Something rubbed me up the wrong way this morning. And no, it wasn’t reading the news, something NSFW, nor was it remembering that we had left last night’s washing up piled high in the sink. We really must stop doing that, especially after fish BBQs. Eurgh.
Instead, it was an email from a yarn brand offering the chance to receive some yarn from a small, rather gorgeous-looking independent brand that they had just started to represent. As someone who utterly adores working with small yarn brands, I was genuinely excited and eagerly looking forward to learning more about them.
I read through the email, scrolling down to the part where I fully expected their usual offer of PR packages to pop up. You know the sort of thing: a casual “would you like to try a sample of this yarn? Reply to this email with your preferred shade and we’ll get back to you” kind of vibe.
But no. Instead, there was this little gem:
Before we send the yarn out, we’d love to see what you’re planning. That way, we can make sure the colour and base choices really suit the project, and also keep track of what’s in development on our side. Important: This is not a paid collaboration, but we will provide full yarn support for your sample and help share your finished garment through our channels. With your permission, we may also feature your design in other promotional materials.
Is this OK? Well, no, it really isn’t, and it’s time we started letting brands know about it. In this article I’ll talk you through some example of how this expectation of free labour has become all to prevalent, all too annoying and how the entitement of some companies is now off the scale, as well as offering you some simple ways of fighting back and knowing your own worth as a maker. Hold onto your stash, because this is a good ‘un…
Why Free Yarn Isn’t Worth Free Labour: A Maker’s Guide
Let’s Start At The Beginning. Is This Actually Fair?
Let us take a moment to look closely at that paragraph in the introduction, because it is not fair at all. In fact, if we translate what they are really asking for into plain English, it looks a little something like this:
- “We want to approve your homework before we hand over the materials.” Asking to see your plans, sketches, and project details beforehand turns a friendly creative perk into micromanaged, unpaid design work. If you are new in the design field, you might not be au fait with the sheer heft involved in this, but it is as big and scary as you think. Sketching, planning, and swatching take time, and a hell of a lot of it. The idea of doing all of that without an invoice makes my blood start to boil.
- “You do all the heavy lifting, and we get the marketing assets.” Designing and knitting a full garment takes dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of hard work, shaping, and execution. Offering a few skeins of yarn as the sole reward simply does not cut it.
- “Exposure pays the bills!” Promising to share your finished garment through their channels or feature your design in promotional materials is the oldest trick in the book. You cannot take an Instagram repost down to the local supermarket and do the big shop. Reels do not buy your kids Nike Jordans. Shout-outs on Stories or your sweater hanging on a rail at some yarn festival in Gdańsk do not pay a single bill. Do you see where I am going with this?
Sadly, some brands can try and work extras in that count as paid work. A cheeky “could you send me over a quick sketch of an idea before we send the yarn?” steps over into design work. Of course you can, but if you’re up for doing that, invoice them alongside the sketch, or tell them (like I did) that that would require payment.
The Problem with Working for Free
On its own, receiving yarn support sounds sort of fine at a glance. But we must recognise what is really happening here: in this specific context they are expecting knitters to dream up, design, and construct a full garment, submit design proposals, and manage follow-up work for absolutely zero financial compensation.
I have written articles about this topic before, and if we are being honest, in the past I was a lot softer on this topic, very live and let live. Then I got older, grumpier, started valuing myself more as a designer, stopped giving my skills away for free, and got wiser and started calling out brands that take the mick.
So, 2026-year-old me now says the following: If you say yes to this kind of unpaid, high-intensity labour, you are not only harming yourself, but you are harming your wider community as well. The more people who are willing to work for free, the more brands will start to think it is entirely normal to offer zero money for our time and skill. It is a plain and simple fact.
Where Do We Draw the Line?
My rule of thumb when working with yarn companies who offer to send me complimentary goodies is quite straightforward:
- Is there any expectation attached?
- Are you wanting me to post on social media and essentially give you free advertising?
- Are you wanting me to design something for you, especially a heavy project like a full garment, for no compensation?
