• Home
  • Suggest A Craft
  • DIY Newsletter

Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

  • About CraftGossip
  • Our Network
    • Bath & Body Crafts
    • Candle Making Ideas
    • Crochet Ideas
    • Cross Stitch
    • Edible Crafts
    • Felting Patterns
    • Glass Art
    • Home & Garden Ideas
    • Indie Crafts
    • Jewelry Making
    • Kids Crafts
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Lesson Plans
    • Needlework
    • Party Ideas
    • Polymer Clay
    • Quilting Ideas
    • Recycled Crafts
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Card Making
    • DIY Weddings
    • Not Craft Ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Roundups
  • Store
  • Search

What Does “Personal Use Only” Mean?

September 22, 2016 by Sarah White

bulky throw knitting pattern ravelryOften when you buy knitting patterns (and sometimes you see it on free knitting patterns, too) you’ll see a statement somewhere on the pattern or website that says the patterns are for personal use only or some variation on that idea.

The idea behind such statements is that designers don’t want people profiting from their original ideas, their intellectual property.

But of course such statements are pretty impossible to enforce, because we can’t track down every person who ever bought or downloaded one of our patterns to make sure they only made the project for themselves or as gifts.

On very rare occasions people have emailed me to ask if they can make items to sell from my patterns, and I’m always glad to have them ask, but I never expect it. I’m sure more people are using my patterns to make items to sell than have ever thought to contact me, and for the most part I don’t mind it.

There’s a really great article from Carol Sulkoski on the Craft Industry Alliance website about this issue and whether such statements are in any way enforceable. The answer is probably not.

For one thing, the clause is usually only found on the pattern itself, which you don’t see until after you’ve bought it, so it can’t be assumed the buyer consented to the restriction when they chose to buy it.

Copyright law applies to the pattern itself, so someone can’t buy it, put their name on it and sell it as their own, but things get murkier when it comes to items produced with purchased patterns.

I have a lot of sympathy for designers, who spend so much time making their patterns (believe me, I know what goes into even a simple pattern!), and who sometimes sell items made with their patterns and want to be the only person able to do so, but that’s not the way the law works.

This is a really interesting topic if you are a designer or you knit items from patterns made by other people. I’d love to know what you think, on either side of the debate.

(By the way the pattern in the picture is my Bulky Stockinette Throw, available for free on Ravelry.)

 

Next Pattern:

  • Cooler Weather Doesn't Mean You Have to Stop Knitting Lace
  • Why Does Stockinette Curl and Can You Fix It?
«
»

Have you read?

Embellish Your Knit Dishcloth with Flowers

One great thing to knit when the weather is warm (or honestly any other time) is dishcloths and washcloths. They are fun and easy projects and a great way to play with new skills. Pretty washcloths make cleaning a tiny bit more fun, and they’re great to have on hand as a quick addition to a store-bought gift. 

The Daisy Delight Dishcloth from Yarnspirations is a fun one for using leftover bits of green in your cotton yarn stash. What looks like the bottom in the picture is actually the left side as you knit it, and each little color section is worked with its own ball of yarn, intarsia style. 

That’s a little fiddly for a washcloth, but the effect is cute, and it’s a simple way to learn the basics of intarsia knitting (as well as reading a chart) if you don’t already have those skills. 

One the knitting is done, you add the flowers with a bit of lazy daisy embroidery, which is really easy to do even if you’re not that into embroidery. You could also potentially add flowers in duplicate stitch if you’d rather. 

This may be the most work you’ve put into a dishcloth, but isn’t it adorable? It would be fun to use as a hand towel through the spring and summer, and if you already have some leftover green yarn from other projects it should be pretty easy to do. 

You could also take this same concept and make it different colors. All dark green stems with stars on top might be reminiscent of Christmas trees, or brown with daisy stitch on top in different colors could be trees in the fall. 

However you stitch it, this looks like a fun little project for knitters who are comfortable with intarsia and reading charts or who are ready to try those skills. 

You can grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations. 

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

Book Review – Dishcloths for Special Days [Knitting]

Book Review – Holiday Knit Dishcloths

Categories

baby hat Baby Patterns Beginner Book Reviews cardigan Christmas CraftGossip Giveaways Craft News and Events Free Kntting Patterns Giveaways! Hats Knitting Articles Of Interest Knitting Patterns Knitting Technique & Ideas mittens Quick scarf shawl patterns socks Sweaters

RSS More Articles

  • How to Create a Photo Box Card
  • Embellish Your Knit Dishcloth with Flowers
  • 30 Brilliant Uses for Empty Pill Bottles You Probably Haven’t Tried Yet
  • Free Crochet Pattern – Emotional Support Chicken
  • Unisex Pajama Top Free Pattern
  • Back to School Cross Stitch Patterns
  • Wrap Yourself in Brilliance: Crochet Your Own Shawl or Scarf
  • 3 FREE Boho Bugs Coloring Pages and Digital Images
  • Embroidery for Mental Health: How Stitching Reduces Stress
  • Krampus Sweater Knitting Pattern

Copyright © 2025 · CraftGossip | Start Here | Contact Us | Link to Us | Your Editors | Privacy and affiliate policy