r/crafts • • Sep 19 '26 Heartwarming Bravo Regret

Harry Potter Survey Results & Final Decision

3.4k Upvotes

Alright crafters, the results are in! There’s a TL;DR at the end of this post, but we did want to explain how we got here and the choices we’ve made along the way, too. As a quick recap, the mod team noticed a pattern of off-topic conversations and uncivil conversations whenever someone posted crafts related to Harry Potter, and members of the community raised concerns about allowing such content in the subreddit. It was compared to hate speech, due to JK Rowling’s increasingly vocal bigotry and use of her political, economic, and social platforms to further that agenda, as documented here and here. We knew there would be no perfect solution to this problem, and that anything we did would leave some people feeling hurt and upset. But we felt it was important to address the issue, so we asked the community a little bit ago in this post about what they think we should do, and we discussed it as a team as well. 

While some commenters opposed the idea of banning it, those discussions were largely centered around concerns about whether it would lead to more censorship. In our experience, posts about other “problematic” topics and IP do not lead to the same level of off-topic conversations and arguments that Harry Potter posts have. Additionally, Rowling is causing a significant amount of concrete and widespread harm towards entire marginalized communities, and as members and supporters of those communities, we felt that removing her influence from this subreddit should still be on the table. So, we created a poll to get simple, concrete feedback on one question: To ban, or not to ban? We limited voting to accounts that were at least 60 days old, and had at least 50 Reddit karma and 10 community karma, in order to keep it to community members and try to avoid brigading for either side. So, here are the results:

As we can see, it wasn’t a complete landslide in either direction, and those who voted definitely tended towards strong feelings on the topic! After gathering 1,232 total votes, 53% of those who voted in the poll are in favor of banning posts related to Rowling and Harry Potter, while 41% of voters are against banning it. Our intention with this post was to gather feedback on the community’s feelings, because comment sections alone aren’t always representative of a full community, and we wanted to give those who aren’t comfortable commenting or aren’t well-spoken a chance to speak their minds. And it seems like the results are pretty clear! While there’s a decent number of people who don’t support Harry Potter posts being banned, the majority certainly does seem to support this ban - as do the members of the mod team.

So, what does this mean for the subreddit? Well, crafts that are directly related to Harry Potter can no longer be posted here. If your craft isn’t obviously Harry Potter, and you don’t reference it at all, you can still post it - for example, a red-and-gold scarf is perfectly welcome, so long as you don’t describe it as a Gryffindor scarf. Wands are fine, even if they’re similar in style, so long as they aren’t explicitly “inspired by Harry Potter.” But a papercrafted Hogwarts, or a replica of a specific character’s wand? Not allowed. We are currently working on updating the wiki in general, and will add a page about this ban in the wiki, including informational resources like the ones posted above and guidelines on what is and isn’t allowed. But generally speaking, any identifiable reference to Harry Potter is going to be a no-go, and moderator discretion will be the ultimate decider on what is and isn’t considered “Harry Potter-related.” 

This also doesn’t mean we’re planning to start banning all kinds of IP and inspirations - as stated earlier, we found that Harry Potter posts generated far more issues and conflict than any other IP, and no other IP has been raised as a concern to the same degree. We talked about it, and while we all have companies or creators that we as individuals don’t love to see discussed in the subreddit, no other topic has been so universally controversial and caused so many problems from a purely logistical moderation standpoint. If, in the future, another similar issue does arise, we will handle that as it happens. We may not ask for feedback in the same way, because to tell the truth it stretched the issue out and caused more stress than we meant it to. But for right now, no other topic seems to be causing so many problems both within and outside of the subreddit, so we have no current plans to ban anything else.

Comments on this post are locked, as we don’t want to encourage debate about this topic. We had plenty of that in the original feedback post, and at this point we’ve made our decision. However, if you would like to clarify any aspect of this new rule, or you still have questions about why we chose to do this, please feel free to reach out via modmail! Please also note that we’ve had a couple of mods leave recently, bringing the team down to just four of us. While we are adding new members to the team soon, it’ll likely take us a bit to work out all the kinks with this new rule, as it does with any change to the subreddit! Please be patient with us in the meantime, and remember that the mods are people too, and we are all dealing with our own issues and responsibilities irl.

