Embrace AI to Revolutionize Your Quilting Business: A Creative's Guide

Tori McElwain
Apr 23
6 min read

Updated: Jun 4

If you're feeling a little unsure about AI - or maybe even downright suspicious - you're not alone. When AI first hit the mainstream, it felt like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. But here’s the truth: AI isn’t here to take over your sewing machine. In fact, for small business owners like us, especially in the quilting and crafting world, it can be a fun, useful, and even empowering tool.

Today, I want to share how I use AI in my business, why I trust it (with the right settings in place), and how it might just become your favorite creative assistant too.

Understanding AI: What You Need to Know

Let's demystify this: AI stands for artificial intelligence, but what most of us are interacting with - like ChatGPT - is just a very smart writing assistant. It’s trained to recognize patterns in how people speak, write, and communicate, and then generate responses based on those patterns.

One of the easiest ways to think about it? It's like predictive text on steroids. You know, that feature on your phone that guesses the next word in a text message? Now imagine it being way more helpful.

You ask it a question, give it some context, and it provides suggestions, summaries, outlines, captions, or ideas in return.

Why I Started Using AI: My Journey into AI Applications

When I first started dabbling with ChatGPT, I wasn’t trying to overhaul my business. I just wanted to make sense of some technical jargon from my day job. I asked it to explain something to me, “like I’m a fifth grader,” and it worked! Then I tried “like I’m in eighth grade,” and again - it delivered.

That’s when I realized AI could be useful and kind of fun.

From there, I began using it to brainstorm blog posts, write outlines, and clarify my marketing messages. Slowly but surely, it became a helpful sidekick. Now? I utilize it weekly inside my quilting business and coaching program.

Let's Talk Safety: Is AI Secure for Small Businesses?

Great question! Honestly, it’s one of the biggest concerns I hear from crafters. I take privacy seriously, and the good news is: most reputable platforms (like OpenAI, Canva, and Adobe) offer built-in protections.

Here’s what I do to keep things safe:

Turn off AI training in ChatGPT (so your chats don’t teach future versions).
Use private sessions when working on sensitive materials.
Avoid uploading personal customer data or proprietary patterns.

Companies like OpenAI have clear privacy settings you can adjust in your account. Additionally, tools like Adobe Firefly and Canva AI use closed datasets or curated libraries. This means they’re not pulling random images or data from the internet.

In short, you have control. When used thoughtfully, AI is as safe as any tool we use in business today.

How AI Enhances My Quilting & Coaching Business

Here’s a peek into my favorite tools - and how I actually use them every week:

Grammarly: My Secret Writing Buddy

I don’t talk about this often, but I have dyslexia. Grammar rules and spelling don’t always register for me the way they do for others. Sometimes, I literally don’t see the mistakes on the page. So, when I sit down to write, my words might feel just a little off, or my sentence structure might wander a bit.

Enter: Grammarly.

This tool helps me clean up my writing and communicate clearly. It catches the things my brain skips—small spelling errors, punctuation mistakes, or awkward phrasing. Grammarly offers suggestions I can accept or ignore.

Honestly, it reminds me of that old paperclip guy from Microsoft Word - remember him? Grammarly is like that, but far more helpful. Grammarly allows me to sound like me. It doesn’t rewrite my voice; it just helps me convey my message more clearly and confidently.

ChatGPT (OpenAI): My Main Assistant

This is my go-to tool. I use it for:

Writing newsletter drafts
Outlining blog posts
Brainstorming course ideas
Creating email subject line options
Translating “brain fog” into clear marketing messages

ChatGPT doesn’t replace my work; it helps me work faster and think more clearly when I'm juggling multiple tasks.

Custom AI Tools I’ve Built (For You!)

I have one for the public: Creative's SEO Clarity Report GPT. This tool audits your website through Google’s lens and tells you how to show up more clearly in search results.

These next two tools are part of the Digital Marketing Magic Coaching (DMMC) program. They’re designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs like us:

Email Launch Assistant– Helps you write a full email sequence using my launch framework, with just a few prompts.
Barb the Builder (Landing Page GPT) – Organizes your offer and content into a beautifully structured landing page layout.

These tools were created by a quilter, for quilters. They understand our audience, our offers, and our need for both heart and strategy.

And funny story—after I built these tools, I called my sister and jokingly said, “I am a Tech Master! I am a Master of Tech!” She laughed and agreed, then a few weeks later, she handed me a surprise gift: a beanie that literally says “Tech Master” across the front. I wear it now as a little reminder that even someone from the quilting world can lean into tech and own it. Embracing the tools that support us empowers us.

Tech Master Hat — The hat my sister got me!

Spotify DJ: AI, But with Music

Okay, this one’s just for fun, but I love it. Spotify’s AI-powered DJ learns your music preferences and curates a personalized mix just for you. Mine is an unpredictable (but totally me) blend of The Greatest Showman, Eminem, Taylor Swift, Metallica, and Rob Zombie—a perfect reflection of my personality.

It pulls in long-time favorites, mixes in new discoveries, and keeps me company while I quilt, write, or brainstorm. This showcases how AI can recognize your patterns without being invasive and enhance your day.

WIX SEO Blog Assistant: Real-Time Guidance

If you’ve ever stared at your blog post wondering, “Is anyone even going to find this?”—WIX has a built-in AI tool that might surprise you.

When you're writing a blog post, WIX’s SEO Assistant offers an interactive checklist that updates as you write. It provides suggestions like:

“Add your keyword to the first paragraph.”
“Include at least one internal link.”
“Write alt text for images.”

It’s like having a gentle coach in the sidebar, helping you improve your chances of showing up on Google—without needing to be an SEO expert.

For someone like me who juggles a lot of content, it’s been such a helpful feature. It takes the guesswork out of SEO, allowing me to focus on what I truly want to do: teach, share, and connect.

The Limitations of AI: What It Can't Replace

It's crucial to remember that AI has its limitations. It can’t feel. It doesn't fully understand connotation and context (unless you give it context). It can’t tell stories from your life, using your wisdom and experience. It definitely can’t connect with your audience the way you do.

However, it can help you record your ideas and improve your workflow by:

Building momentum
Organizing your thoughts
Writing faster
Creating consistent content
Breaking through mental blocks when you're facing a blank screen

Think of AI like a rotary cutter. You could cut every piece with scissors, but a rotary cutter enhances your hands and efficiency.

AI Quilt Representation — Quilt generated by ChatGPT to represent what it knows about me.

My Advice? Try It. Let Curiosity Lead You.

Start small. Open a free ChatGPT account. Ask it to rewrite a class description, summarize a blog post, or brainstorm title options for your next pattern.

Play with it as you would with a new tool in your sewing room. Experiment. Adjust. Make it your own. If you're still on the fence? Come chat with me on Patreon with the Quilting on the Side Podcast Community, or join the DMMC—where we don’t just talk about AI; we use it to build better, smarter, calmer creative businesses.

AI doesn’t take the creativity out of your business. It creates a pathway for your ideas to flourish—bringing them into the world with more clarity and less stress.

Let’s stitch together something amazing, with the right tools by our side.