FAQs

Products

• Are your products vegan / cruelty-free? Yes! Cruelty-Free Stitchery is a fully vegan company, with a vegan owner/operator - so no animal products or by-products are used. (I even go so far as to avoid stocking fabrics that depict non-vegan food lol). Cruelty-Free is in the name, but this term generally applies to cosmetics and animal testing - so no we don't test products on animals! 

 

• Are your products plastic-free? Mostly! We are working to phase out synthetic materials wherever possible. Very few products contain polyester thread, or use synthetic (not plant-based) materials. Read more about our sustainability here! We ship plastic-free as well - most orders go in recycled paper mailers, or reused boxes with paper tape.

 

• How many (cotton rounds, cloth wipes, nonpaper towels) should I get? This is not a super easy answer, so it depends! How many disposable ones do you typically use? How often are you able (or willing) to do laundry? From our experience, having more is better so you don't run out too fast and end up going back to disposables anyways. But you can always start with a pack and add more!

 

• What's with the purple threads? Branding! And sustainability! Our brand color is a lilac pinky-purple, so you know where they came from. Stocking multiple colors of thread is very costly, and is impossible to change colors on the sewing machine efficiently without wasting some. Seriously, the machine we use can take an hour to re-thread on a good day if the stars are aligned.

 

• Your care instructions say to wash before use - why don't you pre-wash? Many factors here, but mainly it's beyond impractical for us to pre-wash them all. We cut and sew hundreds of yards of fabric at once. Washing removes stiffeners and "sizing" that makes the fabric smooth and easy to work with. If washed after cutting, the fabric will fray. Lots of our customers have allergies or sensitivities to detergents as well. We recommend that the customer wash before use because 1) so many people have handled the fabric from the time it was woven to the time it leaves our office, and 2) to remove those stiffening agents and make the fabric softer and more absorbent. All the same reasons you wouldn't go buy new bath towels or underwear and use them right away without washing! At least we hope you wouldn't...

 

Orders / Shipping

• When will my order ship? Orders typically ship within 3 business days, not including weekends or holidays. In the event of an upcoming delay for a vacation, etc, we will announce on the heading banner of the home page.

 

• Can you rush my order or send by a specific date? Sometimes - please email us in advance if you have a specific deadline. Shipping upgrades are available at checkout, but they do not guarantee a faster processing time.

 

• I placed multiple orders - can you ship them together? Yes - if the first one has not shipped yet. Our shipping software will catch this automatically if you used the same shipping address for both, so no need to contact us. Thanks for helping us reduce packaging waste!

 

• Where do you ship? Currently, we can ship orders from our website to the U.S, U.S. territories (including APO/FPO), and Canada. Due to tax laws and shipping restrictions, we can only ship internationally from our Etsy shop at this time. 

 

• Shipping costs? We use calculated pricing for domestic shipments, depending on weight, and if you select an upgrade at checkout. Orders over $35 ship free to the U.S. For Canada, we use an economy shipping service that starts at $8.99USD and goes up depending on weight. ($8.99 for up to 0.5lb, $10.99 for up to 1lb, $14.99 for up to 2lb). Prices subject to change.

 

• Help! The post office lost my package / it says "delivered" but I don't have it! If the package has been showing as "in transit" or "in transit, running late" on the tracking page for more than 7 days (within the continental U.S.) - please contact us so we can submit an inquiry for you. This could increase during holidays, natural disasters, etc. Sometimes they do find it, or it magically starts moving. If the package has been marked as "delivered" but you didn't receive it - do the usual check behind the bushes, with neighbors, etc. Occasionally, they are marked "delivered" a bit too early, so if it doesn't turn up in a day or two - try contacting your local post office with the tracking number.