Something New is Coming to Stitchables… Contests!
Update 9/27/2025: We were able to finally get something up and running for the contest. We initially wanted to have a way to get the contest up and running by having people upload their templates to the system. This would have worked out great! But we ran into a couple off errors with the way the system uploaded templates. We were able to reach out to a community member who helped us get a contest ready for October. You can learn more about it here! – https://stitchables.net/spooktober-halloween-contest/
We’re super excited to be working on a brand-new system for the site – community contests! Right now, we’re building out a dedicated contest page, setting up the rules, and laying down the guidelines to make sure everything stays fair and fun for everyone.
This will be a space where creativity shines, the community gets to vote, and the best designs rise to the top … maybe.
There are a few things we’re working hard to balance as we build this out. We don’t want contests to just come down to who has the biggest following – can you imagine someone with thousands of followers simply gaming the system? (Yeah, that would suck) Instead, judging will focus on a mix of factors like design quality, creativity, skill, and community votes to make sure the winners truly earn their spot.
What to Expect
There are going to be different formats, but for this first one, here’s how we’re thinking about hosting the contests: you’ll upload your creations, the community will get to vote and be voted on, and then the winners will share their pattern to win. (This is our current idea / plan. But it might change when we launch the official rules for the first contest)
If you place in the Top 5, and you want to claim your price, you’ll need to upload your PDF pattern (and yes – it has to be your original pattern) so the whole Stitchables community can benefit from your creativity, but at the same time, let’s not steal patterns from other makers. This way, everyone wins: you get recognition and prizes, and the community gets access to amazing new templates to learn from and enjoy. So, here is how it’ll work:
- Upload Your Creations – You’ll be able to share your designs (starting with wallets) for the community to see.
- Vote & Be Voted On – The community will get to vote on their favorites.
- Share to Win – Winners will share their PDF templates with the Stitchables community – so everyone gets to benefit from the creativity!
- Winning Criteria – The winner will be selected from an internal judge panel, number of votes, impressions, creativity, and design.
🏆 The Prizes
We don’t have the final price structure yet, but we’re thinking about starting out with gift cards to setup the first contest structure. We’re experimenting with a few things like $150 for 1st place and then dropping down in rewards to 5th place.
- 1st Place: TBD
- 2nd Place: TBD
- 3rd–5th Place: TBD
💡 Why We’re Doing This
These contests are about more than just prizes. They’re about:
- Celebrating creativity
- Building a stronger Stitchables community
- Giving everyone access to more free templates
Keep an eye out – our first contest announcement is coming soon, we’re aiming for an October 1st Launch (if we’re able to get the system in place).
Neat! This should be so fun to see everyone’s creations and patterns!
@wodwo Yes! Hopefully we can get a few people to play along with it!
I love the idea of this! You’ve got your work cut out figuring out how to make it fair, but I think you’re well on your way with what you’ve described so far. I’m excited to see the first one go live and participate! I’ve already got an idea based on a design I’m crafting right now.
@RileyQuinn Already ran into that – how can we keep it fair? So we’re trying to iron that out. We’re also thinking about modifying the contest so we have a standard pattern – and then makers can modify the pattern a bit.
@Shamus You could do categories, like “This contest is for belt patterns” or “This contest is for wallet patterns” so at least then the designs are similar enough that it’s easier to judge. It’s hard to judge a wallet against a belt against a backpack. If everyone is at least in the same category it’s a more level playing field and in my opinion a bit more fair to both the contestants and the judges. Also, having clear judging standards will make it easier and more fair (again, for the participants and judges). For example, “Criteria 1: does the pattern fit the design category” or “Criteria 2: Beginner Pattern – is the pattern too complicated to be considered for beginners”. Just examples, obviously you’d adjust the criteria per contest as needed.