Hobby Becomes Hustle
It all started with a rant.
“Ugh! Christa! They changed the symbols between part 1 and part 2.” “OMG! They changed the floss list and added new colors!” “Doesn’t anyone look at this stuff before they release it?”, I ranted to my friend about a stitch along pattern because she had bought it as well.
Stitch alongs are typically rather large cross stitch patterns released in bits, every few weeks. Designers do this so stitchers keep momentum with big designs, to build community as others are excited about stitching the same things and are posting about it on Facebook or Instagram, or sometimes because they just haven’t finished designing something but they want to start getting it out there. Stitch alongs are my JAM. I love having a theme and seeing it unfold as time goes by. But sometimes they are the bane of my existence because some designers aren’t great at proofing their work.
I’m still a little embarrassed by how I got my first test stitching gig. Someone had posted in the Facebook group for the design I was complaining about and it seemed like she had KNOWLEDGE about the pattern. It didn’t even occur to me that she could be the designer because the group was named for her business. I started asking her questions, “Do you know, does she have any more color changes planned?” “Can you tell her about the following mistakes in the pattern?” “Is she going to change any more symbols?” Finally, this nice lady told me she is the designer of the pattern and she asked how I’d found the issues so quickly.
“Well, I worked in video games for 20+ years and I started in Quality Assurance. I got used to looking for patterns and results in games. I did a lot of work on branded games and I got used to looking at the creative work to assess where brand holders might have issues with art. I guess I just have an eye for it. Cross stitch patterns are essentially just pixel art”, I explained to her.
She asked if I’d be willing to look at the rest of the pattern and maybe test stitch it ahead of the release schedule to help her find issues before it was released. “Test…… Stitch?”, I asked. A light bulb went off. Not only could I help her design be better, I could see the whole thing early. Sign me up.
It was a big pattern and I worked on it for several weeks, going back and forth with notes on errant stitches, giving feedback where originally planned colors might not be working on the fabric she had dyed specially for the project and getting to know her little by little. At the end of the project, she asked for my Venmo info. This surprised me, but I was happy to accept a stipend for the work.
We stayed in touch and when she did her next project, she reached out to me again. “Can you test stitch this for me?” I said sure and got to work. We’ve done about a dozen projects together now and she calls me her secret weapon. Often times I can look at a pattern and find the top level random mistakes – an errant stitch here, weird backstitching there, two symbols on the color list that are similar enough to cause confusion – before I even thread a needle.
Where things really took off is when she started recommending me to other designers in a Facebook community she belongs to. I’m now working with 5 different designers providing test stitch, in progress photos, and pattern review services. When designers ask me what I charge, I say “I don’t CHARGE, per se. I ask that you cover the cost of materials (often times they send me the fabric because they have a very specific colorway in mind for how they want to see their design come to life), and if you find what I did for you helpful and decide you want to pay me a stipend, I will gleefully say ‘thank you’.” In some cases, I have reached out to designers I really like to ask if they have a test stitcher and a couple have taken me up on it.
It’s not a consistent side hustle, but it pays for my vices, as well as letting me save up a little money for Christmas and birthday gifts and the like. As someone without a full time job, it’s nice to bring in a little money of my own to play with.
