HudsonsBend

Thank you so much for adding me to your site For a long time, I have had a lone star on my quilting wish list, and today finished my first one. I put it onto a share page on Facebook (a really nice one, everyone is kind) and was told in one of the first comments that the block was very similar to a book published some 15 years ago. I truly thought two things. First, I thought that Lone Star was a classic block that was likely in the public domain. Second, I thought that because my "version" is so simple, with just the placement of color as my distinction, that it wasn't really an extra-ordinary design. So when I saw that a book had been published, I went looking, and saw that while the swirl I created by myself was indeed in that book, it was utilized in a very intricate quilt, my heart fell. The last thing I want is to violate copyright.

So, my question is, am I wrong to try and use this design as something for a very small scale, custom order or craft fair, sale item? In my opinion, a block that is public domain, with multiple tutorials online on how to make it, that I just chose color placement on, shouldn't that be OK?

(the short version: I drew a lone star, spiral design, in EQ8. I read several tutorials and made my own, not using any one set of directions, and did not buy a pattern. I was then told of a book that had a similar pattern as the center of an intricate quilt that I had no clue of before hand. Can I sell items via small scale?)

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Garden Gnome

I don't have an answer to your question, except to say my grandmother made a lone star quilt about 40 years ago, not in that spiral design which your beautiful piece is, but a lone star, never the less. Would the issue be with the lone star, or the spiral?
Copyrights are some times tricky, but I bet someone on here will be able to answer your question. And Welcome to the board!

topper1

Beautiful work

IceLeopard

You cannot copyright an idea. I think you are all right -- and lovely quilt!

GingerK

There have been several discussions on this site about patterns and copyrights. Just do a search to read them all. I believe that the copyright comes down to publishing the 'wording of the instructions to make a block' and not the block itself. Please read the other threads on the board. But honestly, unless you are going to write up the exact same directions as another published pattern and use the exact same fabrics, I do not think that you could contravene any copyright laws--especially just for a different colour take on a traditional pattern.

dunster

The person who commented on your quilt was probably referring to Jane Krentz's book of spiral lone stars. Yes, your design is similar to the ones in her book, but that does not mean it is a copyright infringement. The copyright pertains to the writing and illustrations in her book.

Quilt30

In my opinion this is tricky. While the lone star is indeed in public domain, your arrangement may not be considered so. I would think you need some professional advice if you plan on marketing your design. If I recall other discussions, I am not sure they will answer your specific question.

Barb in Louisiana

You did a great job on that colorway. I have wanted to make one, but have just not wanted to fight with all those matching points. What method did you use for construction? Did you do stratas or cut each piece individually?

I thought copyright had to do with selling someone else's pattern and saying that it is your design, but I could be wrong. Jan Krentz was one of the first to design a spiral lone star, but certainly not the last. Judy Neymeyer has several lone star patterns that her experts have made into Spiral Lone Stars. I've seen them on Facebook and they are beautiful. As long as you aren't making them by the thousands and exactly by the original pattern, it is supposed to be all right to use a pattern and sell a few if you want to.

Edited to add: If you look at pictures of Jan Krentz' Lone Stars, she extends the pattern out to include some spikey blocks and an outside border. So, in my eyes, you are not really making a pattern she designed, but just chose a coloring similar to hers. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...star&FORM=IGRE NOTE: These were made by her pattern but not all her work.

And there are as many ways to piece and finish a lone star pattern as there are quilters. These are just some of the ways. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...rn&FORM=RESTAB

Rhonda K

Beautiful design and fabrics. Just keep a copy of your version to show your creative work.

HudsonsBend

Thank you everyone. I have absolutely no plans of making a tutorial, selling a pattern, or anything like that - I just am wondering about selling table toppers as I made this one. (This particular one is a gift but it was well liked by friends). Jan Krentz was the author mentioned elsewhere, but I didn't want to use her name as I'm unsure as to the full rules of this forum so far. But yeah, hers is so much more complicated) If my past sales are any indication, I might get orders for 10-20 of these, not anywhere near mass production.

The confusion as to whether copyright is on the instructions and not being allowed to replicate the instructions for sale, or if it prohibits sale of the final produced product, is so confusing that it almost makes me not want to make quilts for sale, but I know that there must be common sense at some point.

I made this design in EQ8, and figured out that there were 8 strip sets of 4 colors each. So, 8123, 7812, etc. I simply made 4 45 degree cuts from each of the 8 strip sets, then sewed together. The setting triangles were harder - they are all Y seams.