If a brand would simply like to send me out some yarn to review and try with zero deadlines (and let me be very honest, I will always make something cute to offer as a free pattern because free yarn and tools for me means lovely content for my blog and a bit more monetisation through traffic) then I am all for it.
That is a fun perk. But where do we draw the line? In my opinion, while the boundary between what does and does not constitute a fair exchange can sometimes get a little blurred, I think we can make it quite simple:
If you want to send me free product as a PR package, that is wonderful. But if you want me to keep to strict deadlines, submit sketches of what I want to make, and handle tasks that firmly belong in the territory of financially compensated magazine work or professional sample creation, then we jolly well need to talk cash.
If you want to see what proper industry standards and compensation actually look like – or check which companies value their freelancers – have a gander at the crowdsourced data over at Who Pays Knitters.
Unpaid Yarn Collaborations: Size Doesn’t Excuse Exploitation
And no, before anyone pops up in the comments to defend them, I do not care if your yarn brand is tiny and only employs three people.
As I said to someone just earlier today: expecting free labour out of people is completely bonkers, no matter how many staff members you have on the payroll. Hold off on asking for professional design work until you are actually in a proper financial position to pay people for their time. If you want to run your own company but can’t afford to pay people, then simply don’t run your own company.
Ah, But What If You Actually Want The Thing You Make Using The Yarn?
Well, now, that is an entirely different kettle of fish altogether.
If you were already planning to knit that exact jumper (or whatever) for yourself, using your own time, purely for your own wardrobe, and you just happen to fancy trying out a new independent base, then knock yourself out. That is just a happy little bonus day for your stash.
The crucial difference here – and the hill I am fully prepared to die on in great pain – comes down to agency, expectations, and control.
When you knit something for yourself:
- You pick the project because you genuinely want it.
- You knit it at whatever pace suits you without people breathing down your neck wanting “updates”.
- There are no rigid deadlines, no mood boards to submit for corporate approval, no pressure to perform, and nobody else dictating the colourway or the final aesthetic.
The moment a brand enters the chat with strings attached – demanding design proposals, previewing your plans, setting strict timelines, and expecting promotional output in exchange for “yarn support” – it stops being a fun personal project and morphs into work.
And if it is work, you deserve to be paid for it, whether you end up keeping the jumper at the end of it or not. Do not let a few skeins of free yarn trick you into doing unpaid labour for a brand’s launch portfolio, mama.
How to Reply (Without Burning Bridges)
So, what do you do when you receive emails like this? Maintaining good relationships with brands is one of the main pillars of being (and becoming) a successful designer, maker, or yarno. It is very possible to collaborate with them in ways that suit both sides, involve zero exploitation and unfairness, and sometimes turn into rewarding, financially beneficial collabs in the long run. Sure, some yarn brands can be, well, proper dicks, but most aren’t, luckily, and you’ve probably heard about them from yarn friends or on the grapevine.
What I tend to do in these situations is simple: do not answer emails straight away, especially if I am in a bad mood or in my luteal phase. If you know, you know. Your email response does not have to be rude – and arguably shouldn’t be – but should come from the perspective of “I am a professional and I know my worth.” We do not want to burn bridges; what we want to do is remind brands of our value and boundaries and suggest alternative ways of working together.
If you find yourself staring at an email just like the one that prompted this article, you do not have to just sit there and fume. You can reply. In fact, giving them a gentle nudge in the right direction might just save the next maker from getting the exact same pitch.
Does This Approach Actually Work?
Does this all work? Yes, it does.
Not always, of course. Some brands will completely ghost you the second you stand up for yourself, even if your email was as sweet and polite as can be. But others will actually respect you for it.
Take my recent week, for instance. I am currently awaiting two separate packages of goodies that were originally pitched to me under the guise of casual “product seeding,” only to come loaded with a mile-long list of deadlines and requirements such as Reels. No, hun.
