Copyright or Copywrong? - You Design

Who Hat

Who hat - Close up

I have been knitting up a storm, even if I haven't been posting on my blog. I am continuing to use the Woolike yarn from Loops and Threads and have been designing and knitting hats. I also got this wonderful book called AlterKnit Stitch Dictionary which has wonderful motifs to use in designing my hats. Remember to check out your local library if you can't afford the book. These motifs not only include lovely graphic design but motifs of horses, dogs, raccoons, houses, birds, and many more. 

Black Cat Hat

Black Cat Hat - close up

However, I don't know how copyright impacts these hats so I didn't write up patterns for them. I designed these hats using motifs from book, so I don't believe I can offer a free pattern with these designs on it, and I definitely couldn't sell the pattern. However, I do believe I can tell you how I designed the hat so you can apply those to making your own hat. 

I have made several hats using Woolike so I have a good idea of how many stitches are needed for a hat. Using size 2 needles for the brim, a medium hat uses between 136 to 150 stitches and a large hat is over 150 stitches. So let's design a hat that uses a 16-stitch motif.

1. Analyze the design. The 16 stitches need to not only show the design but also have space between to set the design apart from the others. Normally you should have at least one stitch between the motifs. Notice the owl design above has one stitch between; however, the cat design doesn't have any stitches between because of the overlap of design. Most motifs already include this, but you need to be sure.

2. Divide the 16 stitches into a number between 135 and 150 to get an even number. 144 divided by 16 is 9, so I would get 9 motifs around the hat.

3. Using 144 stitches, decide whether you want to use a 1x1 or 2x2 rib for the brim. Knit the brim for 2 inches or more before starting the design. I will often switch to a larger needle such as size 4 to do the design. 

In the alternative, you might try using a double brim (see the Here There Be Dragons Hat pattern posted on September 7, 2017). This feature does a couple of things I like. First, it doubles the fabric over the ears for extra warm; and second, it covers the floats on the back of the hat. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll do my best to answer them.