August Flosshaven updates

After a fairly slow July, I'm back with lots of ideas and motivation. If you want to be updated as soon as new fatures are added, I share all big and small updates over on the Discord server as they're added throughout the month, so head on over there if you want to be the first to know what's going on.

Fabric collection and database

The fabric database and collection was added at the end of July, and since it was such a large update, it got it's own blog post. Check out the post for detailed information about all the features and how to add fabric to your own collection and to the database.

Flosshaven Plus membership

Another update that got it's own blog post - Keeping Flosshaven Free and Sustainable.

In short, Flosshaven is a passion project and I believe the core experience should be free to use, important features should not be locked behind a paywall. But, hosting the site, storing images and data, comes with ongoing and rising costs, so in order to keep Flosshaven sustainable I decided to launch an optional membership for users who want to offer a little extra support. It is completely optional, and you get a few extra benefits such as more satistics and larger image uploads.

Ratings and reviews

You are now able to leave a rating and/or review on patterns where you have a linked project. We discussed in the discord, and landed on two different 1-5 star ratings:

Clarity - how easy the chart and pattern instructions are to understand - are all techniques explained, are the symbols easy to read?
Quality - do the colors match the design preview, does the chart have unnecessary confetti stitches, is the pattern well-written and easy to follow?

Project specific statistics

You can now view fun statistics on a single project.

Flosshaven Plus members get access to more detailed statistics (stitch progress graph and session insights) and a calculator to estimate finish time.

Icon added to indicate claimed creator pages

Creator pages that have been claimed now have an icon to indicate that they are managed by the actual creator.

If you're a creator and have not linked your profile to your creator page yet, you can claim your page and get more control over your pattern listings and creator page. You will be prompted with a self confirmation that you have the right to claim the creator page, add your official e-mail address to get the confirmation link. All claims and e-mails are saved in a log so I can verify ownership claims and investigate abuse if necessary.

Artwork AI disclosure added to creator pages

This has been discussed for a while as a way to make tagging patterns easier. In order to try to avoid wrongly tagging creators as much as possible, a few limitations have been added:

• Only editors/admin and claimed creators are able to add an "artwork AI disclosure" linked to the creator.

• Only when a disclosure has been edited by the creator themselves will it be visible on the creator page.

• A disclosure/note will be visible when adding a pattern credited to the creator - even if it was only added by an editor or admin.

  • If the disclosure is added by the creator themselves it will be labeled as "artwork AI disclosure".

  • If it was added by an editor or admin it will be labeled as "artwork AI note".

• If a pattern is based on an artwork and then charted by someone else, the artist's disclosure will be prioritized.

This is still being tested out, and more creators will be tagged in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding this, please share in the Discord server so we can discuss!

Creators can create pattern collections

If you are a cross stitch designer/chart creator, and have claimed your page, you can create collections of your patterns. Users are able to add collections to their favorites and get notified when new patterns are added.

Organize favorites in bundles and a wishlist

You can create bundles of your favorites and add patterns to your wishlist.

When adding an item to your favorites a pop up will now show allowing you to add it to a bundle, or save without adding to a bundle. One favorite can be added to multiple bundles and items can be sorted within a bundle. Bundles can also be favorited by other users.

Bundles can be shared!

You can create as many bundles as you'd like, the Wishlist bundle is premade for all users.

Projects overview

The projects page now has a new "Overview" with some quick project stats.

More profile settings

• In your profile settings you can now change measurement preferences - if you want to view fabric size in cm or inches and floss length in meters or yards.

• You can manage your Flosshaven membership.

• More notification settings have also been added - you can choose be notified when a new pattern is added that is credited to a creator in your favorites and if a new pattern is added to a collection in your favorites.

Other updates

• More sort and filter options for patterns

• Community flosstube videos

• More sort and filter options for community projects

• The add/edit forms for patterns and projects are divided into sections (details, images, floss)

• Added software compatability to patterns

I think that's it!

In the Discord server there is a running list of all planned and upcoming features, so check it out if you're curious and feel free to make suggestions!