Copyright is a big deal. It’s one we don’t address often enough. We know the difference between right and wrong. We know what we should and shouldn’t do. But sometimes we think, “Oh, I’m just sharing this stitch guide/beadwork pattern with my friend. It doesn’t hurt anyone.”
It does have an impact. Even sharing just one pattern/guide has an impact. It hurts the person who wrote the guide and ultimately it affects how products are priced in the market.
I do what I do because I love it yes, but also because it provides for me, my family and my four-legged creatures. It’s my job, my livelihood, something I am good at.
Most of what I do is no secret. It’s simply pretty threads on a pretty canvas in a pretty combination.
But then, there is what I sell; the documentation of those pretties. Hours and days go into documenting what I do and how I do it, so that you can follow along. Let’s not even get into the cost of the state of the art computers and the monthly licensing fees for the software that allow me to make the document that you will follow. There are the photographers who get paid to photograph the pieces when I don’t and the web programers who created the website where all this pretty stuff is sold. There are expenses and overhead.
See where I am going. There’s lots of behind the scenes stuff that boils down to a very small profit margin only when we sell multiples of a stitch guide.
There are many other designers and authors like me both in needlepoint and beadwork. We all work quite hard hopefully bringing joy to your corner of the world.
The documents that we create, print and sell are copyrighted. Which simply means that you can’t copy it and resell it. You also can’t run a class or stitching party with only one guide purchased for the group.
What?! You are aghast! People would do that?!!! Yes, there are people who will do that. It is sad. They are out there, making copies of various stitch guides and selling them over and over on ebay. We see it all the time. We have friends that look out for us and we see it. It’s not hard to see how many times one item has been sold by the same seller. There are people who will order a stitch guide and then their friends order the same canvas but no guide or threads. They are stitching together and sharing a guide. Do they even realize that it is unfair to the designers that wrote the guide?
There’s not really much we as designers can do about all of this except request that you honor the system and don’t share guides and patterns. With your help we can continue to do what we do.
Thank you! It’s an uphill battle sometimes. ❤️
All my patterns and stitch guides get shredded when the project is done.
Ruth-I am so glad you shared this. It is so sad that this happens. As a novice bead embroidery artist and stitcher, it is frustrating to see fellow beaders and stitchers “steal”or use the ideas of others and not credit them. Teresa G.
Yay you for speaking out. I hope people will listen.
When I owned my needlepoint store I had a lady come in the store with canvases she had copy painted and a copy of stitch guide her friend had copied for her from a class at my store that a friend of mine had written. She asked for my help pulling threads – I called her out on what she had done and ask that she leave my store and never return. She was shocked to be called out on it and shocked that I refused to sell her anything. We can all help by not ignoring this behavior and calling it out when we see it – from our customers or our friends.
AMEN! Guess you saw my Pinterest rant on NP Nation. It’s a never-ending battle. Hope you haven’t been impacted too much. Anyone caught doing this is booted from NP Nation as fast as my little fingers can fly.
I agree. On E Bay right now are 2 of my stitch guides without the canvases for sale at over $50.00!! ERRRRRRR. And I’ve had people contact me to just buy the canvas without the stitch guide. Makes me wonder.
My “little” job, as some say, has allowed our two daughters to attend college with no loans and helped our budget too. I could go on and on.
Excellent post.
Yay,Ruthie. Hopefully those who think this is okay will recognize themselves and stop ? doing this.
Bravo! Keep on saying it.
I just shared it on Needlepoint Now’s page. Thank you for writing this.
It is so hard to believe that people would do this — I do not believe that people would claim ignorance. Perhaps a little label or permanent ink stamp that can be applied to any label or worksheet on every canvas chart that says “copyrighted” may make a pointed statement….
I for one – and I know of so many others – take great pleasure in the stitching that I do, and I am thankful to Ruth for making each piece so much fun and special. Creativity like Ruth’s is to be respected and honored, and these attributes can only be achieved by honoring the copyright.
amen…..!
Hi Ruth,
I do not find this behavior surprising. So many people feel entitled to whatever they want.
Yes, needlepoint is expensive, but so is a Mercedes. We all make choices, and when we want the best, we need to pay for the best.
One thought – have you tried putting a copyright watermark on the pages of your guides? Might not stop some from copying anyway, but it could add to the guilt factor!
You are incredibly talented and no one is entitled to steal your artistic interpretations. (Yes, I think ‘steal’ is the correct word in this case.) So sorry that you have to deal with unethical behavior.
Carolyn
Great article. Can I have permission to reprint it in our EGA chapter newsletter?