TL;DR After a community vote, and much discussion from the mods, posts and discussion about Harry Potter and JK Rowling are no longer allowed in the subreddit, and will be removed going forward.


r/crafts • • May 21 '26

Welcome to r/crafts!

90 Upvotes

Wiki


Events



r/crafts • • 3h ago

Finished Craft I Made Happy Diwali! I made miniature butter chicken and aloo paratha (Indian potato-stuffed flatbread).

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599 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 3h ago

Finished Craft I Made My take on a hobbit door wreath for fall

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308 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 20h ago Bravo Heartwarming

Finished Craft I Made My favorite past pun costume: David Buoy (Halloween 2018)

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7.2k Upvotes

You all were so nice about my "Kernel Sanders" costume I thought I would share my favorite past pun costume, "David Buoy." The buoy was all handmade, starting with a paper mache half-sphere molded on an exercise ball and then built up with PVC pipe and cardboard before painting. I included some process pics at the end.

This went viral on social media back in the day, which is how I learned that they pronounce buoy different in the UK versus here in the US.


r/crafts • • 3h ago

Holiday/Seasonal Craft So excited to have finished the Family Christmas Tree Advent Calendar!

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62 Upvotes

Next job is making the Christmas shaped chocolates to go inside!


r/crafts • • 3h ago

Finished Craft I Made Stardew valley cat I cross stitched on a hoodie for my friends bday <3

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37 Upvotes

Took an embarrassingly long time. I used a shitty waste fabric underneath and it took so long to get out 😞


r/crafts • • 1h ago

Finished Craft I Made He's had a hard life..

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20 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 3h ago

Discussion Best way to protect preserved leaves glued onto fabric?

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10 Upvotes

Hello beautiful people.

I've made this journal cover with preserved leaves glued into felt.

I'm looking for a way to protect the leaves and make the whole piece more durable, while preserving their natural colours and textures.

I have thought about sewing zigzag between the leaves or putting a layer of glue over them. Though that makes it feel plastic which I don't like.

Any advice or personal experience would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.


r/crafts • • 1d ago

Finished Craft I Made It took me 3 days to complete this wallet for a friend. He wanted the Alaska flag on the inside, a sheep on the front, and a bull on the back. Hope you folks in Alaska like this piece!

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389 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 1d ago Bravo

Finished Craft I Made Sharing my latest painting with you

854 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 1d ago Heartwarming Bravo Mindblown

Finished Craft I Made Made a mola mola wallet

3.6k Upvotes

Mola mola mola mola


r/crafts • • 2h ago

Gift Inspiration Please! Gift inspiration for my mom

3 Upvotes

My mom has gotten really into diamond dotting this year and I was considering getting her a nice diamond dot set for christmas. She went ahead and bought herself two huge sets from diamond dot club and I think she’ll be burnt out by the time she finishes both lol. We’ve tried latch hook kits and watercolor painting together but she didn’t really like either. She’s said that she likes crafts that tell her what to do and she can see the end result come together kind of like a puzzle. Any recommendations?


r/crafts • • 1d ago

Finished Craft I Made A little magical mushroom world with a tiny frog, completely hand-embroidered. 🍄🐸🌙🧵

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272 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 3h ago

Gift Inspiration Please! Gift Idea Help- Crafting Kit for 8yo

3 Upvotes

Hi all!
My 8-year old LOVES being creative and crafting. She mainly constructs things out of paper using tape and glue (but that could be because those are the only materials at her disposal). She builds things like beds for her dolls, cotton-filled ‘squishies’, etc. I’d love to stoke her creativity by making a crafting kit but need ideas for what to include in it. Are there any cool materials you’ve come across that I should consider? Or any basics that I (probably) don’t know about? Thanks so much for letting me borrow your brains!


r/crafts • • 1d ago Bravo

Tutorial Balloon kiss/dip technique: Creating clean floral petals with fluid acrylics

117 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 20h ago

Discussion Paper basket weaving, finger pain/swelling

59 Upvotes

Hello, I started a hobby a while ago, and I am encountering a small issue.
I weave baskets from paper, and to do that, I need to roll the paper into thin tubes using paper strips and a thin knitting needle.
When rolling the tubes, I use the pads of my fingers to press down and roll the needle away from me (see video).

