Pattern design question

[crazycrochet]

I have a question for all you pattern designers out there. I am working on a baby sweater and am using the pattern for the very first time. On the pattern leaflet the sweater looks so cute, I decided to try it. I am using the right weight of yarn, but have had to go down two sizes of hooks to get the right gauge. The bodice of the sweater looks great, but once I follow the instructions for the bottom of the sweater and the sleeves, it looks really bad and becomes very heavy. I had picked the pattern because it had 3/4 sleeves and looked great for a spring baby. After frogging the sweater 3 times, I decided to use the pattern for the bodice only and design my own sleeves and bottom of the sweater. I am not even using the stitch pattern that the original pattern calls for. My question is whose pattern is it? Have I adapted a pattern? Have I combined patterns or is it an original by me? I have no clue. Thanks.

[RoseRed]

It's both morally.

 

..but, officially and legally it would still be whoever's name is on the leaflet. It's a derivative work (something made from a copyrighted pattern). Since you're using the bodice piece and 'adapting' the pattern it's still a derivative work.

 

If you were to toss the origional pattern completely and start all over again with your own design and pattern stitches then it would be yours.

 

You adapted the pattern. You also combined the patterns. but it's still hers.

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It's the same question as what I'm working on right now. The Serafina Shawl. I've adapted the pattern to my own taste. I added a 2 rows to the pattern itself and there are now 8 dc's (instead of 6) between the shells before you split the pattern again, and a few other little things. I also figured out how to make it so that it lays perfectly flat!!!!!

 

It's still Doni's pattern. I changed it and adapted it and added to it but whenever I make one it is still a derivative work of her pattern.

[crazycrochet]

That is what I thought. But I have seen so many patterns that are exactly the same except for words being changed or moved around and then the other person taking credit for the pattern that I wasn't sure. Thanks

[RoseRed]

Just because we see it doesn't make it right, tho. A lot of people out there just don't care. Then you also have the people that don't really know and the bunch that does't want to know.

 

I think it's awesome that you're not in any of those groups!

[Elle]

This is one of the reasons I'm so reluctant to try to design anything. I have some ideas in my head, but, naturally, they were born after seeing things that other people had made, so even the ideas for the items themselves are not all mine. Add to that the fact that there are only just so many different stitches that you can use, and chances are SOMEBODY has already done something very similar to what I'm thinking of doing, so how can anything really be called "original" any more?

 

Take shawls, for example. There are two basic styles, the triangular and the rectangular. There are only so many stitches you can use, and before you know it, what started out as what you thought was an original shawl is really just a couple of stitches in length different from eighteen other shawls out there. For that reason I doubt that I will ever end up designing anything with the intention of selling the pattern, if anything, I'll make one for myself or as a gift for a friend and just leave it at that.

 

I've even thought of trying to come up with a design for a teddy bear, but how many different ways are there to make teddy bear parts? It's so frustrating!