Certainly, feel free to reprint. Thank you
Somehow this should be printed and shared with every stitch guide that everyone of you gifted and talented artists sell. Those who plead “ignorance” of all that you go through to bring these works of art to us, need to be reminded…often… and constantly.
I agree this is downright theft. How dare there are people like that presumptuously using others creativity.
I am just so grateful to people like you who are so willing to share your artistry.
Yikes! I feel bad for the dishonesty! Shop owners and designers should always be compensated for their hard and creative work. Taking what is not yours is called stealing. Its also true that some of us buy painted canvases and we dont want the stitch guide. We want to create our own design stitch patterns on the painted canvas. And some of us prefer different thread choices that might not be available at the shop that sold the painted canvas. Or we prefer different color ways than what has been suggested. Is that wrong too?
Oh heavens no! Creativity is good. We love it when you do your own thing or start with a guide and change something to make it your own. That’s all very exciting.
Thirty years ago (has it really been that long?) I caught my local needlepoint shop giving my designs to their house painter to copy for their customers “because she needed the money”. Then I learned last year why a distributer dropped my designs. A rival designer had a friend go into another shop and buy all of my canvases the day they came into the shop. She would copy them, put her name on them, and accuse me of stealing “her” designs. She has been sued by several other designers for copyright violation. Unfortunately I had medical issues at the time that this woman took advantage of and spread nasty rumors about me that I’m still suffering the repercussions from. I now design for myself, am NEVER designing for others again! The pages of copyrighted designs that I see on Pinterest make me sick at my stomach, and it is also illegal to resell patterns that have been removed from books and magazines, a pattern that was once part of a class kit or kit, and any pattern that was purchased from a designer or shop. I’ve said this on several groups I’m in and have received replies and emails containing foul language and personal threats to me and my family. I don’t even post photos of my work anymore in these groups because I have even gotten threats if I don’t share my original designs. It’s taken the joy out of creating. There are many other designers who have quit.
What a nasty person to steal your designs. Really hope I have never purchased one.
A “needlepoint newbie,” I’m completely in awe of what people are able to visualize and then through this wonderful medium something beautiful appears, because …a designer thought it through for me. Am I grateful? You bet! It’s unfortunate there are some who don’t understand their impact on designers and those of us who purchase the guides and use them as learning tools, I’d hate to see these guides go away.
Having purchased a couple of needlework guides (charts?) on eBay, and concerned that I am not involved in an unscrupulous transaction, how does one confirm the honesty of the seller?
As far as buying online is concerned, I would look at who is selling it. Is it the original designer? Is it a shop? Does it look like a copy? Sure we all have things that we bought and will never stitch and want to resell. That’s fine. What isn’t fine is selling copies or sharing the original. You can always check with the original designer and see if you can buy the guide from them to confirm validity.
Well said! I will share with my EGA chapter as well tonight!
While I do agree with you I also look at the other side of this. The hobby is a very very expensive one. So I would think that if two people are doing the same canvas, sharing the stitch guide would help on the costs.
Too, most local shops don’t have the interesting canvases, fibers, etc. so people shop on line. The shipping costs are high. Therefore, they try to save where they can.
However, coping and selling for the cheap and for the sake of money is a NO NO!!
Perhaps the industry, as a whole, could brainstorm as to how to become affordable to all?
BTW, I needlepoint and I quilt. I spend big bucks to enjoy my hobby. Plus, I shop from all over the world from my computer. ;}
Yes, everyone wants to save money and prices continue to go up. The costs of doing business continues to go up every day. We can’t escape it.
Currently we as stitch guide writers are selling our guides at the most affordable price we can, hoping for multiple sales of the same guide. If that happens our time is compensated. If it doesn’t happen we are not covering our expenses.
So while yes, sharing a guide helps the stitcher it very negatively impacts the author of the guide and is still copyright infringement. The time may come when stitch guide writers decide that they can no longer afford to write because they are selling too many onesies.
We all appreciate your business and want to continue what we do for a long time. xo
Yes, needlepoint can be an expensive hobby, that’s for sure! But *any* hobby can be expensive, yes? And it’s all relative to each person as to what “expensive” means. Just because it’s a “hobby” and not a necessity, like expensive food and expensive clothes, it doesn’t mean “it’s not a big deal to steal.” It’s not just law, it’s ethics.
I have seen stitchers do this over & over. It’s disgusting.
I don’t mean to be negative, but it’s not going to change. People who I have seen do it can well afford to buy canvases & Guides! When I’ve said anything, they think I’m stringent & prudish! I’ve even seen Needlepointers trace canvases. There’s no guilt at all. Feeling entitled . . . yes they do. You’re beating a dead horse if you think ANYTHING is going to end it cuz it’s not. So unfortunate for designers.