Is it OK to re-write a pattern?
 

Just finished reading this thread : https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...s-t303455.html

My quilting group made quilts together following a pattern from/by a local quilt shop owner. They all bought the pattern and made their own quilts with "some" guidance from a former employee (minimal at best).

While the quilts are lovely, the ladies hated the process of making them. One lady will "never" finish her top into a quilt because it was such a miserable process. She gave me her pattern when I admired the quilts. I didn't take part because it was the start of my two years of hell and wasn't attending sewing days. It is a very - as in extremely - horribly written pattern. So I can see why the ladies were disgusted/disappointed. The pattern was meant as a class at the store.


From the pictures of the finished quilts, I'm sure I can come up with better and simpler instructions and I do want to make this pattern. Can I do a pattern rewrite and give credit for the design to the creator?

I may be wrong but if you are going to re-write the pattern for your personal use I can’t see there being a problem.

If you ‘lend’ the pattern to a friend I can’t see a problem with that either.

But I’m sure it would be wrong to sell the pattern, even if you did give credit to the designer.

Is it not possible for you to ask the quilt shop owner? Perhaps you could say that you love her pattern but have re-written it in a way that you find easier to follow.

If the pattern was bought and designed for personal use, you can change it any way you would like. No problem... unless Canada has some strange copyright law preventing your personal use of your purchases. It's like buying a book and underlining or rewriting a sentence so that you could understand it better ... for your personal use (not for republishing). And actually, I can't see why it would be illegal to sell the pattern. There is a very large market for the reselling of used books! (Check eBay and Amazon!)... just so you don't claim it's your creation.

Some patterns are not written well. Make corrections as you see fit. The cops have better things to do than to come after you.��

What if she did it at no charge?

one should never decide whether or not to do a thing based on whether or not they are likely to get caught.
wrong is wrong. period.

if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear the crash, whatever gets in the way will still be just as squashed.

if you are the only person using the pattern, then re-writing the instructions for your exclusive use should fall within the parameters of fair use.

from that point forward things get increasingly fuzzy and complicated.

how original is the pattern design itself?
are we talking about blocks already in the public domain?
are the blocks/sections truly unique?

do you paraphrase the published instructions?
will you toss them completely and write everything from scratch without consulting the commercial pattern at all?

the ethical thing to do for a group situation would be to require each person to buy their own legal copy of the commercial pattern. that satisfies copyright law.
if you wish to supplement those instructions with something you wrote yourself, my definitely-not-a-lawyer feeling is that you'd not be violating copyright law if you shared copies of those with the group.
never provide copies of those instructions to anybody who cannot prove to you that they have already purchased a legal copy of the pattern. that covers your patooty.

whether or not you charge for the "home made" instructions has nothing to do with it.
doing it the wrong way, but doing it for free, just leaves you with no money to hire that lawyer you might need. :rolleyes:

Another scenario: I can't tell you how many times I have purchased a pattern and made it according to my personal time tested methods. I ended up with the same finished design. Even if I didn't write my methods down I did 'rewrite it'. That is entirely OK because it was my pattern after purchase and I can use it as I see fit. I just can't market it as mine but I certainly wouln't hesitate to show another quilter how I did mine if I was asked. I ran into this very thing in a Judy Neimeyer class I took. I made one curved section "my way' and the instructor admired it until she saw me doing the next one. Then, she rather chastised me. Oh, well.

For some reason, I can't seem to follow pattern directions anymore. If it is a square block, I end up drawing the block in EQ7 and then use that as my guideline to make the quilt. I can count squares or HST's that are needed and see the pattern so much clearer.

I agree with the others. If you are doing it only for your use, you can do anything you want. If you want to share it, then that might be copyright enfringement, unless the block is a part of public domain. If it is an original block design, then you more than likely could be prosecuted if you shared or sold the revised pattern. Wish you would post a picture of the design or a link to the class.

As you paid for the pattern and class of a Judy Neimeyer pattern, I think the teacher was wrong to get on you for not doing it "their" way. Its great to try a new way but if your way works for you, Do It! I love to pp, but I do it my way. Some people need the class to get it. Most of the time on a pp pattern I will white out the numbered steps, I can tell what goes where and in what order. I buy the books and do it my own way!

I am "guilty" of rewriting patterns for my own personal use. I love to paper piece and many times I've looked at a traditionally pieced block and reworked it into a paper pieced block. Block looks identical at the end, but I changed up the technique I used to make it. I've mentioned this to other people and some are shocked that I would do such a thing and others are "wow, why didn't I think of that?". As long as you don't profit from the pattern, I don't see anything wrong with this "rewrite". Just My 2 Cents...for what they're worth.

If people never looked for a different way (that's better for them) we would still be cutting out fabric pieces one at a time with scissors. I applaud you!

Every pattern that instructions how to make hsts for a unit, I don't use that way. I use the method I want to use. Thus I rewritten the pattern. I don't mind showing anyone my way if they ask so they can dismiss the pattern way. As long as the finished quilt looks the same what difference does it make what corrections you make to get there? It's still the designer's finished look and anyone can look at it and say Oh that's a ______ pattern. I don't get hung up over stuff like this.

Thanks for all your opinions.
1. I have no intention of selling it or teaching it for that matter.
2. Everyone was disgusted over having to buy such a poorly written and confusing pattern. It was essentially a 16 patch block and another familiar block albeit with different value placings.
3. I would only give "my" directions to the members who had already purchased the pattern. There were several who gave up and put it on their UFO pile.
4. And I want to make it for myself cause the end result is very pretty.

I totally change patterns all the time. I rewrite it as I go. I am making my fifth bag and I have made three or four additional changes to this one. It is time to type a completely revised pattern before I can think of more changes. The only original fact is that it uses a Jelly Roll.

I do not see any thing wrong with rewriting a pattern the professionals do it all the time and sell the books or patterns as their own, for example Square Dance came out pictures of templates to be traced to plastic, I have the book and did the quilt, someone else reprinted called the Twister, included plastic templates, doubled the price another example was Stack and Whack very popular I also have the book did the quilt then someone else rewrote it called it One Block Wonder and sold under their name not very much changed in either book plus there are others even patterns so why would it be fair for some and not others so when I want to rewrite a pattern I do and I have came up with easier ways and taught them at guilds and quilt stores

She is still the only one entitled to profit from any sales of her pattern, if it is copied.

If the pattern is just a combination of shapes, then it is only her words that are copyrighted. You cannot copyright shapes. If there is artwork involved, such as applique designs, those can be copyrighted as original artwork. So if you take a pattern that is just basic shapes (as are most pieced quilts), and write your own new directions for it, it's not a violation of any copyright. You can do what you want with it.

You are making the quilt - you can make it / change it / redo it in any way you want. The problem arises if you try to resell a pattern that you have altered (the pattern not the quilt!). Copyright laws are designed to protect the product - meaning the pattern and pattern maker. It is a very grey area concerning making items from a pattern and selling them. You may not sell the patterns without permission, but selling items from a pattern are not going to cause problems unless you are doing it on a massive manufacturing scale. It is good form and karma to give credit to the designer if you are selling an item made from a particular pattern. I find that buyers at an event appreciate having that information. Another way to think about it is if I am selling gift baskets and one of the items in that basket is a small bottle of lotion, the company making the lotion is not going to sue me for including their lotion. They will think of it as advertising their product.