a different size than what's available please shoot us a message and we'll try to make it happen!

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Our tag directory and more info about our polycule is under the cut!

Directory

General

Polycraftory: for all our original posts.

Etsy Shop (External Link)

Etsy Specific Tags: Shop Drop, Behind the Scenes

Other Tags: Laugh Tag, Words to Live By, Queer, Polyamory, Masterpost

Polycraftory.com (External Link) for all our links and social medias

Books

Polycraftory TikTok Videos (Tag)

Polycraftory Tiktok & Polycraftory Youtube (External Links)

Our Used Book Store (External Link): Polycraftory on Pango

Book Hauls (Weekly & After Events)

Book Recommendations & Book Reviews (ours and others)

Monthly Reading Wrap Ups

What We're Reading: Meghan Reads, Gabe Reads, Nic Reads

Our Reviews: Meghan Reviews, Gabe Reviews, Nic Reviews

Good Rep: Polyamory Books, Queer Books

Genres: Queer Romance, Queer Horror, BL Manga, Danmei

Book Boxes: Unboxing, Rainbow Crate, Probably Smut, Fae Crate

Our Storygraphs (External Links): Meghan's Storygraph @ edgybutfemme, Gabe's Storygraph @ wordswritinstarlight, Nic's Storygraph @ businesswife

Crafting & Cosplay

General Crafting: Work In Progress, Craft Complete, Getting Started Guides, Buy List

Fiber Art: Embroidery, Needle Felting

Other Crafts: Leatherworking, Bookbinding, Cricut, Junk Journaling/Scrapbooking

Craft Starter Guides: Junk Journaling

Craft Tutorials: How to Curl a Heat Sensitive Wig

All Things Cosplay: Prop Making, Wigs, Detailing (Embroidery, HTV, & other finishing touches)

Specific Character Cosplays: Danny Phantom, Nott the Brave, Imogen Temult

Other Cosplay: Critical Role Cosplay, CR Cosplay Leatherworking Master Post, Genderbent Cosplay

Specific Polycule Crafts: Gabe Crafts, Meghan Crafts, Nic Crafts, Nathaniel Crafts

These are all links to various tags on our blog that might be helpful if you are looking for something specific. If the tag is there but not linked, it means I have an upcoming post and I'll add the tag here once it's up. If any links are broken/mis-linked, please let me know!

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The Polycule

Meghan (she/they) - the primary person running the blog. A queer disabled femme with a hobby of picking up new hobbies. Latest hyperfixations are leatherworking and bookbinding. Other crafts include embroidery, digital art and every cricut craft imaginable. In our cosplay work, their focus is makeup, leather and detail work like embroidery or heat transfer vinyl.

Gabe (they/them) - an adhd nerd that never stops crafting because they always need to be doing at least three things. Their first love is knitting, but they have recently picked up "the devil's craft" (aka crochet). Other crafts include: bookbinding, sewing, embroidery and digital art. In our cosplay work, they are our primary tailor and a wizard with the sewing machine.

Nic (she/they) - a chaotic genderfluid media lover who is the only one who can always find Meghan & Gabe's things. Their primary crafts are junk journaling, gouache painting, and needle felting. In our cosplay work, they primarily handle our wigs and face painting.

Nathaniel (he/him) - the newest crafter in our squad, but our number one fix it guy when it comes to being handy around the house. Those skills have translated well to his newfound love of all things prop making, which is his main contribution to our cosplay work. He also loves photography, and occasionally dabbles in basket weaving.

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What's Next?

We're planning to continue work on how tos for the various crafts and cosplay. We also do a lot of design work and we try to add at least one new shirt/merch design a week to our Etsy Shop. If there is interest, we may also start adding cosplay patterns and other digital content so you can craft along with us.

As disabled folks, we want to be as accessible as possible! We try to include image IDs on all our photos. Please let us know if you want us to tag something or if there is anything else we can do to be more accessible!

[max-and-minnie-crafts]

DO YOU USE ETSY IN THE UK?

If you use Etsy or EBay to sell things in the UK, whether it’s for your small business or just selling personal items, please check out this website and do some research on the tax implications. I don’t use Etsy myself, but I was planning on looking into it before I found out they’re going to be taxing people.

To be fair, I don’t think it’s as crazy as I first thought, but it’s still put me off especially since they already have pretty high fees.

Anyway, from what I can gather, if you earn more than £1000 in a year on Etsy, eBay, and maybe even other sites like these, then you’ll be taxed. (£1000 a year seems a bit low to me for being taxed but whatever.)

It’s supposedly called “side hustle tax” and is being put into place by HMRC to try and prevent tax evasion and make it fairer for online sellers to be declaring and paying taxes as well as storefronts or “physical businesses” etc.

Seems weird to be focusing on evening it out between the lower classes and making sure they pay tax on £1000 a year and over but not making sure rich people pay their taxes but whatever.

So yeah, if you own a small business or even just sell your own stuff on, be aware of this and have a look into it. This is just a random website I found info on at 7am when I couldn’t sleep. Whether you’re in the UK or not it’s probably still worth looking into to check what the rules and regulations are wherever you’re selling from. I’d hate for small businesses owners and people running side hustles to end up getting fined or worse for not paying taxes when all they’re trying to do is earn a little extra to help with their bills.

Stay safe in what you’re selling and doing out there, and be aware! Please share around so people are aware of this stuff!