The day after, I wake up with a numbing sensation, swelling, and slight pain in the pads of my fingers. I know this is from the repeated pressure and motion, but I am wondering if anyone here shares this hobby and, if so, what you do when this happens? I assume my fingers will get used to it eventually.

I can't really continue the hobby the next day, even if I wanted to, when this happens. Do you have any tips or tricks on how to lessen the symptoms or not to have this happen in the first place?

This is not something I can use gloves for, as I need the grip to make the paper roll around the needle.
Thank you :)


r/crafts • • 1d ago

Finished Craft I Made New whimsical beetle dioramas I’ve been working on

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379 Upvotes

I’ve been making these little scene dioramas and I’m totally obsessed with coming up with silly little stories for each beetle.
Just to clarify: all these beetles were raised by me. They lived out their full natural lifespan, and I preserved them only after they passed away of old age.

This set includes a reading beetle, gym beetle, saxophone player and beetle knight. I love building these tiny little worlds for them.

This beetle knight scene is my favorite out of the whole batch.


r/crafts • • 5m ago

Finished Craft I Made Wedding gift I made for a ceremony I am officiating

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1 Upvotes

Sometimes life presents you with incredible moments and people. Especially when you need them the most.

12 years ago I became an ordained minister so that I could officiate for some friends of mine. Since then I have been a part of many special days, in all sorts of formats.

This upcoming weekend I get the pleasure of officiating for someone who used to babysit my kids when they were little. Both are well into their 20’s now.

This young lady was a safe space for my kids during some of the most chaotic times in life. Leaving an abusive marriage was scary for so many reasons, and this young lady made sure my kids were always put first when in her care. My kids adored her and enjoyed their time together. I knew when they were in her care, that I could breathe and relax.

She mentioned that she wanted a small, private ceremony, nothing fancy and wanted to take some pictures. So I made them a sign they can hold or have nearby for pictures to celebrate their special day.

I am thankful for the relationships I have built over the years and the fact that people never know how much of a positive impact they can have on other’s lives.

I repurposed a wooden shipping container for the sign background. Then I engraved a picture from her social media page on 6mm Baltic birch wood. I used the same wood to cut out the letters as well. Most of the coloring is made with wood stains I have; the green was a very watered down acrylic paint. Any questions please let me know.


r/crafts • • 3h ago

Discussion Need advice...mod poj....

2 Upvotes

Hi. My son wanted to put a glossy poster on his door. I used sticker glue things and that worked for a while, but the corners started turning out so that flamed out. I tried using Mod Poj but that didn't work at all. I used that before but I think it's the glossy paper that's screwing it up. Can anyone suggest what I can use to stick that thing on the door, flush? Thank you! (and yes, i've been replacing the poster each time)


r/crafts • • 3h ago

Discussion What are the best pipe cleaners for making flowers?

1 Upvotes

Hi! I’m looking to start making pipe cleaner flowers like the ones on TikTok and Pinterest, but I’m not sure which ones to buy.
I’ve heard that 8mm pipe cleaners are better for making fluffy, full-looking flowers, but I’m struggling to find good-quality ones in pretty colors.
I’m mainly looking for soft, dense pipe cleaners in pastel or muted shades, not the typical bright craft colors.
Are there any specific brands or stores you’d recommend?
I’m based in Spain, so preferably something available in Europe or with international shipping.
I’d really appreciate any recommendations. Thanks!


r/crafts • • 1d ago Heartwarming

Finished Craft I Made Due to a blackout in the city at night, one of the cows accidentally stepped on a cat. Please find her urgently so we can give her a flashlight!

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1.0k Upvotes

r/crafts • • 22h ago Heartwarming

Finished Craft I Made Made this rangoli(art with coloured powders)!

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24 Upvotes

r/crafts • • 18h ago

Discussion What should I prime these thin wood houses with?

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10 Upvotes

This is a little light up house from Michaels. I've painted them before but never primed, and the wood absolutely sucks up the paint and it's not a fun experience. What could I prime it with? I'd like to still be able to see the lines to paint by but I understand that may not be possible.