For the first one – which arrived with dozens of tedious, unpaid requirements – I replied to say that I would be more than happy to receive the item and write an honest review for this very website, but I would not be adhering to any deadlines, nor would I be dancing around on a Reel or a TikTok. Do you know what they did? They accepted it, apologised for the heavy-handed brief, and agreed to send the product entirely on my terms.
Similarly, a yarn brand that asked me for all manner of creative extras alongside a “gifted” item got a polite little reminder about the crucial boundary between a genuine gift and unpaid labour. They backed down, too.
Standing your ground works. You just have to decide that your time, your craft, and your sanity are worth far more than a free ball of wool and a pat on the back.
How Can I Respond To These Emails, Then? Help!
Here are a few ways you could handle your response, depending on how spicy you are feeling:
The Polite “No Thank You”
“Hi Beverly, thank you so much for thinking of me! The yarn looks absolutely gorgeous. However, because this requires an original design concept, project planning, and execution without financial compensation, I won’t be able to take this on. As a working maker, I have a strict policy against unpaid project development. Wishing you the best with the launch! Warm regards, Nancy-Boo Yarnerson.”
The Educator
“Hi Fulanita, thanks for reaching out. The yarn is lovely, but sadly I need to pass. What you are describing isn’t a casual PR gift; it is a full design commission with sketches, timelines, and promotional output. Asking a maker to do all that heavy lifting for free, paid only in yarn, isn’t something I can support. If you ever decide to properly compensate designers for their time, give me a shout! Best, Yarnette Smith.”
If you’d like to guide the brand in the direction of a PR collab, you can try these:
Hi Bubu,
Thank you so much for thinking of me and introducing me to YummyYarnzzz – the yarn really does look stunning!
Just to clarify, I typically don’t take on unpaid project development, design proposals, or strict deadlines. However, if you’re ever looking to send out a few no-strings-attached PR skeins for makers to play with organically, I would love to be on your radar.
Wishing you all the very best with the launch!
Best, Woolly Dee.
Option 2: The Direct “Gifts vs. Gigs” Approach
Hi Bobbo,
Thanks for reaching out! The yarn looks gorgeous, but I need to pass on this particular setup.
Submitting design plans, adhering to timelines, and creating promotional assets crosses the line from a casual PR gift into professional design and sample work, which I only take on as a paid commission.
If you’re happy to send out some yarn purely as a surprise-and-delight PR package with zero expectations or deadlines, I’m always up for playing with new bases and sharing things organically if I fall in love with them. Otherwise, I hope you find the right maker for this project!
Cheers, Gloria Skeiner.
How Companies Should Be Doing It Instead
If these brands actually want to build a genuine relationship with the craft community, they need to pivot away from exploitation and back toward proper hospitality. It really is not that complicated.
Instead of treating makers like unpaid interns, many brands already approach a proper PR package pitch like this:
- No-strings-attached PR packages: Send a few skeins of yarn to a maker because you genuinely love their style and want them to play with it, with no mandatory sketches, no approval process, and zero rigid deadlines. Relaxed makers are inspired makers, and relaxed and inspired makers are more likely to post content and give the brand visibility without even thinking. They’ll share the yarn because they love it and made something cool with it, want to show that cool thing to the world and will definitely tag the brand in that content. It’s a win for you and the brand, right?
- Trust the maker: If you send a creator yarn as a gift, let them decide what to do with it organically. If they love it, they will usually write about it, make a reel, or design something cute because they are excited, not because they are contractually bullied into it.
- Separate gifts from gigs: If you want a specific garment designed for your marketing portfolio, a targeted test knit, or professional sample creation, you commission it. You find a budget, you pay the designer their proper rate, and you treat them like the skilled professionals they are.
Until certain brands learn the difference between gifting a product and demanding free labour, we are going to keep having this conversation. Keep your boundaries firm, and never let anyone tell you that exposure pays the mortgage.
Have you ever received a pitch that made your eye twitch? Come and chat in the comments below and tell me the wildest ‘free yarn for full design work’ request you’ve ever had land in your inbox!
Have a crafty day,
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