This is a copy of a Ravelry post I made today, in response to a designer who was worrying about stepping on other people's toes with her designs.
I’ve noticed the same pattern element in different designer’s socks, mostly it’s when I’ve already knitted it once and the pattern is “in my head”. It’s going to happen unless you do something unusual with the element or the way you combine it with another element.
I made my first “original” sock after reading the Charlene Schurch books, Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks, using her plug-and-play method. I then expanded my design style with Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One and Cookie A’s Sock Innovation which both opened my mind to totally new possibilities for the standard sock. I’ve yet to design anything along those lines, but always enjoy knitting an unusual combination or construction. Stephanie van der Linden and Jeannie Cartmel are other designers who have developed constructions that are far beyond traditional. I’ve only done a little designing myself, because there are so many clever/beautiful designs out there that I want to make, and kudos to the people who go to the trouble to actually write up the instructions, have them test-knitted, etc!
A copyright lawyer once told me that if someone took a trip down a river and wrote about it, and I took a trip down the same river and also wrote about it, and it my account happened to be identical to the first story, there was no infringement, because mine was as original as the first. I think this applies to using stitch dictionaries as well, the pattern in the dictionary being the river, and our sock pattern being the tale we tell.
I’ve noticed the same pattern element in different designer’s socks, mostly it’s when I’ve already knitted it once and the pattern is “in my head”. It’s going to happen unless you do something unusual with the element or the way you combine it with another element.
I made my first “original” sock after reading the Charlene Schurch books, Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks, using her plug-and-play method. I then expanded my design style with Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One and Cookie A’s Sock Innovation which both opened my mind to totally new possibilities for the standard sock. I’ve yet to design anything along those lines, but always enjoy knitting an unusual combination or construction. Stephanie van der Linden and Jeannie Cartmel are other designers who have developed constructions that are far beyond traditional. I’ve only done a little designing myself, because there are so many clever/beautiful designs out there that I want to make, and kudos to the people who go to the trouble to actually write up the instructions, have them test-knitted, etc!
A copyright lawyer once told me that if someone took a trip down a river and wrote about it, and I took a trip down the same river and also wrote about it, and it my account happened to be identical to the first story, there was no infringement, because mine was as original as the first. I think this applies to using stitch dictionaries as well, the pattern in the dictionary being the river, and our sock pattern being the tale we tell.
Thanks for putting "my thoughts" into words. Wise words!
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