THE ALTERNATIVE CROSS STITCHING MAGAZINE

Submit Your SAL (Stitch-A-Long) Policy & Guidelines

Effective Date: May 5, 2026

Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine proudly supports the growing Stitch-A-Long community and welcomes submissions for upcoming and active SAL projects that align with the magazine’s creative direction and audience.

This page explains the requirements, submission standards, promotional structure, and eligibility guidelines for SAL features submitted to Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine.

What Is a SAL?

A SAL, or Stitch-A-Long, is a scheduled cross stitch event where participants stitch a design together over time, typically through:

  • Weekly releases

  • Monthly releases

  • Mystery reveals

  • Seasonal events

  • Community-guided progress releases

  • Collaborative stitching experiences

Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine may feature both:

  • Upcoming SAL announcements

  • Currently active SAL projects

within dedicated sections of future magazine issues.

Our Goal for SAL Features

We want readers to discover exciting upcoming projects early enough to:

  • Prepare materials

  • Purchase supplies

  • Join community groups

  • Follow participating artists

  • Plan stitching schedules

  • Participate from the beginning of the SAL experience

During the magazine’s early growth period, our goal is to showcase SALs as far as six months in advance whenever possible.

Eligible SAL Themes

All submitted SAL projects must reasonably align with the established themes and artistic direction of Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine.

Eligible themes may include:

  • Witchy aesthetics

  • Gothic artwork

  • Cozy spooky themes

  • Cute creepy artwork

  • Dark humor

  • Vintage Halloween

  • Tattoo-inspired designs

  • Fantasy horror

  • Cryptids and folklore

  • Emotional or melancholic themes

  • Haunted aesthetics

  • Alternative artistic styles

  • Dark romantic themes

  • Autumn and harvest themes

  • Occult-inspired aesthetics

  • Soft gothic themes

Not every SAL must be intense horror or heavily gothic. We intentionally support a wide range of spooky, alternative, emotional, whimsical, and creatively unconventional artwork.

SAL Information Required for Submission

To be considered for feature placement, contributors must provide complete and accurate SAL information.

Submissions should include:

Creator Information

  • Legal name or creator alias

  • Business or shop name (if applicable)

  • Social media handles

  • Website, Etsy shop, or storefront links

  • Preferred public attribution name

SAL Details

  • SAL title

  • SAL category or theme

  • Planned start date

  • Estimated duration

  • Release schedule (weekly, monthly, etc.)

  • Whether the SAL is:

    • Mystery

    • Partially revealed

    • Fully revealed

    • Seasonal

    • Limited-time

    • Ongoing

  • Brief description of the SAL concept

  • Skill level expectations where applicable

Community & Access Information

  • Official signup links

  • Group or Discord information

  • Facebook group links

  • Newsletter signup links

  • Pattern purchase links where applicable

  • Relevant hashtags or community tags

Promotional Materials

  • Preview images

  • Mockups

  • Logos or branding assets

  • Social media graphics where available

  • Promotional descriptions or blurbs

Mystery SAL Requirements

Mystery SAL submissions are welcome and encouraged.

However:

  • Preview materials must still reasonably represent the project’s tone and style

  • Promotional images may not intentionally mislead readers

  • Thematic fit must still align with Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine standards

  • Mystery concepts remain subject to editorial review

We understand many SAL creators intentionally preserve mystery elements as part of the experience.

Pattern Quality Standards

Featured SAL projects should reflect reasonable quality and professionalism standards.

We strongly encourage:

  • Clean charting

  • Readable formatting

  • Thoughtful color usage

  • Pattern Keeper compatibility

  • Reduced unnecessary confetti where practical

  • Clear release planning

  • Organized participant information

We may decline to feature SALs that appear:

  • Excessively automated

  • Poorly organized

  • Unreadable

  • Misleading

  • Incomplete

  • Inconsistent with publication standards

AI and Automated Content Restrictions

AI-assisted mockups and promotional imagery may be acceptable where reasonably used for presentation purposes.

However, Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine does not accept SAL projects primarily generated through:

  • Automated AI image generation

  • Minimal-effort image-to-pattern conversion

  • Excessively automated chart generation without meaningful artistic refinement

SAL projects should reflect substantial artistic involvement and thoughtful chart preparation.

SAL Feature Placement

Feature placement within the magazine is not guaranteed.

SAL submissions may appear in:

  • Upcoming SAL sections

  • Seasonal previews

  • Community spotlight areas

  • Feature articles

  • Creator highlights

  • Promotional pages

  • Special issue features

Placement size, formatting, and editorial presentation are determined at the sole discretion of Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine.

Timing and Editorial Scheduling

Because magazine production schedules operate months in advance, we strongly encourage early submissions whenever possible.

A delayed response does not necessarily indicate rejection.

Some SAL projects may be held for:

  • Seasonal issues

  • Future themed editions

  • Later promotional windows

  • Special event features

Contributor Ownership Rights

Creators retain ownership of their original SAL designs, artwork, branding, and intellectual property unless otherwise governed by separate written agreements.

By submitting promotional materials for feature consideration, contributors grant Bone & Briar Holdings permission to:

  • Display submitted materials

  • Promote featured SALs

  • Include previews within magazine issues

  • Use provided images for promotional purposes related to the feature

  • Archive issues containing the feature

Compensation

SAL listings, announcements, previews, and community feature placements within Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine are promotional features only and are not compensated at this time.

Creators featured within the SAL section are receiving:

  • Magazine exposure
  • Promotional visibility
  • Creator attribution
  • Shop and social media links
  • Community discovery opportunities
  • Early promotional placement for upcoming events

Feature inclusion within Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine is intended as a promotional spotlight designed to help readers discover and participate in upcoming Stitch-A-Long events.

At this time, standard SAL features do not include direct monetary compensation unless explicitly stated through a separate written agreement or special collaboration arrangement.

 

Community Standards

All SAL creators and community spaces associated with featured projects are expected to reasonably align with the Community Standards & Conduct Policy of Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine.

We reserve the right to decline or remove features associated with:

  • Harassment

  • Hate speech

  • Fraudulent behavior

  • Copyright infringement

  • Community abuse

  • Unsafe conduct

  • Repeated piracy concerns

Submission Does Not Guarantee Publication

Submission alone does not guarantee:

  • Magazine placement

  • Promotional coverage

  • Editorial feature inclusion

  • Compensation

  • Social media promotion

All feature decisions remain at the sole discretion of Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine.

Future Growth of SAL Features

As Chaos Cross Stitch Magazine grows, we hope to expand SAL coverage through:

  • Dedicated SAL calendars

  • Community events

  • Expanded creator spotlights

  • Seasonal stitching guides

  • Collaborative events

  • Subscriber-exclusive SAL features

  • Physical issue integrations

  • Community progress showcases

Our goal is to help readers discover exciting stitching experiences while supporting independent creators and community-driven creativity.