What Does “Personal Use Only” Mean?

Often 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:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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