faq
Questions, answered.
Pricing, who can see your pattern files, how invitations work, and how to cancel — plus the basics of how the roles fit together.
Plans & pricing
- How much does it cost?
- There's a free plan, and two paid tiers billed monthly:
- Free — $0. One active test at a time, with the full core workflow. No credit card required.
- Solo — $19/mo. Up to 3 active tests in parallel.
- Studio — $49/mo. Unlimited active tests, for busy studios and back-to-back release seasons.
- What counts as an “active test”?
- A pattern with its tester round currently open. Patterns you're drafting, or ones whose round you've wrapped up, don't count against the limit — so on the Free plan you can build up a whole library of patterns and just run one live round at a time.
- Do you take a cut of what I pay a collaborator?
- No. Payment is arranged directly between the designer and the tech editor or ghostwriter, off-platform. We don't process, hold, or take a percentage of those funds — and we're not a party to any dispute about them.
Your pattern files & privacy
- Who can see my pattern files?
- Only the people you bring into a pattern: you (the designer), the tech editors you've invited, and the testers you've accepted. Nobody else — other designers, other testers, or the public — can reach a pattern's PDFs, feedback, or photos. Access is enforced by role-gated database and storage rules, and PDFs open through short-lived signed links rather than public URLs.
- Can testers I rejected or dropped still open my pattern?
- No. Someone whose application you rejected never gets file access in the first place. If you drop a tester from a round, their access ends too — though any feedback and photos they already submitted stay on file for your records.
- Is anything about my pattern ever public?
- Only if you choose to publish it. Your patterns are private by default. If you opt in to a public designer profile, it shows your released patterns with the single cover photo you picked — and that photo only comes from images a tester explicitly granted cover rights to. Drafts and in-testing patterns are never shown publicly, and we never sell or share your files.
- What file format do I upload, and can I replace a draft?
- PDF. Each upload becomes a new, numbered version rather than overwriting the last one, so feedback and annotations always pin to the exact draft they were made against — testers never end up reviewing v3 after you've moved on to v4.
Invitations
- How do invitations work?
- Two ways, both starting from your pattern workspace. You can invite someone by email— they get a secure, tokenized link. A tester invite unlocks the application form even if you've closed public applications; a tech editor invite grants pattern access as soon as they accept. Or, for tech editors, you can hire from the directory: send a brief, the editor quotes, and accepting the quote grants access. New collaborators can read how it all works at how testing works and how tech editing works.
- Do people need an account to accept?
- Yes, but the invitation link walks them through it — they can create a tester or tech editor account first, then land straight on your pattern. One account is one role for now, so someone who's both a tester and a designer keeps separate accounts.
- Can I revoke an invitation?
- Yes, any time, from the invitations page in your studio. Revoked links stop working immediately, so an invite sent to the wrong address is easy to undo.
Billing & cancellation
- How do I cancel?
- Open Manage billing from your billing page — it takes you to the secure Stripe billing portal, where you can cancel in a couple of clicks. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period: you keep your paid features until that date, then drop to the Free plan automatically. No emailing us required.
- What happens to my patterns and data if I cancel or downgrade?
- Nothing is deleted. You keep every pattern, PDF version, piece of feedback, and photo. You simply return to the Free limit of one active test at a time — so you may not be able to open a new round while another is running, but everything you've built stays put, and you can upgrade again whenever you like.
- Can I get a refund?
- Fees are non-refundable except where required by law — canceling stops future charges but doesn't refund the current period. See our Terms for the details, and if something went wrong with a charge, get in touch — we'll make it right.
- Can I update my card or download a receipt?
- Yes — the same Manage billing portal handles payment methods, invoices, and receipts.
The basics
- Who is TQIC: Tester Edition for?
- Indie pattern designers running tech edits and tester rounds, the collaborators they hire — tech editors and ghostwriters — and the testers who quilt the drafts. Each role has its own studio inside the app.
- What does a tester round look like?
- Designers either open public applications or invite testers by email. Accepted testers move through stages — cutting, piecing, quilting, binding, photos — and submit feedback grouped by section. Photos come with explicit usage rights for social, cover, and website use, set by the tester.
- How does the collaborator directory work?
- Designers browse approved collaborators by rate, turnaround, and references, then send a quote request. They quote, the designer accepts, and the work is delivered in-app. Ratings are recorded per service after the work closes — a five-star tech edit says nothing about someone's ghostwriting.
- What is ghostwriting, and how is it different from tech editing?
- A tech editor checks a draft you've already written. A ghostwriter writes it for you — from a sketch, an EQ file, a finished quilt, or rough notes. They work from your saved house style (unit methods, seam allowance, pressing, terminology), so the draft reads as yours, and they deliver it as a pattern version ready for tech editing. You don't need an existing pattern to hire one; the app creates the container for you.
- How does hiring a sample maker work?
- You browse sample makers by what they'll do (piecing, quilting, binding), the largest quilt they take, whether they have longarm access, and where they ship from. You usually send them the fabric. Once they accept the quote, a shipping card appears on the engagement for both of you — addresses, carrier, tracking, both directions. They work a progress track you can watch, upload photos with usage rights they set, and can report any errors they hit while sewing.
- Who can see my address?
- Only the collaborator you're working with, and only after they've accepted the quote. Addresses live apart from the rest of the engagement, never appear in a notification email, and are deleted if the engagement is canceled. Nobody else — including other collaborators on the same pattern — can see them.
- Who owns a pattern a ghostwriter wrote?
- You do — ghostwriting is normally work-for-hire. But TQIC isn't a party to that agreement, so put ownership and credit in writing with the ghostwriter directly. The hire form captures whether you want them credited, and their listing says whether they'll work uncredited, so any mismatch surfaces before anyone quotes.
Still wondering something?
Send a note and we'll reply by email — or spin up a free account and try a pattern.