Selling Legally Crocheted Items!!!

How can I make sure that my crocheted product isn’t based on any existing pattern?

I’ve been crocheting as a hobby for 10 years, and now I want to turn my hobby into a career and sell my own crocheted products—like wrist warmers—online. However, I’m worried that my design might resemble a pattern I find online, which would mean I wouldn’t be allowed to sell it.

I’ve tried searching for patterns to compare… but just by typing “wrist warmers” into the search bar, I get hundreds of results!!

How do you go about this? How do you check if your product is unique?

Hi mo-masri,

in my opinion, it’s not possible to figure that out. I tried that at the beginning, too, and came to the same conclusion. After all, you can’t possibly search through every platform and individual seller. I guess you just have to live with that risk. 

Hi!

Well, for me, it’s very simple:
If I write my own pattern, haven’t copied even parts of it from anywhere, and haven’t stolen any ideas (sure, there are plenty of wrist warmers out there, as well as socks, animals, etc.—I’m talking about ideas relevant to copyright, like—hmmm… a good example?! —yellow “battery figures” with blue overalls, a raven with a striped sock, etc. 😉), then I can sell the items I crochet based on that idea with a clear conscience.
Of course, this only works if you can trust your own conscience.
But I’m just going to assume that’s the case 😉.

It’s also best to document the development process of the idea.

Best regards

I see it the same way as ZwergnaseBaer. As long as you have a clear conscience, nothing can go wrong. When crocheting, it’s almost guaranteed that no two stitches are exactly the same. If it’s a very simple design, though, it’ll also be difficult to prove a copyright infringement.
Be brave, and best regards 

Hi mo-masri,
As others here have already mentioned, a scarf is a scarf, and wrist warmers are wrist warmers.
If these are items you’ve “designed” and knitted yourself, I think that’s fine—unless it’s such an unusual pattern that already exists in a pattern.
In any case, it’s important that you familiarize yourself with what’s involved if you want to sell items commercially. There’s quite a lot to consider at the beginning.
Best regards
Petra